IN RE UNION CARBIDE CORPORATION, RELATOR, 273 S.W.3d 152

Summary

Plaintiff filed a personal injury action alleging that he was exposed to toxic chemicals manufactured by fourteen defendants and that the exposure caused him to leukemia. While that suit was pending, the survivors of a deceased man intervened in plaintiff's lawsuit, alleging that decedent died from myelodysplastic syndrome caused by his exposure to toxic chemicals at relator's facility. Relator was a defendant in both suits. Relator filed a motion to strike the intervention. The trial court abused its discretion by failing to rule on relator's motion to strike before considering whether to sever the intervention. The Court of Appeals of Texas held that the intervenors failed to demonstrate a justiciable interest in plaintiff's suit and were not entitled to intervene. Relator was entitled to conditional mandamus relief, because it did not have an adequate remedy by appeal.