judge's gavel and books

Railway Employer Obtains Summary Judgment Due to Exclusion of Plaintiff’s Experts

Court: Court of Appeals of Tennessee, At Jackson

Plaintiff Annie Dowdy is a former employee of defendant BNSF Railway Company. She filed suit against BNSF under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (“FELA”), alleging that BNSF negligently failed to provide a reasonably safe work place, and claiming that occupational exposure to diesel exhaust and asbestos caused or contributed to her renal cancer. Plaintiff relief on the testimony of two expert witnesses: Dr. Hernando Perez, who was retained to testify regarding negligence and liability, and Dr. Ernest …

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person testifying

Defendant Obtains Summary Judgment Due to Inadmissible Expert Testimony

Court: Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division

Decedent Joseph Murray worked for the defendant Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) from 1976 to 2011 as a brakeman/conductor. His wife filed a wrongful death and survival action citing the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C. §§ 51-60, and the Locomotive Inspection Act, 49 U.S.C. §§ 20701-20703. The plaintiff alleged that decedent had been exposed to harmful amounts of asbestos and various fumes while working for Conrail and that his lung cancer, tongue cancer, and subsequent death …

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Mesothelioma

Valve Defendants Obtain Summary Judgment Due to Lack of Causation Evidence

Court: United States District Court for the Central District of California

In this action, the plaintiffs alleged that the decedent, John Carpenter, contracted and died from mesothelioma due to exposure to asbestos, which occurred in part during his service in the Navy. Before the court are two motions: defendant Nibco Inc.’s motion for summary judgment or in the alternative summary adjudication (the “Nibco Motion”); and defendant Asco Valve Inc.’s (“Asco”) motion for summary judgment (the “Asco Motion”).

Four of the decedent’s coworkers testified about the …

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