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Asbestos Case Tracker

Real-Time Court Decisions and Other Developments in Asbestos Litigation.

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Court: Business and Consumer Court of Maine, Cumberland County

In this matter, Stephan Co. (“Stephan”) filed a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. The plaintiff, Jan Cuthbertson (“Plaintiff”), lives in Camden, Maine. Stephan is incorporated in and maintains its principal place of business in Florida, manufacturing, selling, and distributing hair care and personal care products as both a wholesaler and a retailer. In 1988, Stephan purchased Old 97, which was operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Stephan until the two companies merged in 2016, with Stephan being the surviving corporation post-merger. From 1990 to approximately 1995, Old 97 non-exclusively produced certain Gold Bond products, on behalf of Martin Himmel Inc. (“MHI”), the owner of Gold Bond. A 1990 warehousing and shipping agreement between MHI and Stephan required Stephan to manufacture the required units of Gold Bond products and “provide for the shipping of all such Units to customers which [MHI] designate[d].” According to Stephan, it did not ship to Maine, nor did Old 97.

The court granted Stephan’s motion to dismiss on two grounds. First, the court cannot exercise personal jurisdiction over Stephan in this matter because Plaintiff did not provide affirmative proof showing that Stephan had sufficient contacts with Maine. Second, the court found that Stephan did not produce the Gold Bond foot powder that caused Plaintiff’s injury. The court further explained that Stephan could not have anticipated litigation in Maine because the record does not set forth specific facts indicating that Stephan had contacts with Maine. As such, hauling Stephan into a Maine court for this matter would violate due process. Thus, the court granted the motion to dismiss.

Read the full decision here.