Rodrigue v. Anco Insulations, Inc. (2019)

Our plain-English summary of Rodrigue v. Anco Insulations, Inc. (U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, April 18, 2019).

Theresa Rodrigue sued 32 defendants in Louisiana state court, and the case was later in federal court. She was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma in August 2017 and died in October 2018; her four children were substituted as plaintiffs. The plaintiffs claimed she was exposed to asbestos dust when she washed the work clothes of her brother, a rigger at Avondale Shipyards. A group of defendants (the Joint Defendants) moved for summary judgment, arguing the plaintiffs could not show that any family member worked around their asbestos-containing products or that those products caused her illness. Burmaster Land & Development filed a separate motion. Several defendants were dismissed or settled before the ruling. The plaintiffs did not oppose summary judgment for the eleven defendants who remained, and did not oppose Burmaster's motion. The court found that each movant had pointed to insufficient evidence on an essential element and that no one had submitted evidence of a genuine factual dispute. It granted summary judgment and dismissed the claims against them with prejudice.

We wrote this summary from the court's opinion with the help of AI. It is not the court's wording, and it is not legal advice. The full opinion is below.

The decision

• Court: U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana
• Decided: April 18, 2019
• Docket: Civil Action No. 18-4207
• Stage: Summary judgment
• State: Louisiana

Outcome. The court granted summary judgment to the remaining Joint Defendants and Burmaster Land & Development, dismissing the plaintiffs' and Huntington Ingalls' claims against them with prejudice, because no one opposed the motions.

What the court held. Where the movants pointed to insufficient record evidence on an essential element and the non-moving parties submitted no evidence showing a genuine factual dispute, summary judgment is proper under Celotex.

Issues decided: Causation, Trial Procedure and Discovery, Product Identification, Take-Home Exposure.

The people and their exposure

• Theresa Rodrigue (family member): mesothelioma; died

Who	Work	Where	When	Products
Theresa Rodrigue	washed her brother's clothes; brother worked as a rigger (shipyards and maritime work); dust brought home	Avondale Shipyards, Louisiana

The defendants

• John Crane Inc. (manufacturer)
• Anco Insulations, Inc. (contractor)
• Zurich American Insurance Company (insurer)
• Warren Pumps, LLC (manufacturer)
• Atwood and Morrill (manufacturer)
• Viking Pump, Inc. (manufacturer)
• GREFCO, Inc. (manufacturer)
• Crosby Valve LLC (manufacturer)
• Goulds Pumps LLC (manufacturer)
• CertainTeed Corporation (manufacturer)
• Crane Co. (manufacturer)
• Burmaster Land & Development Company, LLC

The court's opinion

The text below is Google Scholar's copy of the court's opinion, a public record. Numbers in brackets, such as [*921], mark where each page of the printed reporter begins.

THERESA RODRIGUE,

v.

ANCO INSULATIONS, INC., ET AL., SECTION "R" (3).

Civil Action No. 18-4207.

April 18, 2019.

United States District Court, E.D. Louisiana.

Theresa Rodrigue, Plaintiff, represented by Damon R. Pourciau, Ardoin Law Firm, Jeffery Russell Nicholson, Nicholson Law Firm, LLC, Scott Michael Galante, Galante & Bivalacqua LLC & Stephanie Moore Hartman, Galante & Bivalacqua LLC. Marty Lamar, Surviving heirs and legatees of Theresa Rodrigue, now deceased, Gina Reiss, Surviving heirs and legatees of Theresa Rodrigue, now deceased, Cinna J. Gautreaux, Surviving heirs and legatees of Theresa Rodrigue, now deceased & Paris Gautreaux, Surviving heirs and legatees of Theresa Rodrigue, now deceased, Plaintiffs, represented by Damon R. Pourciau, Ardoin Law Firm, Jeffery Russell Nicholson, Nicholson Law Firm, LLC & Scott Michael Galante, Galante & Bivalacqua LLC.

Anco Insulation, Inc., Defendant, represented by Jamie Hebert Baglio, Pugh, Accardo, LLC, Douglas R. Elliott, Pugh, Accardo, LLC & Margaret M. Joffe, Pugh, Accardo, LLC.

