Lindstrom v. A-C Product Liability Trust, 04-3751.

Citation424 F.3d 488
Decision Date28 September 2005
Docket NumberNo. 04-3751.,04-3751.
PartiesRolf L. LINDSTROM, Plaintiff, Willard E. Bartel and David C. Peebles, administrators of the estate of Rolf L. Lindstrom, deceased, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. A-C PRODUCT LIABILITY TRUST, et al., Defendants, A.W. Chesterton, Coffin Turbo Pump, Inc., Ingersoll-Rand Company, Walworth Company, the Anchor Packing Company, Coltec Industries, Garlock Sealing Technologies, LLC, Goulds Pumps, Inc., Henry Vogt Machine Co., and John Crane, Inc., Defendants-Appellees.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (6th Circuit)

ARGUED: John C. Cardello, Jacques Admiralty Law Firm, P.C., Detroit, Michigan, for Appellants. George F. Fitzpatrick, Jr., Swanson, Martin & Bell, Chicago, Illinois, Matthew C. O'Connell, Sutter, O'Connell, Mannion & Farchione, Cleveland, Ohio, Holly N. Olarczuk-Smith, Eric Mann, Gallagher, Sharp, Fulton & Norman, Cleveland, Ohio, William F. Scully, Jr., Williams, Sennett & Scully Co., Cleveland, Ohio, Stephen H. Daniels, McMahon, DeGulis, Hoffman & Lombardi, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellees.

ON BRIEF: John C. Cardello, Donald A. Krispin, Jacques Admiralty Law Firm, P.C., Detroit, Michigan, for Appellants. George F. Fitzpatrick, Jr., Swanson, Martin & Bell, Chicago, Illinois, Matthew C. O'Connell, Sutter, O'Connell, Mannion & Farchione, Cleveland, Ohio, Holly N. Olarczuk-Smith, Eric Mann, Monica A. Sansalone, Gallagher, Sharp, Fulton & Norman, Cleveland, Ohio, Stephen H. Daniels, Evan J. Palik, McMahon, DeGulis, Hoffman & Lombardi, Cleveland, Ohio, William F. Scully, Jr., Williams, Sennett & Scully Co., Cleveland, Ohio, Michael A. Pollard, Baker & McKenzie, Chicago, Illinois, Stephanie P. Manson, Walter J. Andrews, Paul E. Janaskie, Hunton & Williams, McLean, Virginia, for Appellees.

Before: SILER and GIBBONS, Circuit Judges; LAWSON, District Judge.*

OPINION

GIBBONS, Circuit Judge.

Rolf L. Lindstrom, a merchant seaman, brought suit against numerous defendants seeking compensation for his mesothelioma, a disease he claims was caused by exposure to asbestos released from products manufactured by defendants-appellees. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of defendants-appellees Ingersoll Rand Company, Coffin Turbo Pump, Inc., Garlock Sealing Technologies, LLC, Henry Vogt Machine Company, and Goulds Pumps, Inc., but denied John Crane, Inc.'s summary judgment motion. Following a bench trial, the district court entered a verdict in favor of John Crane, Inc. Willard E. Bartel and David C. Peebles, administrators of Lindstrom's estate, now appeal.

For the following reasons, we affirm the decision of the district court with respect to all of the defendants.

I.

Lindstrom was employed from 1963 until 1994 as a merchant seaman. He worked in the engine department as a licensed engineer aboard numerous vessels during this time. In his work, Lindstrom was allegedly exposed to many pieces of equipment that contained asbestos. Lindstrom was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma of the peritoneum in October 1999 and died of this disease on June 15, 2003. Willard E. Bartel and David C. Peebles were appointed as administrators of Lindstrom's estate and were substituted as plaintiffs.

Lindstrom filed a complaint in the Northern District of Ohio in January of 2003 against various defendants seeking compensation for the mesothelioma, a condition which he asserts he developed as a result of exposure to asbestos contained in defendants-appellees' products. Lindstrom's complaint listed claims of negligence under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C. § 688 et seq., unseaworthiness under maritime law, and products liability claims of design and manufacturing defects. Only the products liability claims are at issue in this appeal.

The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Ingersoll Rand and Coffin Pump in an opinion dated May 2, 2003. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Garlock Sealing on May 7, 2003. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Goulds Pumps and Henry Vogt Machine Company, but denied John Crane, Inc.'s motion for summary judgment in an opinion dated May 19, 2003. Lindstrom's claim against John Crane, Inc. proceeded to a bench trial which took place from February 18 through February 27, 2004. On May 3, 2004, the district court entered a verdict in favor of John Crane, Inc. Bartel and Peebles filed a notice of appeal from the district court's orders with respect to the above six defendants-appellees on May 27, 2004.

