Category: Summary Judgment

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Punitive Damages / Summary Judgment
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Finding of Limited Exposure Entitles Defendant to Dismissal of Punitive Damages

Supreme Court of New York, New York County, January 12, 2022

The defendant Graybar Electric Company filed a motion for partial summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiff’s claim for punitive damages ought to be dismissed citing that punitive damages are inappropriate because the plaintiff only encountered Graybar’s product once during his career. The plaintiff’s opposition argued that issues of fact remain regarding the plaintiff’s exposure to asbestos-containing cement pipe that was sold and distributed by Graybar. The plaintiff contended that Graybar merely pointed to gaps …

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New York / Summary Judgment
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Speculative Testimony Fails to Establish Railroad Defendant Directed Tile Work

Supreme Court of New York, New York County, January 10, 2022

In this asbestos action, the plaintiff Ernest Cummings alleges that his lung cancer was caused by his exposure to asbestos dust when he worked as a train conductor with the Long Island Railroad from 1971 to 1996. During this time, he made stops at Penn Station, of which the defendant Amtrak took ownership in 1976. The plaintiff testified that during his more than two-decade career, all of his train routes went through Penn Station …

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New York / Summary Judgment
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Auto Manufacturer’s Motion for Summary Judgment Denied on Reargument

Supreme Court of New York, New York County, December 29, 2021

In this asbestos action, the plaintiffs filed a motion to reargue a previous decision that granted defendant Nissan’s motion for summary judgment based on misidentification of their product. By way of background, Nissan argued that Nissan brand vehicles could not have contributed to the plaintiff’s alleged asbestos exposure because Nissan did not manufacture Nissan brand vehicles until three years after the plaintiff’s alleged exposure. The court agreed and granted Nissan’s motion for summary judgement. …

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Louisiana / Summary Judgment
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Employer’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment under Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Act is Denied

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, December 20, 2021

The plaintiff filed suit alleging that he was diagnosed with mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos spanning from the 1950s to 1980s, including take-home exposure from his father’s and brother’s work at Avondale Shipyards, personal exposure from his own work at Avondale from 1969 to 1972, and person exposure from his work for the defendant, Pelnor, from 1974 to 1983.

Pelnor filed a motion for partial summary judgment arguing that the …

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Mesothelioma
Maritime/Admiralty Law / Summary Judgment
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Report and Recommendation on 20 Motions for Summary Judgment Based on Product Identification and Causation Adopted

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, December 2, 2021

In this matter the plaintiff, Darlene Data, sued numerous defendants on behalf of her husband, Michael Data, who was diagnosed with mesothelioma in January 2019 and died on February 6, 2020. Mr. Data served in the United States Navy from June 1969 to March 1973, including aboard the U.S.S. Newport News. From July 1973 to August 1974, he worked at the Crane Company foundry in New Castle, Pennsylvania. Next, he worked at …

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New York / Summary Judgment
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Various Manufacturers Denied Summary Judgment on Causation and Product Identification Grounds

Supreme Court of New York, Nassau County, November 17, 2021

In this asbestos action, plaintiff Frank Randazzo alleged exposure to asbestos from the following: (1) personally working on Rockwell brakes, (2) breathing in dust on his father’s clothing when his father worked with Cleaver-Brooks boilers and burners, and (3) from Perkins gaskets. Each of the aforementioned defendants moved for summary judgment, alleging that Randazzo could not have been exposed to their products.

To establish causation, a plaintiff must establish that a toxin is capable of …

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Louisiana / Summary Judgment
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Railroad Employer’s Summary Judgment Motion Denied as Plaintiff’s FELA Claim Not Precluded

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, November 10, 2021

In this asbestos action, plaintiff Dennis Bouck alleged that he developed mesothelioma as a result of repairing locomotives and locomotive parts while working for Kansas City Southern Railway Company (KCSR) from 1964 to 2007.

The plaintiff commenced an action against KCSR, as well as various product manufacturers. The court previously found that the Locomotive Inspection Act (LIA) preempted the plaintiff’s defective design and failure to warn state law claims against the product manufacturers. …

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North Carolina / Summary Judgment
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Summary Judgment Granted to Three Defendants in Friction Exposure Case

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, November 9, 2021

In this matter, the plaintiff alleged that the decedent, Robie Walls, was exposed to asbestos during his career as a tractor-trailer fleet mechanic from 1960 to 2002. Mr. Walls was diagnosed with mesothelioma in September 2019 and passed away on October 15, 2020.

Three defendants filed motions for summary judgment, and the court consolidated its decision on all three. Defendants DCo LLC and Eaton Corp. filed motions for summary judgment on all …

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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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Summary Judgment
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Railroad Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment Granted on Lack of Causation

U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska, September 29, 2021

In this asbestos action, plaintiff James Lancaster claimed that his lung cancer was caused, in part, by exposure to asbestos during the course of his 33-year career as a railroad track foreman. The defendant, BNSF Railway Company, pointed instead to the plaintiff’s extensive history of smoking cigarettes. In addition, BNSF argued that the plaintiff could not establish causation because the expert reports provided by the plaintiff were inadmissible. For these reasons, BNSF filed a …

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