Plaintiff Robert Lee Winhauer filed an asbestos action in the Delaware Superior Court against multiple defendants, asserting personal injury claims relating to a mesothelioma diagnosis proximately caused by alleged exposure to asbestos. The defendants removed the action to the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. After Winhauer’s death, the complaint was amended to substitute a representative of the estate and add a wrongful death claim. The defendants Honeywell (successor in interest to Bendix) and Ingersoll Rand both filed motions for summary judgment, which …
Continue ReadingCategory: Delaware
Various Manufacturers Granted Summary Judgment Under Mississippi Law, Including Acceptance of Bare Metal Defense
The plaintiff, Robert Lee Winhauer, commenced this action alleging asbestos exposure from his personal work on his automobiles from the 1940s through the 1990s, from his work at the Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi from 1965 to 1976 and while working at Courtaulds North America Rayon Staple Plant in Le Moyne, Alabama from 1977 to 1998. Nine defendants, John Crane, John Crane Inc. (JCI), Flowserve US Inc., Carver Pump Co. , Sterling Fluid Systems (USA) LLC, FMC Corp., Velan Valve Corp., Borg-Warner (D.I. 173), and …
Continue ReadingFederal Magistrate Judge Recommends Denial of Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand in Two Cases Originating in Delaware
In two nearly identical cases from the District of Delaware, the magistrate judge issued a report and recommendation, recommending the denial of the plaintiffs’ motion to remand to state court.
In the first case, the plaintiff husband and wife alleged that the husband developed mesothelioma through exposure to asbestos while serving as a boiler tender in the Navy, while working at the shipyard, and through personal automotive work. In the second case, the plaintiff husband and wife alleged that the husband developed mesothelioma through asbestos …
Continue ReadingDistrict Court Adopts Report and Recommendation of Magistrate in Both Granting and Denying Summary Judgment to Various Defendants
The district court reviewed the report and recommendations of the U.S. Magistrate Judge, which recommended granting and denying summary judgment to various defendants. The court applied maritime law in granting summary judgment to Electrolux, ABB, Velan Valve, GE, CBS, Foster Wheeler, and Owens-Illinois, and denying summary judgment to Buffalo, Ingersoll-Rand (denied in part), Aurora, IMO, and Warren (denied in part). The court granted summary judgment on the issue of punitive damages to Ingersoll Rand and Warren, because the plaintiff failed to establish same.
The court …
Continue ReadingCourt Denies Certification of Interlocutory Appeals on Personal Jurisdictional Grounds in Two Delaware Cases
In these two cases from Delaware, the defendants’ motions to dismiss based on personal jurisdiction were denied. Defendants subsequently sought certification of their interlocutory appeals pursuant to Del. Sup. Ct. 42. The court denied defendants’ applications in both cases, pointing to the “substantial issue of material importance” prong of the Rule 42 requirements. The court stated that the Delaware Supreme Court has repeatedly held that denial of a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction does not determine a “substantial issue.” In both cases, …
Continue ReadingCourt Applies Delaware’s Borrowing Statute in Granting Defendants’ Summary Judgment on Statute of Limitations
In this case, the plaintiff alleged that his lung cancer was caused by exposure to several defendants’ asbestos-containing products while he was working in Michigan. The plaintiff and his wife filed their claim in Delaware and all defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing that the action was untimely under the Delaware statute of limitations, which they claimed applied pursuant to Delaware’s “Borrowing Statute,”10 Del. C. 8121.
The court agreed and granted defendants’ motions for summary judgment. The court pointed out that the parties had agreed …
Continue Reading