LATEST INSIGHTS

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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Mesothelioma
Illinois / Summary Judgment
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Ceramic Manufacturer’s MSJ Granted Because Plaintiff Failed to Establish Defendant’s Duty to Warn

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, June 25, 2021

Plaintiff Deborah Johnson alleges that her late husband, Bruce Johnson, contracted mesothelioma due to his exposure to asbestos. The defendant, Edward Orton, Jr. Ceramic Foundation, moved for summary judgment, which the court granted.

The plaintiff alleges that Orton was negligent for failing to warn or protect the decedent from the risk of asbestos in its product. Because the plaintiff failed to raise any questions of fact regarding the existence of a …

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Georgia / Pleadings Challenge
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Appeals Court Affirms Estate Plaintiff’s Right to Refile Loss of Consortium and Wrongful Death Claims

Court of Appeals of Georgia, First Division, June 25, 2021

Alleging that he contracted malignant pleural mesothelioma due to his workplace exposure to asbestos, Charles Brannan and his wife, Louise Brannan, filed a complaint for damages against several defendants in 2015. The plaintiffs asserted claims for negligence, product liability, and loss of consortium. Later that year, Charles Brannan passed away, and one of the defendants filed a notice of suggestion of death. Two months later, his wife, Louise, was appointed as the executor of the …

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Appeal / California
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Plaintiff’s Verdict Reversed as Trial Court Gave Erroneous Causation Instruction

Court of Appeal of California, Second Appellate District, Division One

Defendant The Marley-Wylain Company successfully argued that Michigan law should apply in this California action as all of the plaintiff’s exposure to asbestos manufactured or supplied in connection with Weil-McLain boilers occurred in Michigan. Marley-Wylain was the only remaining defendant at trial, where the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff and entered a judgment against Marley-Wylain for $5,489,688.68. The trial court subsequently denied Marley-Wylain’s motions for a new trial and for judgment notwithstanding the …

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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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Summary Judgment
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Brake Grinding Machine Manufacturer Granted Summary Judgment on Lack of Product Nexus

Superior Court of Delaware, New Castle

In this asbestos action, plaintiff Shelley Droz alleged that decedent Eric Droz developed mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos from using an AMMCO brake arcing machine and grinder. Defendant Hennessey moved for summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiff had not established that the decedent was exposed to asbestos from products attributable to Hennessey. The plaintiff contended that the process of grinding brake drums and linings manufactured by three distinct companies was a dusty process, which was dusty “to such …

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Mississippi / Motion for Reconsideration / Summary Judgment
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Brake Manufacturer’s Grant of Summary Judgment Upheld on Reconsideration Due to Lack of Causation

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, Southern Division, June 9, 2021

The plaintiffs, William and Karla Dickens, allege that William Dickens developed mesothelioma due to his exposure to asbestos-containing products during automotive mechanical work. The plaintiffs sued multiple defendants, including Ford Motor Co. (Ford). Ford moved for summary judgment in two motions, seeking to dismiss the substantive and punitive damage claims against it. The court determined that there was insufficient evidence of asbestos causation and granted summary judgment. The plaintiffs moved for …

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New York / Summary Judgment
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Floor Tile Manufacturer Denied Summary Judgment Due to Issues of Fact

Supreme Court of New York, New York County, May 19, 2021

Defendant The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company filed a motion for summary judgment pursuant to CPLR 3212 arguing that the only product manufactured by defendant which matches plaintiff Pietro Camiolo’s (the decedent) description of the alleged asbestos product he worked with, never contained asbestos, and that there is no evidence that any Goodyear brand floor tile with which decedent may have worked actually contained asbestos. The plaintiffs oppose the motion.

The court noted that …

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