Federal Court Rejects Argument That New York MTBE Case Created New Standard Of Causation
Posted on Aug 6, 2014
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment to an American chemical company on claims by a group of Indian plaintiffs for property damage incurred by hazardous chemicals originating from a chemical manufacturing facility in Bhopal, India from 1969 to 1984. The American company was then the majority owner of the Indian company that owned the facility. In 2012, the same court granted summary judgment to the American company on the class’s personal injury claims following a catastrophic 1984 gas leak. The Second Circuit affirmed that grant of...
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Sixth Circuit Finds ALJ Applied Incorrect Standard In Black Lung Case
Posted on Aug 5, 2014
The Sixth Circuit vacated an ALJ’s award of benefits and remanded a black lung case to the Benefits Review Board. The court held that substantial evidence supported the Benefits Review Board’s ALJ’s determination that a miner’s chronic obstructive pulmonary disease arose at least in part out of coal mining employment. However, the court found a remand necessary given that the ALJ failed to apply the correct standard in determining that the claimant’s total disability was due to pneumoconiosis. Under the Black Lung Benefits Act, a miner must show that his pneumoconiosis was “a substantially...
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No Duty To Warn Worker’s Wife Allegedly Exposed To Asbestos Under Oklahoma Products Liability Law
Posted on Aug 5, 2014
The estate for the wife of a factory worker brought suit contending that the clothing she laundered for her husband was contaminated with asbestos and caused her mesothelioma. The estate sued multiple parties including the company that manufactured the boilers allegedly present at one or more of the factories where the husband worked. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma granted summary judgment to the defendants, relying heavily on the Tenth Circuit’s previous decision in Rohrbaugh v. Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corp., 965 F.2d 844 (10th Cir. 1992), which found: “Under...
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Texas Federal Court Sorts Through Expert Challenges In Insurance Coverage Dispute For Well Blowout
Posted on Aug 5, 2014
Following an oil well blowout in Reeves County, Texas in September 2011, the operator sought insurance coverage under a policy providing protection against well blowouts and reimbursement for costs and expenses reasonably incurred in bringing the well under control. When the operator filed its insurance claim for the expenses related to the clean-up and the re-drilling of a replacement well, the insurer denied the claim based on the operator’s alleged engineering decision to exceed the maximum safe fracturing pressure for a string of casing that broke apart and caused the blowout. The...
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Second Circuit Finds State Insurance Laws Prohibiting Insurer From Seeking Reimbursement For Medical Benefits Paid In Tort Settlements Not Preempted By ERISA
Posted on Aug 4, 2014
The Second Circuit held that ERISA does not preempt claims against defendant-insurers under a New York state law prohibiting insurers from seeking reimbursement of medical benefits paid in tort settlements. The opinion reversed the district court’s ruling and resulted in the revival of a New York state class action. Specifically, N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 5-335 provides that a personal injury settlement presumptively “does not include any compensation for the cost of health care services” or other losses that “are obligated to be paid or reimbursed by a benefit provider” (such as an insurer),...
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Sixth Circuit Reverses District Court’s Exclusion Of Plaintiff’s Expert Witness Testimony That Contradicted Plaintiff’s Own Testimony In Gun Case
Posted on Aug 1, 2014
A plaintiff initiated a product liability suit after he was seriously injured when a revolver made by the defendant gun manufacturer discharged improperly. The plaintiff offered only one expert witness, who concluded that the gun’s cylinder was not closed and locked when fired as a result of manufacturing and design defects. The expert specifically opined that when the plaintiff attempted to shoot his gun, the cylinder failed to fully close and that because the plaintiff was able to push on the gun’s thumb latch and therefore was able to cock and fire the gun despite the cylinder not being...
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OSHA Issues Investigation Report From Collapse Of Nebraska Feed Manufacturer’s Facility
Posted on Jul 30, 2014
OSHA issued its findings from an investigation into a large storage building collapse owned by a Nebraska livestock microfeed manufacturer that caused two worker fatalities and nine other injuries in January. OSHA cited the facility owner with one willful, one repeat, and eleven additional safety violations for failing to protect workers from hazards associated with the structural collapse allegedly caused by the overloading of storage bins with excess limestone. The bins collapsed the roof and fell three floors. OSHA has proposed penalties of $120,560 and placed the company in the Severe...
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