Category: Pennsylvania

FELA / Pennsylvania
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Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rejects Consent Jurisdiction by Registration as Unconstitutional

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, December 22, 2021

On December 22, 2021, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued a landmark decision in the matter of Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Company, holding that Pennsylvania’s general jurisdiction statute, 42 Pa.C.S. § 5301(a)(2), which conveys general jurisdiction over foreign corporations who register to do business in the Commonwealth, is unconstitutional.

In Mallory, the plaintiff, a Virginia resident, filed a Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) action against the defendant Norfolk Southern Railway in the Philadelphia Court of …

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Pennsylvania / Pleadings Challenge
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Denial of Rail Defendant’s Forum Non Conveniens Motion Reversed on Appeal

Superior Court of Pennsylvania, December 21, 2021

The plaintiff filed a complaint against CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT) pursuant to the Federal Employers’ Liability Act alleging that his employment-based exposure to asbestos, diesel exhaust/fumes, and second-hand smoke either caused or contributed to the development of his colon cancer. The plaintiff worked for CSXT and its predecessors as a train brakeman and conductor beginning in 1974.

CSXT is a Virginia corporation that is headquartered in Florida. The plaintiff is a Maryland resident and worked for CSXT and …

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Pennsylvania / Summary Judgment
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Alleged Product Successor Obtains Summary Judgment on Causation and Successor Liability Grounds

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, November 4, 2021

In this asbestos action, the plaintiff alleges that the decedent, John Sullivan, was exposed to asbestos from products manufactured by Griscom Russell (Viad’s alleged predecessor) while serving in the U.S. Navy from 1967 to 1980. Viad moved for summary judgment on two grounds. First, Viad argued that the plaintiff has not shown that any product for which Viad is allegedly responsible caused Sullivan’s injuries. The court analyzed this argument pursuant to maritime law, …

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Bare Metal/Component Parts / Pennsylvania / Summary Judgment
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Turbine Defendants Obtain Summary Judgment Under the DeVries Bare Metal Defense Test

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, July 7, 2021

The plaintiffs alleged that John DeVries was exposed to asbestos from insulation associated with steam turbines on the U.S.S. Turner. The Asbestos Case Tracker has continuously covered the DeVries matter’s journey to the United States Supreme Court, and has covered DeVries in a comprehensive synopsis of The State of the Bare Metal Defense. The Supreme Court established a new bare metal defense standard and remanded the matter back to the United …

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Pennsylvania / Summary Judgment
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Defendants’ MSJs Granted as to Lack of Product Identification—Finds Question of Fact as to Premises Defendant

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, June 25, 2021

Plaintiff Allisa Gay brought suit against various manufacturers and distributors, alleging that her father, Carl Gay (decedent), developed mesothelioma from exposure to the defendants’ asbestos-containing products while serving in the U.S. Navy. Defendant Viking Pump, Inc. filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiff did not properly identify its product as a cause of the decedent’s disease and death.

Viking admits that it sold Viking Pumps to the U.S. Navy, and …

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Asbestos Litigation Analysis / Pennsylvania
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Court Grants Water Heater Defendant’s MSJ Finding Plaintiff Failed to Proffer Sufficient Exposure Evidence

United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, June 17, 2021

Plaintiff sued Defendant Yuba Heat Transfer, LLC and various manufacturers and distributors alleging that decedent developed mesothelioma from exposures to Defendant Yuba’s asbestos-containing products. Plaintiff alleged decedent was exposed to asbestos from Yuba’s feedwater heaters while working at the Niagara Mohawk Power Station. 

Prior to decedent’s passing, he sat for a deposition during which he did not identify Yuba by name or feedwater heaters.  Defendant Yuba filed a motion for summary judgment arguing …

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Mesothelioma
Asbestos Litigation Analysis / Pennsylvania
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Court Grants Valve Defendant’s MSJ Finding Plaintiff Failed to Proffer Sufficient Exposure Evidence

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, June 17, 2021

Plaintiff sued Defendant Honeywell Inc. and various manufacturers and distributors alleging that decedent developed mesothelioma from exposures to Defendant Honeywell’s asbestos-containing products. Plaintiff alleged decedent was exposed to asbestos from Honeywell’s controls, valves, and instruments while working at the SM-1 facility in Virginia and PM-1 facility in Wyoming.

Prior to decedent’s passing, he sat for a deposition during which he recalled Honeywell controls and equipment at the SM-1 and PM-1 facility. Defendant Honeywell …

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Maritime/Admiralty Law / Pennsylvania / Summary Judgment
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Two Defendants Obtain Summary Judgment Due to Insufficient Evidence as Required by Applicable Law

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, June 15, 2021

As previously reported by Asbestos Case Tracker, the plaintiff alleges that the decedent Richard Nybeck developed lung cancer following occupational exposure to asbestos. Defendants Ford Motor Company (Ford) and defendant, Air & Liquid Systems Corporation, as successor by merger to Buffalo Pumps, Inc. (Buffalo) filed motions for summary judgment. The allegations as Ford stem from the decedent’s work during high school at his father’s gas station in Michigan. As to Buffalo, the …

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Pennsylvania / Summary Judgment
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Electric Motor Defendants Obtain Summary Judgment as Plaintiff Failed to Proffer Sufficient Causation Evidence

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, May 14, 2021

In this asbestos action, the plaintiff alleges that the decedent Richard Nybeck developed lung cancer following occupational exposure to asbestos. Pertinent to the motions for summary judgment, the decedent alleged that he worked with Allen-Bradley electrical motors and starters which were mounted to asbestos-containing phenolic board at the Philadelphia International Airport. In addition, he dismantled A.O. Smith electric motors which contained asbestos-containing phenolic board at the Philadelphia Technical Institute. Both defendants argued that …

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Pennsylvania / Summary Judgment
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Pump Manufacturer Granted Summary Judgment on Causation Grounds

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, April 28, 2021

The plaintiff alleged that the decedent, Carl E. Gay, was exposed to asbestos while serving in the United States Navy and the United States Air Force from 1946 to 1958 and 1958 to 1967, respectively; and while employed by General Electric Co. from 1967 to 1974 and Stone and Webster from 1974 to 1989; and from performing Shadetree automotive work beginning in the 1940s. Mr. Gay was deposed over the course of nine …

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