Coal Company’s Discharges Unlawful According To W.Va. Federal Court
Posted on Feb 5, 2015 in Construction, Energy/Environmental | Comments Off on Coal Company’s Discharges Unlawful According To W.Va. Federal Court
After a four-day bench trial, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia concluded that a coal company had committed at least one violation of its permits by discharging high levels of ionic pollution (as measured by conductivity) into an area stream and the discharges caused or materially contributed to a significant adverse impact to the chemical and...
Hazardous Product Manufacturer Has No Duty Of Care To Unforeseeable Product User In Oklahoma
Posted on Feb 4, 2015 in Energy/Environmental, Product Liability | Comments Off on Hazardous Product Manufacturer Has No Duty Of Care To Unforeseeable Product User In Oklahoma
The manufacturer of a fast dry acrylic lacquer thinner for application in the painting of vehicles was sued in Oklahoma after an individual who had acquired a secondhand barrel containing the substance was killed when he was using a plasma cutter to cut off the barrel’s lid. The manufacturer includes on each barrel sold a warning label that reads “FOR PROFESSIONAL USE...
Recent Decision Raises Many Questions About Privilege Of Internal Investigations
Posted on Jan 26, 2015 in Energy/Environmental, Investigations, OSHA, Process Safety | Comments Off on Recent Decision Raises Many Questions About Privilege Of Internal Investigations
Before your company launches its next internal investigation, it would be wise to consider a recent opinion from a federal magistrate judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, which if stands, elevates the bar for making sure that the documents created in an internal investigation can be protected from discovery in litigation. The court, applying federal...
Speculation Of Future Property Damage From Pipeline Leaks Not Enough For Missouri Plaintiffs
Posted on Jan 6, 2015 in Energy/Environmental, Product Liability | Comments Off on Speculation Of Future Property Damage From Pipeline Leaks Not Enough For Missouri Plaintiffs
A group of Missouri plaintiffs brought a putative class action seeking recovery for alleged property damages incurred as a result of several defendants’ ownership, maintenance, and control of a pipeline. The pipeline carried petroleum from 1952 to 1990. In 1994, the pipeline was sold to another company. As part of the sale, a document prepared by the selling company was...
“Any Exposure” Asbestos Theory Rejected By Illinois Federal Court
Posted on Jan 4, 2015 in Energy/Environmental, Investigations, Product Liability | Comments Off on “Any Exposure” Asbestos Theory Rejected By Illinois Federal Court
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois will exclude the opinions of two proffered experts who were going to testify to the “Any Exposure” theory of asbestos exposure in a personal injury case. That theory posits that any exposure to asbestos fibers at all constitutes an underlying cause of injury to the individual exposed. In excluding the...
Mother’s Case Challenging Son’s Settlement Following Workplace Injury Not Barred By Res Judicata
Posted on Jan 3, 2015 in Energy/Environmental, Product Liability, Workplace Safety | Comments Off on Mother’s Case Challenging Son’s Settlement Following Workplace Injury Not Barred By Res Judicata
In a case evaluating whether a seaman’s second personal injury suit against a barge owner was precluded on the grounds of res judicata, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana held that the suit was not precluded where the plaintiff in the second suit attacked the validity of the settlement in the first suit. The court explained that such attacks create an issue...
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