Crossland v. Huntington Ingalls, Inc.

• Docket Number: CIVIL ACTION NO. 20-3470
• Decision Date: 19 October 2022
• Citation: Crossland v. Huntington Ingalls, Inc., 635 F.Supp.3d 491 (E.D. La. 2022)
• Parties: Linda CROSSLAND v. HUNTINGTON INGALLS, INC., et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Louisiana

635 F.Supp.3d 491

Linda CROSSLAND v. HUNTINGTON INGALLS, INC., et al.

CIVIL ACTION NO. 20-3470

United States District Court, E.D. Louisiana

Signed October 19, 2022

Mickey P. Landry, Frank J. Swarr, Matthew C. Clark, Landry & Swarr, LLC, New Orleans, LA, Jefferson B. Goldman, Fishman Haygood LLP, New Orleans, LA, Philip C. Hoffman, Philip C. Hoffman, LLC, New Orleans, LA, for Linda Crossland.

Gustave A. Fritchie, III, Alexander R. Saunders, Alison A. Spindler, David Michael Melancon, Michael Scott Minyard, Michael Kevin Powell, Timothy Farrow Daniels, Connor Peth, Haley Zhu-Butler, Irwin Fritchie Urquhart & Moore, LLC, New Orleans, LA, Daphne M. Lancaster, Gordon Rees Skully Mansukhani, LLP, Metairie, LA, Matthew J. Averill, Morgan Law Group, Covington, LA, for Huntington Ingalls Incorporated.

Gustave A. Fritchie, III, David Michael Melancon, Michael Scott Minyard, Michael Kevin Powell, Timothy Farrow Daniels, Irwin Fritchie Urquhart & Moore, LLC, New Orleans, LA, Daphne M. Lancaster, Gordon Rees Skully Mansukhani, LLP, Metairie, LA, for Albert L. Bossier, Jr.

Samuel Milton Rosamond, III, Francis Christopher Cannone, Taylor, Wellons, Politz & Duhe APLC, New Orleans, LA, for Lamorak Insurance Company.

James R. Logan, IV, Logan Law Offices, LLC, New Orleans, LA, for Underwriters at Lloyds London.

John Joseph Hainkel, III, Angela M. Bowlin, Roth Martin Hainkel, Frilot L.L.C., New Orleans, LA, Christopher K. LeMieux, Donald C. Douglas, Jr., Riess LeMieux, LLC, New Orleans, LA, Lacey Moghis, Huber Thomas, New Orleans, LA, for Woodward Design & Build, LLC.

Tim D. Gray, Chelsea Gaudin Favret, McCann Elizabeth LeFeve, Melissa Desormeaux Fuller, Michael H. Abraham, Michelle Miller Roy, Peter Andersen Moir, Forman, Watkins & Krutz LLP, New Orleans, LA, for Chevron USA Inc.

Darryl J. Foster, David Edmund Redmann, Jr., Bradley, Murchison, Kelly & Shea, LLC, New Orleans, LA, for Pharmacia LLC.

Douglas R. Elliott, Margaret M. Joffe, Jamie Hebert Baglio, Etienne Francis Rene, Pugh, Accardo, Haas, Radecker & Carey, New Orleans, LA, Kenan Slade Rand, Jr., Shelley L. Thompson, Cosmich Simmons & Brown, PLLC, New Orleans, LA, for Anco Insulations Inc.

Kevin John Webb, Robin Commons Dunford, Litchfield Cavo LLP, Mandeville, LA, Pamela Gautier, Galloway Johnson Tompkins Burr & Smith, Mandeville, LA, for Burmaster Land and Development LLC.

John Joseph Hainkel, III, Angela M. Bowlin, James H. Brown, Jr., Kelly L. Long, Kelsey Eagan, Magali Ann Puente-Martin, Roth Martin Hainkel, Frilot L.L.C., New Orleans, LA, Lacey Moghis, Huber Thomas, New Orleans, LA, for CBS Corporation, General Electric Company, ViacomCBS Inc.

Susan Beth Kohn, Daniel J. Caruso, Douglas Kinler, Douglas Watson Redfearn, Simon, Peragine, Smith & Redfearn, LLP, New Orleans, LA, April Ann McQuillar, Louis Oliver Oubre, Courington, Kiefer, Sommers, Marullo & Matherne, LLC, New Orleans, LA, James R. Guidry, Lugenbuhl, Wheaton, Peck, Rankin, & Hubbard, New Orleans, LA, for Eagle Inc.

Kaye N. Courington, Blaine Augusta Moore, Brittney Bullock Ankersen, Jeffrey Matthew Burg, Mathilde Villere Semmes, Troy Nathan Bell, April Ann McQuillar, Courington, Kiefer, Sommers, Marullo & Matherne, LLC, New Orleans, LA, Connor Harris Fields, Jones Walker LLP, New Orleans, LA, for Hopeman Brothers Inc.

Susan Beth Kohn, Douglas Kinler, Simon, Peragine, Smith & Redfearn, LLP, New Orleans, LA, April Ann McQuillar, Louis Oliver Oubre, Courington, Kiefer, Sommers, Marullo & Matherne, LLC, New Orleans, LA, James R. Guidry, Lugenbuhl, Wheaton, Peck, Rankin, & Hubbard, New Orleans, LA, for McCarty Corporation.

Christopher Kelly Lightfoot, Edward J. Lassus, Jr., Gabriel J. Veninata, Hailey, McNamara, Hall, Larmann & Papale, LLP, Metairie, LA, for Taylor-Seidenbach, Inc.

Edward T. Hayes, Adam D. Whitworth, Lee M. LeBouef, Marc E. Devenport, McNeil James Kemmerly, Alexander B. Johnson, Leake & Andersson, LLP, New Orleans, LA, for Zurich American Insurance Company.

