Serrano-Perez v. FMC Corp.
| Decision Date | 08 January 1993 |
| Docket Number | No. 92-2060,SERRANO-PEREZ and L,92-2060 |
| Citation | 985 F.2d 625 |
| Parties | , Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 13,560 Alfonsouz de Diego-Rios, Plaintiffs, Appellants, v. FMC CORPORATION, Monsanto Company, and ICI Americas, Inc., Defendants, Appellees. . Heard |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — First Circuit |
Raymond Rivera-Esteves, with whom Juan A. Hernandez-Rivera was on brief, for plaintiffs, appellants.
Jorge Luis-Cordova, with whom Rivera, Tulla & Ferrer was on brief, for ICI Americas, Inc., defendants, appellees.
Before BREYER, Chief Judge, CAMPBELL, Senior Circuit Judge, and BOWNES, Senior Circuit Judge.
Plaintiffs-appellants raise two issues on appeal: (1) whether the district court properly granted summary judgment for defendant-appellee because of lack of evidence of causation; and (2) whether the district court abused its discretion in denying plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration of the summary judgment. We affirm the district court on both issues.
On November 14, 1990, the plaintiffs, father and mother of Carlos Serrano de Diego, filed a complaint against defendant-appellee, ICI Americas, Inc., ("ICI") and others. There has been no appeal as to the other defendants. The complaint states that it is "based on negligence in failure to adequately warn and strict liability." It alleges that plaintiffs' son, Carlos, was a farm worker for ten years and as such was required to come into contact with "chemicals and/or agricultural products" manufactured by the defendants. The complaint states that the chemicals and/or agricultural products with which Carlos Serrano came in contact "are unknown at this time." The complaint alleges that as a result of coming in contact with the chemicals and agricultural products manufactured by defendants, Carlos Serrano developed "an aplastic anemia that culminated in his death" on January 4, 1990. Damages of three million dollars were sought.
In its answer, ICI admitted that it manufactures and sells agricultural chemical products and conducted business in Puerto Rico. It specified that it manufactured and sold agricultural products under the trade name Gramaxone from 1985 to 1987.
On August 2, 1991, the district court ordered that discovery be concluded by December 31, 1991. A deadline was set for the disclosure of expert witnesses. On September 26, 1991, all parties brought a joint motion requesting an extension of the discovery cut-off date to March 31, 1992. The court responded in October of 1991 by granting a discovery extension to February 5, 1992. Trial was set for May 11, 1992.
On April 28, 1992, the court granted defendants' motions for summary judgment. On May 13 plaintiffs filed a motion for reconsideration of the summary judgment; it was denied on August 4, 1992.
We review a summary judgment de novo. We read the record and all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. E.H. Ashley & Co. v. Wells Fargo Alarm Services, 907 F.2d 1274, 1277 (1st Cir.1990). Summary judgment is mandated "if 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). "[S]ummary judgment will not lie if the dispute about a material fact is 'genuine,' that is, if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Under Rule 56(e):
... When a motion for summary judgment is made and supported as provided in this rule, an adverse party may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of the adverse party's pleading, but the adverse party's response, by affidavits or as otherwise provided in this rule, must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. If the adverse party does not so respond, summary judgment, if appropriate, shall be entered against the adverse party.
"The mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the plaintiff's position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the plaintiff." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. at 2512.
... In our view, the plain language of Rule 56(e) mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial.
Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).
In its opinion and order granting summary judgment for the defendants the court noted that defendants presented the testimony of six expert witnesses to the effect that there was no causal connection between any of defendants' pesticides and aplastic anemia. Defendants also submitted medical literature to the court showing that there was no causal link between aplastic anemia and defendants' pesticides. The court further found that plaintiffs had not presented any expert testimony indicating that defendants' pesticides caused aplastic anemia.
We have scoured the record thoroughly, including statements in Carlos Serrano's hospital records that were excluded by the district court, and have found nothing that would engender a genuine issue of material fact. 1 There was no expert testimony or medical literature offered by plaintiffs tending to establish a causal link between defendants' pesticides and aplastic anemia. It is true that the excluded hospital records indicated a link between pesticides and Carlos Serrano's illness. But there was no evidence that any of the pesticides manufactured by the defendants could have caused aplastic anemia. More to the point, there was no evidence offered by plaintiffs implicating Gramaxone, which was manufactured by the sole remaining defendant--ICI Americas, Inc.--as a causative agent of aplastic anemia. The district court concluded its summary judgment order as follows:
Plaintiffs in this case have offered no evidence, no expert testimony, and no epidemiological data that would prove that defendants' insecticides caused Serrano's aplastic anemia. Nor have they submitted evidence that defendants' insecticides can cause aplastic anemia at all. Plaintiffs have failed to set forth any specific facts that show a genuine triable issue as to the causation of Serrano's illness.
After reviewing the record carefully in the light most favorable to plaintiffs-appellants, we are constrained to agree. The summary judgment is affirmed.
In denying plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration of the summary judgment, the district court stated:
On April 28, 1992, the Court granted defendants' motions for summary judgment on the grounds that plaintiffs had failed to present evidence that defendants' insecticides caused the decedent's aplastic anemia. Plaintiffs now move for reconsideration on the grounds that they have obtained the services of an expert who has stated that there may be a link between defendants' products and aplastic anemia.
This case was filed in November 1990. In October of 1991, the Court granted the parties until February 5, 1992 to conclude discovery. The defendants point out, and plaintiffs admit as much in their motion, that they were not noticed of this expert until April 24, 1992, more than two months after the discovery deadline. Discovery deadlines are necessary for the proper management of cases. See Thibeault v. Square D Co., 960 F.2d 239, 247 n. 7 (1st Cir.1992). Because plaintiffs' expert was secured after the discovery deadline, the Court denies the motion to reconsider based on their expert's testimony.
On appeal, plaintiffs claim that the district court abused its discretion in denying their motion. We disagree.
The district courts are necessarily afforded substantial discretion in ruling on motions for reconsideration. See Mackin v. City of Boston, 969 F.2d 1273, 1279 (1st Cir.1992), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 113 S.Ct. 1043, 122 L.Ed.2d 352 (1993); Weinberger v. Great Northern Nekoosa Corp., 925 F.2d 518, 528 (1st Cir.1991); see also Appeal of Sun Pipe Line Co., 831 F.2d 22, 25 (1st Cir.1987), cert. denied, 486 U.S. 1055, 108 S.Ct. 2821, 100 L.Ed.2d 922 (1988). Substantial discretion, though, does not mean unbridled discretion and a district court's decision to deny a motion to reconsider its judgment will be reviewed for abuse of discretion. United States v. Roberts, 978 F.2d 17, 20-21 (1st Cir.1992); Weinberger, 925 F.2d at 528; Sun Pipe, 831 F.2d at 25. In Roberts we reiterated how we determine whether there has been an abuse of discretion.
In making discretionary judgments, a district court abuses its discretion when a relevant factor deserving of significant weight is overlooked, or when an improper factor is accorded significant weight, or when the court considers the appropriate mix of factors,...
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