Contractual Liability Limitation Upheld in Suit Brought Against Escalator Maintenance Company Following Malfunction After NHL Game
Posted on Apr 10, 2014 in Litigation, Product Liability | Comments Off on Contractual Liability Limitation Upheld in Suit Brought Against Escalator Maintenance Company Following Malfunction After NHL Game
In 2009, following a St. Louis Blues hockey game, an escalator malfunctioned by running out of control and crashing, causing injuries to multiple sports fans and damage to the escalator. Among the lawsuits that followed, the arena owner sued the company that performed maintenance on the escalator two months before the incident. The maintenance company filed a motion to dismiss certain...
Court Holds Federal Railroad Safety Act Does Not Affect Federal Venue Statute
Posted on Apr 8, 2014 in Litigation, Transportation | Comments Off on Court Holds Federal Railroad Safety Act Does Not Affect Federal Venue Statute
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania held that the Federal Railroad Safety Act, which briefly discusses venue at § 49 U.S.C. 20109(d)(2)(A)(iii) and § 49 U.S.C. 20109(d)(3), “does not supplant the general venue guidelines set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b). The court rejected an argument that the Railroad Safety Act required venue to lie in only one...
“Paymaster” May Not Be Considered Rig Worker’s Employer In Context Of Vicarious Liability For Negligence Under General Maritime Law
Posted on Apr 3, 2014 in Energy/Environmental, Litigation, OSHA, Workplace Safety | Comments Off on “Paymaster” May Not Be Considered Rig Worker’s Employer In Context Of Vicarious Liability For Negligence Under General Maritime Law
Confronted with an issue of first impression in the Fifth Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana concluded that where a company serves only as a “paymaster,” that company cannot be considered a rig worker’s employer in the context of vicarious liability for negligence under general maritime law. The court granted summary judgment to the company serving...
District Courts Increasingly Reluctant To Grant Summary Judgment on Borrowed Servant Doctrine
Posted on Apr 1, 2014 in Energy/Environmental, Litigation, Workplace Safety | Comments Off on District Courts Increasingly Reluctant To Grant Summary Judgment on Borrowed Servant Doctrine
Seven miles off the coast of Mobile, Alabama, a worker was injured when he fell from a pipe onto a natural gas platform while attempting to re-bolt a flange that was leaking flammable gas. Following the incident, the worker filed for and received workers’ compensation benefits under the Longshoreman and Harbor Worker Compensation Act. Employed by a services company, the worker...
Florida Court Concludes Claims Arising from Nigerian Plane Crash Brought by Estates of U.S. Citizens or Residents Can Be Heard in United States
Posted on Mar 31, 2014 in Litigation, Transportation | Comments Off on Florida Court Concludes Claims Arising from Nigerian Plane Crash Brought by Estates of U.S. Citizens or Residents Can Be Heard in United States
In June 2012, a plane carrying 153 people, including several Americans, crashed on approach to a Nigerian airport. The flight was domestic to Nigeria, traveling from Abuja to Lagos, Nigeria. Mass-tort lawsuits were filed in the United States, both by the estates of individuals who were citizens or residents of Nigeria (or other foreign countries) and by the estates of individuals who...
Sixth Circuit Reverses District Judge’s Grant of Summary Judgment for Paper Mill for Jury To Determine Whether Certain Work Is the Kind Its Employees Would Perform
Posted on Mar 28, 2014 in Litigation | Comments Off on Sixth Circuit Reverses District Judge’s Grant of Summary Judgment for Paper Mill for Jury To Determine Whether Certain Work Is the Kind Its Employees Would Perform
The estate of an employee of a crane manufacturing and service company who was fatally electrocuted filed a wrongful death action against the paper mill where the worker was performing electrical work on a crane at the time of the injury. The district court granted summary judgment to the paper mill on the basis that it was entitled to “up-the-ladder” immunity under Kentucky’s...
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