Products Liability Law Reporter
Decisions: Industrial Products
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Reasonable juror could determine mesothelioma resulted from asbestos exposure related to defendant’s products
October 8, 2024A New York trial court held that an asbestos defendant failed to establish that the plaintiff’s alleged exposure to its asbestos-containing products could not have contributed to the plaintiff’s illness.
Steven Bruce Brulport worked at MacWhyte Wire Rope, a wire cable manufacturer. From 1976 to 1984, he worked as a gear changer, plumber, and pipefitter, and his work allegedly involved removal and replacement of asbestos-containing pump gaskets and packing. He developed mesothelioma and sued multiple defendants, including Milton Roy, LLC. Milton Roy moved to dismiss on the grounds that the plaintiff could not establish exposure to asbestos from any Milton Roy product. The defendant offered the affidavit of its corporate representative and argued that no Milton Roy pumps were sold to MacWhyte between 1976 and 1984 or before 1976.
Denying the motion, the trial court found that the proponent of a summary judgment motion must make a prima facie showing of entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, offering sufficient evidence to eliminate any material issues of fact from the case. The court found that the defendant had failed to meet this burden in that it had failed to affirmatively establish that the plaintiff’s alleged exposure to asbestos from Milton Roy pumps could not have contributed to his illness. In contrast, the court found, the plaintiff provided unequivocal testimony identifying Milton Roy products as the source of his asbestos exposure, and the defendant’s historical manual confirmed the presence and circulation of the company’s asbestos-containing products.
Thus, the court concluded that the defendant had failed to establish that its products could not have contributed to causing the plaintiff’s injury, and a reasonable juror could find that asbestos exposure from Milton Roy pumps was a contributing cause of the plaintiff’s mesothelioma.
Citation: Brulport v. A.W. Chesterton Co., 2024 WL 3967543 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. New York Cnty. Aug. 27, 2024).
Plaintiff counsel: AAJ member John B. Wetmore Jr., New York City.