A.W. Chesterton Company, Defendant, represented by Glenn Lyle Maximilian Swetman, MG+M The Law Firm & Kevin R. Sloan, Gauthier Murphy Houghtaling LLC.

Bexar Canyon Management, Inc., formerly known as H.B. Zachry Company, Defendant, represented by David A. Barfield, Pettis, Barfield & Hester P.A.

Burmaster Land & Development Co., LLC, formerly known as Burmaster Land & Development Company, Inc, Defendant, represented by Kevin John Webb, Litchfield Cavo, LLP & Brett F. Willie, Litchfield Cavo, LLP.

Certain-Teed Corporation, formerly known as Certain-Teed Products Corporation, Weir Valves & Controls USA, Inc., formerly known as Atwood & Morrill Co., Inc. & Atwood & Morrill, incorrectly pled as Weir Valves & Controls USA, Inc, Defendants, represented by Barbara Bourgeois Ormsby, Deutsch Kerrigan LLP, Arthur Wendel Stout, III, Deutsch Kerrigan LLP, Jason P. Franco, Deutsch Kerrigan LLP, Jennifer E. Adams, Deutsch Kerrigan LLP & William Claudy Harrison, Jr., Deutsch Kerrigan LLP.

Crane Company, Defendant, represented by Lawrence G. Pugh, III, Pugh, Accardo, LLC, Daniel E. Oser, Pugh, Accardo, LLC, Donna M. Young, Pugh, Accardo, LLC, Jacqueline Romero, Pugh, Accardo, LLC & Shelley L. Thompson, Pugh, Accardo, LLC.

Fidelity & Casualty Insurance Company of New York, as the Insurer of Wayne Manufacturing Company, Defendant, represented by Paula Marcello Wellons, Taylor, Wellons, Politz & Duhe, APLC & Travis Brendon Wilkinson, Taylor, Wellons, Politz & Duhe, APLC.

Goulds Pumps LLC, Defendant, represented by Lauren Ann McCulloch, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius & Mitchell F. Tedesco, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.

Grefco, Inc., IDEX Corporation, formerly known as Viking Pump, Inc. & Viking Pump, Inc., Defendants, represented by Kaye N. Courington, Courington, Kiefer & Sommers, LLC & James Matthew Matherne, Courington, Kiefer & Sommers, LLC. International Paper Company, formerly known as U. S. Plywood Corporation, Defendant, represented by Mary Reeves Arthur, Forman, Watkins & Krutz LLP, Walter G. Watkins, III, Forman, Watkins, & Krutz, LLP, Daniel S. Roberts, Forman, Watkins & Krutz LLP, Elizabeth Riddell Penn, Forman, Watkins, & Krutz, LLP, Jason K. Elam, Forman, Watkins & Krutz LLP & Thomas Peyton Smith, Forman, Watkins & Krutz LLP.

John Crane Inc, Defendant, represented by Kenan Slade Rand, Jr., Plauche, Maselli, Parkerson, LLP, Elizabeth Attie Babin Carville, Plauche, Maselli, Parkerson, LLP, Katelyn W. Harrell, Jackson Lewis, P.C., Lauren B. Dietzen, Plauche, Maselli, Parkerson, LLP, Meredith R. Durham, Plauche, Maselli, Parkerson, LLP & Scott H. Mason, Plauche, Maselli, Parkerson, LLP.

Maryland Casualty Company, as the Insurer of Marquette Insulations, Inc., Defendant, represented by Edward T. Hayes, Leake & Andersson, LLP & Marc E. Devenport, Leake & Andersson, LLP.

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Defendant, represented by Jay Morton Jalenak, Jr., Kean Miller & Patrick Dale Roquemore, Kean Miller.

