Akers v. Quality Carriers, Inc.

• Decision Date: 07 February 2022
• Docket Number: Civil Action 2:21-cv-00660
• Parties: RUSSELL R. AKERS, Plaintiff, v. QUALITY CARRIERS, INC., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of West Virginia

RUSSELL R. AKERS, Plaintiff,
v.
QUALITY CARRIERS, INC., Defendant.

Civil Action No. 2:21-cv-00660

United States District Court, S.D. West Virginia, Charleston Division

February 7, 2022

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

IRENE C. BERGER UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

The Court has reviewed the Complaint (Document 1-1), the Defendant's Motion to Dismiss (Document 3), and the Memorandum in Support of Motion to Dismiss (Document 4).^[1] For the reasons stated herein, the Court finds that the Motion to Dismiss should be granted, and the Complaint should be dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

The Plaintiff, Russell R. Akers, brings this action against the Defendant, Quality Carriers, Inc., alleging the latent manifestation of pancreatic cancer caused by exposure to unidentified chemicals during the course of his employment for the Defendant's predecessors in interest. From January 1977 until 1985, Mr. Akers was employed by Union Carbide Corporation. At that point, operation of Union Carbide Corporation was transferred to Chemical Leaman Tank Lines, Inc., now known as Quality Carriers, Inc. Mr. Akers continued his employment with Chemical Leaman Tank Lines, Inc. from 1985 until 1991.

1

As a tank cleaner, Mr. Akers primarily was responsible for the “flushing out and removal of chemical components from rail tank cars” at a worksite operated by his employer. (Compl. § II) (Document 1-1.) The Defendant's predecessor allegedly “maintained a hazardous workplace which on a daily basis endangered the health and wellbeing of the Plaintiff and all of his co-workers.” (Compl. § III.) Additionally, “no protective gear in the form of hazmat suit or the like was provided to protect the Plaintiff and others against the exposure to such hazardous chemicals and to the potential adverse health effects resulting therefrom.” (Compl. § IV.)

After consultation with several medical professionals and health care providers, the Plaintiff was ultimately diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on November 20, 2019. His doctor, Dr. Muhammad Omer Jamil, “confirmed to the Plaintiff that the probable cause of the pancreatic cancer was…Plaintiff's prior exposure to one or more chemicals to which the Plaintiff and others were regularly and repeatedly exposed.” (Compl. § VII.) The Plaintiff alleges that his treatment is ongoing, and he has incurred hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills. He asserts that his pain, suffering and distress is “directly attributable to the gross negligence of his predecessor employer, Union Carbide Corporation, whose conduct rises to the threshold of a ‘Manolis' standard of tortious conduct.” (Compl. Prayer)

STANDARD OF REVIEW

A motion to dismiss filed pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted tests the legal sufficiency of a complaint or pleading. Francis v. Giacomelli, 588 F.3d 186, 192 (4th Cir. 2009); Giarratano v. Johnson, 521 F.3d 298, 302 (4th Cir. 2008). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires that a pleading contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.”

2

Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Additionally, allegations “must be simple, concise, and direct.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(d)(1). “[T]he pleading standard Rule 8 announces does not require ‘detailed factual allegations,' but it demands more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). In other words, “a complaint must contain “more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. Moreover, “a complaint [will not] suffice if it tenders naked assertions devoid of further factual enhancements.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557) (internal quotation marks omitted).

The Court must “accept as true all of the factual allegations contained in the complaint.” Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 93 (2007). The Court must also “draw[ ] all reasonable factual inferences from those facts in the plaintiff's favor.” Edwards v. City of Goldsboro, 178 F.3d 231, 244 (4th Cir. 1999). However, statements of bare legal conclusions “are not entitled to the assumption of truth” and are insufficient to state a claim. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679. Furthermore, the court need not “accept as true unwarranted inferences, unreasonable conclusions, or arguments.” E. Shore Mkts., v. J.D. Assocs. Ltd. P'ship, 213 F.3d 175, 180 (4th Cir. 2000)...