OHIO — The plaintiff sued Crane Co. and other defendants based upon his alleged exposure to asbestos while serving in the Navy from 1960 to 1967. Crane filed for summary judgment on plaintiff’s maritime law strict liability negligence claims. The court applied the Lindstrom standard. Despite the plaintiff’s urging, the court did not adopt a fact-specific standard with regard to the bare metal defense, instead applying the Sixth Circuit’s bright line rule.
The court found that the plaintiff failed to put forth any evidence of his exposure to a Crane product amounting to more than a “metaphysical doubt.” The court referred to a citation from Lindstrom noting that the mere presence of a defendant’s product at a worksite is insufficient. Furthermore, the plaintiff failed to demonstrate substantial factor causation. Given the lack of evidence of any exposure, let alone substantial exposure, summary judgment was entered in favor of Crane.
Only the WestLaw citation is currently available at 2019 WL 551321.