Category: Summary Judgment

Case Decisions / Summary Judgment / Take-Home Exposure
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Employers Not Liable for Employee Take-Home Exposure

The plaintiffs allege Ernest V. Quiroz was exposed to asbestos from his father’s work clothes during the years he lived at his father’s home (1952 to 1966). Defendant Reynolds moved for summary judgment, arguing that it did not owe Dr. Quiroz a duty of care. The trial court granted the motion, finding Reynolds “had no duty to Plaintiffs as a matter of law.” The plaintiffs appealed and the case was heard by the Court of Appeals of Arizona, Division One.

In a negligence action under …

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Case Decisions / Delaware / Maritime/Admiralty Law / Summary Judgment
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Court Grants Summary Judgment for Defendant Boiler Manufacturer Based on Lack of Causation Under Maritime Law

Plaintiffs Jimmy R. Mitchell and Connie Mitchell filed suit alleging that Mr. Mitchell developed lung cancer as a result of exposure to asbestos-containing products, in part during the course of his employment as a boiler fireman with the U.S. Navy from 1976-79.

Defendant Foster Wheeler filed for summary judgment and argued, among other things, lack of causation. To establish causation under maritime law (which both parties agree applied), plaintiffs must show that (1) Mr. Mitchell was exposed to a Foster Wheeler boiler; (2) the exposure …

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Case Decisions / Statute of Repose / Summary Judgment
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Court Affirms Summary Judgment in Part Regarding Turbines But Reverses in Part as to Switchgears by Same Manufacturer

The plaintiff brought his action on behalf of his decedent’s estate alleging that Howard Frankenberger developed lung cancer as a result of his work around asbestos containing insulation on turbines at various powerhouses in Illinois and Indiana. The turbines were alleged to have been manufactured by Westinghouse. Howard Frankenberger worked as a pipefitter at State Line Generating Station, Will County Generating Station, and Acme Steel from approximately 1953-1999. As for exposure, he was allegedly exposed to asbestos from turbines and switchgears.

Expert testimony established that …

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Case Decisions / Maritime/Admiralty Law / New York / Summary Judgment
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Court Grants Summary Judgment After Plaintiff Fails to Establish Elements to Pierce the Corporate Veil

The plaintiff, Kelan Unterberg, brought this action against multiple defendants for his alleged development of mesothelioma. His complaint lodged three separate causes of action including negligence under the Jones Act, breach of warranty of sea worthiness and reasonable fitness under U.S. Maritime law, and remedy of maintenance and cure. All of the counts were related to Unterberg’s alleged exposure to asbestos aboard several civilian vessels while working as a chief engineer and merchant seaman from 1973-78.

The plaintiff, a citizen of Germany, first brought this …

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Case Decisions / Statute of Limitations / Summary Judgment / Texas
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Plaintiff’s Claims Barred on Statute of Limitations Based on When She Learned of Her Injuries

Plaintiff Marci Jones filed suit claiming that, during the course of her employment, she suffered personal injuries from being exposed to asbestos, mold and dead animals. The plaintiff was employed by Noble Finance, who rented a commercial building from defendants Andy and Nancy Anderson. The plaintiff’s suit against defendants includes claims for her personal injuries as well as loss of earning capacity and the cost of medical treatment.

The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, asserting among other arguments, that the plaintiff’s claims failed …

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Case Decisions / Maritime/Admiralty Law / Summary Judgment
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Maritime Law Applied in Granting of Summary Judgment to Manufacturer of Blowers Used on Naval Ship

The plaintiff sued several defendants alleging that he developed lung cancer as a result of exposure to asbestos products of the defendants while he served as a boiler tender in the U.S. Navy from 1976-79. Defendants Atwood and Morill (Atwood) and Carrier Corp. moved for summary judgment.

The court’s analysis started with the standard for summary judgment. “The Court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as …

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Case Decisions / New York / Summary Judgment
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Summary Judgment Denied Where Defendant Merely Pointed to Gaps in Evidence and Asked Court to Weigh Credibility of Witness

In this case, the plaintiff Gaspar Hernandez-Vega alleges that he developed mesothelioma as a result of his alleged exposure to asbestos-containing products while working as a pipefitter. At his deposition, Hernandez-Vega testified interchangeably to work with “Edward valves,” “Vogt valves,” and “Edward-Vogt valves” that exposed him to asbestos through his changing of the packing and gaskets applied to those valves. The defendant Flowserve is the successor in interest for Edward Valves, Inc., the Vogt Valve Company, and Edward-Vogt (created following a merger of the two …

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California / Case Decisions / Summary Judgment
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California High Court Declines to Review Appellate Reversal of Trial Court’s Grant of Summary Judgment

On August 25, 2016, the California Supreme Court, without a written opinion, declined to hear a petition to review an appellate panel’s decision to overturn a trial court’s grant of summary judgment to Hennessy Industries Inc. In this case, the plaintiff claimed that the decedent, Frank Rondon, worked as a mechanic using defendant Hennessy’s (Ammco Tools) brake arcing machines designed to grind asbestos brake shoes. Hennessy moved for summary judgment arguing that the brake grinders did not contain asbestos and plaintiffs could not establish that …

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Case Decisions / Delaware / Maritime/Admiralty Law / Summary Judgment
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Magistrate Judge Recommends Various Rulings on Five Summary Judgment Motions Filed by Defendants

The United States Magistrate Judge recommended disposition on five summary judgment motions filed by various defendants in this mesothelioma case wherein plaintiffs alleged asbestos exposure during plaintiff Mark Hillyer’s employment with the U.S. Navy from 1967-1997.  The only product identification witness was plaintiff Mark Hillyer, who testified that he was exposed to asbestos through his maintenance work on reactor plant systems, steam plant systems, engines, and turbine generators.  In deciding these motions, the court applied maritime law such that plaintiff must show that (1) he …

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Case Decisions / Connecticut / Summary Judgment
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Summary Judgment for Crane Manufacturer Based on Affidavit of Company Vice President

Plaintif Katherine Filosi, individually and as executor of the estate of Donald Filosi, filed a complaint against multiple defendants, including American Crane & Equipment Corporation (ACECO).  The plaintiff alleged that the decedent Donald Filosi was exposed to asbestos while employed by Boat Corporation (Electric Boat) as a rigger from 1961 to 1998 and, as a result of that exposure, he developed lung cancer and died.

Defendant ACECO moved for summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiff produced no evidence from which a jury could conclude that …

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