Warren Pumps, LLC, Defendant, represented by Joseph Henry Hart, IV, Pugh, Accardo, LLC, Daniel E. Oser, Pugh, Accardo, LLC, Kathleen Erin Jordan, Pugh, Accardo, Haas, Radecker & Carey & Thomas A. Porteous, Pugh, Accardo, LLC. Foster Wheeler LLC, improperly named as Foster Wheeler Corporation, Defendant, represented by John Joseph Hainkel, III, Frilot L.L.C., Angela M. Bowlin, Frilot L.L.C., James H. Brown, Jr., Frilot L.L.C., Kelly L. Long, Frilot L.L.C., Kelsey A. Eagan, Frilot L.L.C., Lacey Taylor McCoy, Frilot L.L.C. & Magali Ann Puente-Martin, Frilot L.L.C. Huntington Ingalls Incorporated, Third Party Plaintiff, represented by Gustave A. Fritchie, III, Irwin Fritchie Urquhart & Moore, LLC, Amanda Marie Crowley Fraser, Irwin Fritchie Urquhart & Moore, LLC, Christopher Thomas Whelen, Irwin Fritchie Urquhart & Moore, LLC, David Michael Melancon, Irwin Fritchie Urquhart & Moore, LLC, Edward Winter Trapolin, Irwin Fritchie Urquhart & Moore, LLC & Timothy Farrow Daniels, Irwin Fritchie Urquhart & Moore, LLC. Uniroyal Holding, Inc., Incorrectly named as Uniroyal, Inc, Third Party Defendant, represented by Mary Reeves Arthur, Forman, Watkins & Krutz LLP & Amy Louise Maccherone, Forman, Watkins & Krutz LLP.

Anco Insulation, Inc., Cross Defendant, represented by Jamie Hebert Baglio, Pugh, Accardo, LLC, Douglas R. Elliott, Pugh, Accardo, LLC & Margaret M. Joffe, Pugh, Accardo, LLC.

A.W. Chesterton Company, Cross Defendant, represented by Kevin R. Sloan, Gauthier Murphy Houghtaling LLC. Certain-Teed Corporation, Cross Defendant, represented by Barbara Bourgeois Ormsby, Deutsch Kerrigan LLP, Arthur Wendel Stout, III, Deutsch Kerrigan LLP, Jason P. Franco, Deutsch Kerrigan LLP, Jennifer E. Adams, Deutsch Kerrigan LLP & William Claudy Harrison, Jr., Deutsch Kerrigan LLP.

FMC Corporation, Individually and as successor in interest to Crosby Valve, Inc. and Peerless Pump Corporation & Ingersoll-Rand Company, Cross Defendants, represented by Angela M. Bowlin, Frilot L.L.C., Barry C. Campbell, Dogan & Wilkinson, PLLC, James H. Brown, Jr., Frilot L.L.C., Kelly L. Long, Frilot L.L.C., Kelsey A. Eagan, Frilot L.L.C., Lacey Taylor McCoy, Frilot L.L.C. & Magali Ann Puente-Martin, Frilot L.L.C.

Fidelity & Casualty Insurance Company of New York, as the Insurer of Wayne Manufacturing Company, Cross Defendant, represented by Paula Marcello Wellons, Taylor, Wellons, Politz & Duhe, APLC & Travis Brendon Wilkinson, Taylor, Wellons, Politz & Duhe, APLC.

Foster Wheeler Corporation, Cross Defendant, represented by John Joseph Hainkel, III, Frilot L.L.C., Angela M. Bowlin, Frilot L.L.C., Barry C. Campbell, Dogan & Wilkinson, PLLC, James H. Brown, Jr., Frilot L.L.C., Kelly L. Long, Frilot L.L.C., Kelsey A. Eagan, Frilot L.L.C., Lacey Taylor McCoy, Frilot L.L.C. & Magali Ann Puente-Martin, Frilot L.L.C. General Electric Company, Cross Defendant, represented by Angela M. Bowlin, Frilot L.L.C., Barry C. Campbell, Dogan & Wilkinson, PLLC, James H. Brown, Jr., Frilot L.L.C., John Willard Elder, Paine Bickers LLP, pro hac vice, Kelly L. Long, Frilot L.L.C., Kelsey A. Eagan, Frilot L.L.C. & Magali Ann Puente-Martin, Frilot L.L.C.

Goulds Pumps LLC, Cross Defendant, represented by Mitchell F. Tedesco, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.

Grefco, Inc., Cross Defendant, represented by Kaye N. Courington, Courington, Kiefer & Sommers, LLC & James Matthew Matherne, Courington, Kiefer & Sommers, LLC.

Hopeman Brothers, Inc., Cross Defendant, represented by Kaye N. Courington, Courington, Kiefer & Sommers, LLC, Blaine Augusta Moore, Courington, Kiefer & Sommers, LLC, Brittney Bullock Ankersen, Courington, Kiefer & Sommers, LLC,

Jeffrey Matthew Burg, Courington, Kiefer & Sommers, LLC, Mathilde Villere Semmes, Courington, Kiefer & Sommers, LLC & Troy Nathan Bell, Courington, Kiefer & Sommers, LLC.

