Asbestos Case Tracker

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June 27, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Summary Judgment, Wisconsin

Summary Judgment Reversed Where Court Finds Genuine Dispute as to Fraudulent Transfer of Assets

The plaintiff filed this personal injury lawsuit under theories of negligence and strict liability following the death of her husband from mesothelioma. The plaintiff maintained that her husband was exposed to asbestos-containing products allegedly manufactured and/or sold by Fire Brick Engineers Company, Inc. (FBE Company) from approximately 1963-69. In approximately 1983, Fire Brick Engineers Corporation …

June 23, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Expert Challenges, Louisiana, Summary Judgment

Preclusion of Plaintiff’s Causation Expert Upheld on Appeal Due to Failure to Consider Decedent’s Smoking History

The plaintiffs, Dwayne Bourdeaux, Gerilyn Cook, and Bryan Bourdeaux, Individually and as Proper Parties in Interest for Gerald Bourdeaux, filed suit in Louisiana alleging that Gerald Bourdeaux lung cancer diagnosis and eventual death was asbestos exposure. In support of this claim, the plaintiffs offered Dr. Gerald E. Liuzza, a pathologist, as an expert witness to …

June 20, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Summary Judgment

Ninth Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment for Pump Defendants on Evidence of Supply of Asbestos Containing Gaskets and Packing to U.S. Navy

John H. Boyd, III, as the representative of the plaintiff and appellant Captain John H. Boyd, Jr. (deceased), appealed to the Ninth Circuit the District Court for the Central District of California’s granting of summary judgment in favor of Warren Pumps, LLC, and Air and Liquid Systems Corporation (successor in interest to Buffalo Pumps, Inc.) …

June 10, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Summary Judgment

Court Declines to Address Causation Standard In Upholding Summary Judgment on Trial Court’s Less Burdensome Standard

Plaintiff Patricia Grant and the Estate of Edward Grant appealed from summary judgments entered against them on their complaint for damages for Edward Grant’s lung cancer and death based on negligence, failure to warn of defective, unreasonably dangerous goods, and loss of consortium. Summary judgment was granted on the motions of New England Insulation Company …

June 9, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Expert Challenges, Maryland, Motions in Limine, Summary Judgment

Plaintiff’s Expert Testimony Precluded and Summary Judgment Granted Where Expert Opinion Did Not Rely Upon Sufficient Facts or Data

Plaintiffs Charles Lemuel Arbogast, Jr., et al. filed suit against a number of companies, including defendant CBS Corporation of Delaware (Westinghouse), that allegedly manufactured and/or distributed products containing asbestos to which the plaintiff was exposed, thereby causing his mesothelioma. The plaintiff offered Dr. Robert Leonard Vance as an expert in matters involving industrial hygiene and …

June 2, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Maryland, Summary Judgment

Court Denies Plaintiff’s Motion for Reconsideration on Grant for Summary Judgment in Determination That Defendant Did Not Qualify as “Apparent Manufacturer”

The plaintiff, Harriette Stein, personal representative of the Estate of Carl Stein, filed an amended complaint with claims against defendant Pfizer under the theory that the decedent’s exposure to an asbestos-containing refractory cement, called “Insulag,” which was supplied to the decedent’s employer, Bethlehem Steel, by Pfizer’s subsidiary, Quigley Company, Inc., was a substantial factor in …

May 31, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Maryland, Statute of Repose, Summary Judgment

Boiler Manufacturers Obtain Summary Judgment Based on Statute of Repose

In this case, the decedent, Ralph Vitale, alleged exposure to asbestos from the installation of Burnham and Weil-McLain residential boilers during the course of his work through his own HVAC and plumbing business between 1966 and 1979. Defendants Burnham, LLC and Weil-McLain, a division of the Marley-Wylain Company, moved for summary judgment on the basis …

May 31, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, New York, Summary Judgment

Summary Judgment Granted to Various Defendants For Lack of Product Identification Despite Inclusion in Interrogatory Responses in Take-Home Exposure Case

In this case, it was alleged that the decedent was exposed to asbestos from laundering her husband, Eugene Blamowski’s, work clothes. Mr. Blamowski worked as a laborer at Bethlehem Steel from 1955-84, with the exception of his Army service from 1958-62. He and the decedent were married in 1965 and the decedent had laundered his …

May 31, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Bare Metal/Component Parts, Case Decisions, Summary Judgment

Lack of Evidence of Asbestos Replacement Parts Supplied by Crane for Use in Crane Valves Key to Granting of Summary Judgment

The decedent died of mesothelioma; prior to his passing he filed a lawsuit in state court alleging exposure to asbestos while a production shift supervisor during his employment at a paper mill in Georgia. One defendant removed, and the action was transferred to MDL 875. Defendant Crane Co. filed for summary judgment, which was granted …

May 26, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, State>California, Summary Judgment

Summary Judgment Granted to Cleaver Brooks Because Vague Witness Testimony Not Enough to Establish Exposure

The decedent in this case, Michael Walashek, alleged exposure to asbestos from various products, including Cleaver-Brooks boilers, during the course of his work for various entities between 1967 and 1986. The exposure allegedly caused him to “suffer severe and permanent injury and ultimately death.” The plaintiff, Gail Walashek, subsequently filed a lawsuit against the defendant …