Charles Michael Pisano, Roedel, Parsons, Koch, Blache, Balhoff & McCollister, New Orleans, LA, Bradley Christopher Guin, Roedel Parsons Koch Blache Balhoff & McCollister, Baton Rouge, LA, Skye Sturlese Fantaci, Gauthier Murphy & Houghtaling LLC, Metairie, LA, for Employers Insurance Company of Wausau.

James M. Garner, Amanda Russo Schenck, Martha Y. Curtis, Sher Garner Cahill Richter Klein & Hilbert, LLC, New Orleans, LA, for Century Indemnity Company, Pacific Employers Insurance Company.

Kaye N. Courington, Blaine Augusta Moore, Brittney Bullock Ankersen, Jeffrey Matthew Burg, Mathilde Villere Semmes, Troy Nathan Bell, April Ann McQuillar, Courington, Kiefer, Sommers, Marullo & Matherne, LLC, New Orleans, LA, Connor Harris Fields, Jones Walker LLP, New Orleans, LA, H. Minor Pipes, III, Katherine Seegers Roth, Kelsey L. Meeks, Rachel S. Kellogg, Pipes Miles Beckman, LLC, New Orleans, LA, for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company.

Robert E. Dille, Rebecca Abbott Zotti, Richard Munice Crump, Brian C. Ebarb, Nicholas G. Grest, Maron Marvel Bradley Anderson & Tardy LLC, New Orleans, LA, for BP Products North America, Inc.

Kevin John Webb, Robin Commons Dunford, Litchfield Cavo LLP, Mandeville, LA, for Burmaster Land & Development Co., LLC.

SECTION "R" (2)

ORDER AND REASONS

SARAH S. VANCE, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Before the Court is plaintiff Linda Crossland's motion for partial summary judgment as to the government immunity defenses advanced by defendants Huntington Ingalls Incorporated ("Avondale") and Hopeman Brothers, Inc. ("Hopeman").¹ Avondale and Hopeman oppose plaintiff's motion.² For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS plaintiff's motion.

I. BACKGROUND

This case arises from plaintiff's alleged exposure to asbestos. Plaintiff contends that her husband, who constructed and repaired various vessels at Avondale's shipyards in the early 1970s, unwittingly brought asbestos dust into the family home on his clothing.³ She alleges that her exposure to asbestos dust caused her to develop mesothelioma, with which she was diagnosed in 2020.⁴

Plaintiff filed a petition for damages in the Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans against dozens of employers, premises owners, contractors, suppliers, manufacturers, and professional vendors that were allegedly involved with her asbestos exposures, including Avondale and Hopeman, a joiner responsible for installing asbestos-containing bulkheads on vessels on which plaintiff's husband allegedly worked.⁵ In her petition for damages, plaintiff alleged that defendants negligently failed to warn her husband about the hazards of asbestos and failed to provide him "with safe premises in order to protect [plaintiff's] life, health, safety, and welfare."⁶ She also brought premises liability claims against the defendants she classifies as employers, premises owners, and contractors,⁷ as well as products liability claims against the defendants she classifies as suppliers, manufacturers, and professional vendors.⁸

Avondale removed the action to federal court.⁹ In its notice of removal, Avondale contended that removal was proper because "at all material times, [it was] acting under an officer of the United States."¹⁰ In particular, Avondale argued that because the vessels on which plaintiff's husband worked were manufactured pursuant to contracts with the federal government, it was entitled to "government contractor immunity established by Boyle v. United Techs. Corp., 487 U.S. 500, 108 S.Ct. 2510, 101 L.Ed.2d 442 (1988)," and "the federal defense of derivative sovereign immunity as set forth in Yearsley v. W.A. Ross Construction Co., 309 U.S. 18, 60 S.Ct. 413, 84 L.Ed. 554 (1940)."¹¹ In its answer, Hopeman likewise alleged that plaintiff's claims are "barred by the government contractor defense."¹²

In the instant motion, plaintiff argues that she is entitled to summary judgment on the issue of whether defendants are entitled to immunity for her claims for failure to warn or otherwise protect her husband from asbestos exposure by virtue of their status as government contractors.¹³

Avondale and Hopeman oppose the motion. They contend that they are entitled to immunity under both Boyle and Yearsley and that, at a minimum, material facts exist as to whether the elements of their immunity defenses are satisfied, which precludes a grant of summary judgment for plaintiff.¹⁴

The Court considers the parties' arguments below.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

Summary judgment is warranted when "the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Little v. Liquid Air Corp., 37 F.3d 1069, 1075 (5th Cir. 1994) (en banc) (per curiam). "When assessing whether a dispute to any material fact exists, [the Court] consider[s] all of the evidence in the record but refrain[s] from making credibility determinations or weighing the evidence." Delta & Pine Land Co. v. Nationwide Agribusiness Ins., 530 F.3d 395, 398-99 (5th Cir. 2008). All reasonable inferences are drawn in favor of the nonmoving party, but "unsupported allegations or affidavits setting forth 'ultimate or conclusory facts and conclusions of law' are insufficient to either support or defeat a motion for summary judgment." Galindo v. Precision Am. Corp., 754 F.2d 1212, 1216 (5th Cir. 1985) (quoting 10A Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2738 (2d ed. 1983)); see also Little, 37 F.3d at 1075. "No genuine dispute of fact exists if the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party." EEOC v. Simbaki, Ltd., 767 F.3d 475, 481 (5th Cir. 2014).

If the dispositive issue is one on which the moving party will bear the burden of proof at trial, the moving party "must come forward with evidence which would 'entitle it to a directed verdict if the evidence went uncontroverted at trial.' " Int'l Shortstop, Inc. v. Rally's, Inc., 939...