U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio: Asbestos Cases

Our case-law library holds 24 asbestos decisions from the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio (1990–2023). Each links to our summary and the full opinion.

• Kind of court: Federal district court

Decisions

• Keiser v. Donald Mckay Smith, Inc. (2023). The court granted plaintiff Carolyn Keiser's motion to remand to the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, finding Vanderbilt Minerals had not shown that the non-diverse defendants were fraudulently joined, and denied as moot the other pending motion.
• Parker Hannifin Corp. v. Standard Motor Products, Inc. (2023). The court granted Parker Hannifin's summary judgment motion and denied Standard Motor's, ruling that Standard Motor must indemnify Parker for the $6 million punitive award (with interest, $7,218,085.44) from the Barr asbestos verdict, plus attorney's fees and costs.
• Kallsen v. AW Chesterton Company (2021). The district court denied the Kallsens' motion to remand, holding that Westinghouse (ViacomCBS) timely removed the case to federal court, so the case stays in federal court.
• Parker Hannifin Corp. v. Standard Motor Products, Inc. (2020). The court denied Standard Motor Products' motion to certify its earlier order for interlocutory appeal and to stay proceedings, leaving Parker Hannifin's contract claims to continue in district court.
• RW Beckett Corp. v. Allianz Global Corp. (2020). The court denied Fireman's Fund Insurance Company's motion to certify questions to the Ohio Supreme Court and denied its motion for summary judgment on the pollution exclusion, settlement credits, contribution and bad faith, so R.W. Beckett Corp. prevailed at this stage.
• Brucker v. CBS Corporation (2019). The district court granted Crane Co.'s motion for summary judgment on the maritime strict liability and negligence claims because plaintiff Christine Brucker could not show that Harold Brucker was exposed to Crane's asbestos-containing products.
• MacLachlan v. AW Chesterton, Inc. (2019). The court granted American Optical summary judgment on the plaintiffs' unopposed common law claims and on the separate punitive damages count, but denied it on product exposure and causation, which it left for a jury.
• Parker Hannifin Corp. v. Standard Motor Products, Inc. (2019). The court denied Standard Motor Products' motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, dismissed Parker Hannifin's duty-to-settle and 'duty imposed by law' claims and part of its declaratory claim, let the duty-to-defend-on-appeal and good-faith claims proceed, and stayed the unripe indemnity claims.
• Alexander v. Honeywell International, Inc. (2018). The court denied Honeywell's motions in limine to exclude plaintiffs' experts Dr. Bedrossian and Dr. Finkelstein and to dismiss the claims, so both experts may testify; plaintiffs won this ruling.
• Ellis v. Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (2018). The court transferred nonparty Bernard Lesneski's motion to quash a deposition and document subpoena to the Middle District of North Carolina, the issuing court, and denied Plaintiff Ellis's motion to strike Lesneski's late reply.
• Alexander v. Honeywell International, Inc. (2017). The court denied Honeywell International's motion for summary judgment on product identification, so the plaintiffs' claims over Bendix brakes go forward; it also denied the plaintiffs' motion to amend the schedule for Honeywell's expert reports.
• French v. AW Chesterton Company (2017). The court granted Green Tweed & Company's motion to strike Donald French's deposition testimony identifying its Palmetto product and its motion for summary judgment, dismissing all claims against Green Tweed and ruling against plaintiff Charlene French.
• Hart v. Honeywell International (2017). The court granted summary judgment to Genuine Parts and Pneumo Abex on all claims and to all defendants on the common law and failure-to-warn claims, but denied it to Honeywell and Ford on the brake design defect claim, so the plaintiffs' case continued against those two; Ford's sanctions motion was denied.
• Shonkwiler v. AW Chesterton Company (2017). The court granted the Shonkwilers' motion to remand to the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, after dismissing Westinghouse and Warren Pumps, leaving only state law claims.
• Brucker v. CBS Corporation (2016). The court denied Defendant Warren Pumps LLC's Rule 12(b)(7) motion to dismiss for failure to join the California defendants, so the plaintiffs' case continued.
• French v. AW Chesterton Company (2016). The court denied the Frenches' motion to remand, holding that GE and CBS/Westinghouse properly removed the case under the federal officer removal statute and did so on time.
• Jackson v. AC Product Liability Trust (2009). The court denied Farrell Lines' motion for judgment as a matter of law but granted its motion for a new trial, setting aside the $8 million verdict for plaintiff Dorothy Jackson.
• Wille v. AC Product Liability Trust (2007). The court denied the shipowner defendants' and the product defendants' (John Crane; Garlock Sealing, Anchor Packing and Coltec; A. W. Chesterton) motions for summary judgment, leaving the plaintiffs' mesothelioma claims for trial.
• Bartel EX rel. Estate, Rich v. AC Prod. Liab. Tr. (2006). The court ordered that the sea-based claim be tried in admiralty under federal maritime law, the land-based claim under Montana law, and both before a single jury, so the estate's choice-of-law and jury arguments largely prevailed.
• Sequa Corporation v. Elyria Foundry Company (2006). The court held that Sequa Corporation and its co-plaintiffs could not recover indemnification from Elyria Foundry Company, but could recover contribution for settlement payments exceeding their proportionate share of liability for post-February 12, 1999 harms; the parties were to submit the contribution amount within 45 days.
• Greenburg v. Hiner (2005). The court granted the Owens Corning officers' and directors' motion to dismiss the investors' securities fraud class action as time-barred, and denied the investors' motion to modify the discovery stay as moot.
• Bartel v. John Crane, Inc. (2004). After a bench trial, the court entered a verdict for John Crane, finding the estate of Rolf Lindstrom failed to prove that John Crane gaskets and packing were a substantial factor or proximate cause of his peritoneal mesothelioma.
• Lindstrom v. AC Products Liability Trust (2003). The district court granted summary judgment to Westinghouse, Foster Wheeler, Aurora Pump, Gulf Engineering, Ingersoll Rand, Walworth, Crosby Valve, General Electric, Warren Pumps, Crane, A.W. Chesterton and Coffin Turbo Pump, and dismissed Lindstrom's claims against them with prejudice.
• La Placita Partners v. Northwestern Mut. Life Ins. (1990). The court granted summary judgment to Northwestern Mutual Life (NML) and dismissed La Placita Partners' fraud, contract and related claims over undisclosed asbestos in a purchased office/retail complex.