Filed 3/24/21 Sabetian v. Fluor Enterprises CA2/7 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115. IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION SEVEN SORAYA SABETIAN, B298989 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BC699945) v. FLUOR ENTERPRISES, INC., et al., Defendants and Appellants. APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Rupert A. Byrdsong, Judge. Affirmed. Weitz & Luxenberg, Benno Ashrafi and Josiah Parker for Plaintiff and Respondent. Berkes Crane Robinson & Seal, Robert H. Berkes, Steven M. Crane, Barbara S. Hodous and Carmen Santana for Defendants and Appellants. __________________________ Defendants Fluor Enterprises, Inc. (FEI), and Middle East Fluor (MEF) (collectively, the Fluor defendants) appeal from a judgment entered after a jury trial in favor of plaintiff Soraya Sabetian.1 Soraya and her husband Houshang Sabetian brought claims for negligence, premises liability, and loss of consortium, alleging Sabetian contracted testicular mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos while he was an Iranian citizen working for the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) from 1959 to 1979 in facilities under construction by the Fluor defendants. The jury found FEI and MEF were negligent, and their negligence was a substantial cause of Sabetian’s injury. On appeal, the Fluor defendants contend the trial court should have granted their motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and for a new trial because substantial evidence does not support the jury’s determination Sabetian was exposed to asbestos attributable to the Fluor defendants with sufficient frequency, regularity, and proximity to constitute a substantial factor in causing Sabetian’s injury. They also argue substantial evidence does not support the jury’s determination Sabetian’s exposure to asbestos caused him to develop mesothelioma in the testes, a rare form of mesothelioma. Finally, the Fluor defendants assert the trial court erred in denying their post-trial motions to reduce the jury’s damages award in accordance with Iranian law. We affirm. 1 During the pendency of this appeal, Houshang Sabetian died. On July 29, 2020 we granted Soraya Sabetian’s motion to be substituted in place of Houshang Sabetian as his successor in interest. To avoid confusion, we refer to Houshang Sabetian as Sabetian and Soraya by her first name. 1 FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND A. The Complaint Sabetian and Soraya filed this action on March 28, 2018 against the Fluor defendants2 and others, alleging causes of action for negligence, strict liability, premises liability, and loss of consortium. The complaint alleged the Fluor defendants provided gaskets, packing, and insulation that negligently created asbestos dust Sabetian was exposed to while he worked at Iranian oil refining facilities in the 1960s and 1970s. In January 2017 Sabetian was diagnosed with mesothelioma, which Sabetian alleged was caused by his exposure to asbestos at these facilities. …
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