II.

We review a district court's grant of summary judgment de novo. Golden v. City of Columbus, 404 F.3d 950, 954 (6th Cir.2005). Summary judgment is appropriate where "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). We must review the evidence and draw all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).

On an appeal from a judgment entered after a bench trial, we review the district court's findings of fact for clear error and its conclusions of law de novo. Pressman v. Franklin Nat'l Bank, 384 F.3d 182, 185 (6th Cir.2004). When the factual findings involve credibility determinations, we afford great deference to the district court's factual findings. Schroyer v. Frankel, 197 F.3d 1170, 1173 (6th Cir.1999).

Plaintiffs in products liability cases under maritime law may proceed under both negligence and strict liability theories. Under either theory, a plaintiff must establish causation. Stark v. Armstrong World Indus., Inc., 21 Fed.Appx. 371, 375 (6th Cir.2001). We have required that a plaintiff show, for each defendant, that (1) he was exposed to the defendant's product, and (2) the product was a substantial factor in causing the injury he suffered. Id. In addition, we have permitted evidence of substantial exposure for a substantial period of time to provide a basis for the inference that the product was a substantial factor in causing the injury. Id. at 376. "Minimal exposure" to a defendant's product is insufficient. Id. Likewise, a mere showing that defendant's product was present somewhere at plaintiff's place of work is insufficient. Id. Rather, where a plaintiff relies on proof of exposure to establish that a product was a substantial factor in causing injury, the plaintiff must show "`a high enough level of exposure that an inference that the asbestos was a substantial factor in the injury is more than conjectural.'" Id. (quoting Harbour v. Armstrong World Indus., Inc., No. 90-1414, 1991 WL 65201, at * 4 (6th Cir. April 25, 1991)). In other words, proof of substantial exposure is required for a finding that a product was a substantial factor in causing injury.

Plaintiffs-appellants urge this court to reject the Stark approach to causation proof. We decline their invitation. The Stark reasoning permits a plaintiff, faced with a difficult task of establishing causation, to meet his burden through proof of substantial exposure and has proved workable in maritime asbestos products liability cases.

The plaintiffs-appellants also argue that the district court erred in its application of Stark. Plaintiffs-appellants argue that Stark stands for the proposition that in order to "withstand a motion for summary judgment, evidence of substantial asbestos exposure for a substantial period of time is required only if the evidence is entirely circumstantial." Because plaintiffs-appellants submitted an affidavit from an expert witness, plaintiffs-appellants maintain that their causation proof is not entirely circumstantial and that the above standard does not apply. See id. at 380 ("Had Stark presented expert testimony ..., summary judgment might well have been improper ....").

While plaintiffs-appellants are correct that causation may also be established through direct evidence that a product to which a worker has been exposed is a substantial factor in causing injury, they are incorrect in their assertion that their affidavit enables them to survive summary judgment. The affidavit in question was prepared by Joseph Corson, M.D. With regard to the issue of whether defendants-appellees' products were a "substantial factor" in Lindstrom's mesothelioma, Corson's affidavit stated: "Each of Mr. Lindstrom's occupational exposures to asbestos aboard ship to a reasonable degree of medical certainty were [sic] a substantial contributing factor to his development of mesothelioma. The medical and scientific community cannot exclude any specific asbestos exposure as to Mr. Lindstrom's mesothelioma." After reviewing this affidavit in considering the summary judgment motions of Ingersoll Rand and Coffin Turbo Pump, the district court stated:

Dr. Corson does not specifically reference the product of any particular Defendant. Rather, he opines that there is no safe level of asbestos exposure, and that every exposure to asbestos, however slight, was a substantial factor in causing Lindstrom's disease. If an opinion such as Dr. Corson's would be sufficient for plaintiff to meet his burden, the Sixth Circuit's "substantial factor" test would be meaningless. Accordingly, Dr. Corson's opinion is insufficient as a matter of law to get Lindstrom past summary judgment.

The district court correctly found the affidavit, which sought to base causation on any hypothetical exposure, however slight, to be insufficient to allow plaintiffs-appellants to avoid summary judgment in favor of Ingersoll Rand and Coffin Turbo Pump.1 The affidavit does not reference any specific defendant or product, but rather states in a conclusory fashion that every exposure to asbestos was a substantial factor in Lindstrom's illness. The requirement, however, is...

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