Placeholder canvas
Date: May 11, 2015

Foley & Mansfield Granted Summary Judgment in Minnesota Asbestos Claim

by foleyandmansfield
Date: May 11, 2015
by foleyandmansfield

Foley & Mansfield Granted Summary Judgment in Minnesota Asbestos Claim

Placeholder canvas

Just a few days before trial was set to begin, the Ramsey County District Court granted Foley & Mansfield client Saint-Gobain Abrasives, Inc.’s summary judgment motion, dismissing all claims against the company in the asbestos-related lawsuit.

Plaintiff sued several defendants, including Saint-Gobain (formerly known as Norton Company), alleging that he developed mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos while working at machine shops for a short time in the early 1970s.

Ruling in favor of Saint-Gobain, the Court found the evidence supported Saint-Gobain’s defense that it was physically impossible for plaintiff to have used a Saint-Gobain asbestos-containing grinding wheel. The Court held that even viewing the facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff,  a jury could not conclude that the plaintiff used an asbestos-containing Saint-Gobain product without resorting to speculation, and dismissed the claims against Saint-Gobain. 

Foley & Mansfield attorney Joanna M. Salmen represented the defendant in this matter.

Joanna Salmen

Amended FRE 702 Creates Path for Expert Challenges in Talc Litigation

A recent update to the federal rules governing the use of expert testimony/evidence in federal court will widely impact how scientific and medical evidence is presented to juries in federal matters, including talcum powder litigation. With the change to Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence (“FRE 702”), defendants […]

LEARN MORE

Summarizing “ILR Briefly: The Asbestos Over-Naming and Trust Transparency Problem: A Philadelphia Case Study”

Introduction Asbestos litigation has become a cornerstone of the American legal landscape, spanning over four decades, and involving more than a million individual personal injury claims across state and federal courts. In 2012, a commentary titled “The Philadelphia Story: Asbestos Litigation, Bankruptcy Trusts, and Changes in Exposure Allegations from 1991-2010” […]

LEARN MORE

Minnesota Legislature Seeks to Change Newly Effective Earned Safe and Sick Time Law

By now, employers should be familiar with and implementing (if applicable) Minnesota’s Earned Safe and Sick Time law (“ESST”) that took effect on January 1, 2024. ESST is paid leave that an employee may use when they or a family member are sick, need to see a doctor or medical […]

LEARN MORE