International Paper Company, formerly known as U. S. Plywood Corporation, Cross Defendant, represented by Mary Reeves Arthur, Forman, Watkins & Krutz LLP, Walter G. Watkins, III, Forman, Watkins, & Krutz, LLP, Daniel S. Roberts, Forman, Watkins & Krutz LLP, Elizabeth Riddell Penn, Forman, Watkins, & Krutz, LLP, Jason K. Elam, Forman, Watkins & Krutz LLP & Thomas Peyton Smith, Forman, Watkins & Krutz LLP.

John Crane Inc, Cross Defendant, represented by Kenan Slade Rand, Jr., Plauche, Maselli, Parkerson, LLP, Elizabeth Attie Babin Carville, Plauche, Maselli, Parkerson, LLP, Katelyn W. Harrell, Jackson Lewis, P.C., Lauren B. Dietzen, Plauche, Maselli, Parkerson, LLP, Meredith R. Durham, Plauche, Maselli, Parkerson, LLP & Scott H. Mason, Plauche, Maselli, Parkerson, LLP.

Zurich American Insurance Company, as successor by merger to Maryland Casualy Company(as insurer of Marquett Insulations, Inc., Cross Defendant, represented by Marc E. Devenport, Leake & Andersson, LLP, Edward T. Hayes, Leake & Andersson, LLP & Lee M. LeBouef, Leake & Andersson, LLP.

Owens-Illinois, Inc., doing business as O-I, Cross Defendant, represented by Mary Reeves Arthur, Forman, Watkins & Krutz LLP, Walter G. Watkins, III, Forman, Watkins, & Krutz, LLP, Daniel S. Roberts, Forman, Watkins & Krutz LLP, Elizabeth Riddell Penn, Forman, Watkins, & Krutz, LLP & Thomas Peyton Smith, Forman, Watkins & Krutz LLP.

CBS Corporation, Successor by merger to CBS Corporation, Cross Defendant, represented by John Joseph Hainkel, III, Frilot L.L.C., Angela M. Bowlin, Frilot L.L.C., Barry C. Campbell, Dogan & Wilkinson, PLLC, James H. Brown, Jr., Frilot L.L.C., John Willard Elder, Paine Bickers LLP, pro hac vice, Kelly L. Long, Frilot L.L.C., Kelsey A. Eagan, Frilot L.L.C., Lacey Taylor McCoy, Frilot L.L.C. & Magali Ann Puente-Martin, Frilot L.L.C.

McCarty Corporation, Cross Defendant, represented by April Ann McQuillar, Simon, Peragine, Smith & Redfearn, LLP, Douglas Kinler, Simon, Peragine, Smith & Redfearn, LLP, Douglas Watson Redfearn, Simon, Peragine, Smith & Redfearn, LLP, Janice M. Culotta, Simon, Peragine, Smith and Redfearn, LLP & Louis Oliver Oubre, Simon, Peragine, Smith & Redfearn, LLP.

Warren Pumps, LLC, Cross Defendant, represented by Joseph Henry Hart, IV, Pugh, Accardo, LLC, Daniel E. Oser, Pugh, Accardo, LLC, Kathleen Erin Jordan, Pugh, Accardo, Haas, Radecker & Carey & Thomas A. Porteous, Pugh, Accardo, LLC. Wyeth Holdings, LLC, formerly known as American Cyanamid Company, Cross Defendant, represented by Erin Fury Parkinson, McGlinchey Stafford, PLLC, Jose L. Barro, III, Galloway, Johnson, Tompkins, Burr & Smith & Shannon Suggs Sale, McGlinchey Stafford, PLLC.

ORDER AND REASONS

SARAH S. VANCE, District Judge.

Before the Court is (1) a joint motion for summary judgment filed by defendants John Crane Inc.; Anco Insulatations, Inc.; Zurich American Insurance Company; Warren Pumps, LLC; The McCarty Corporation; Atwood and Morrill; Viking Pump, Inc.; GREFCO, Inc.; FMC Corporation; Crosby Valve LLC; Ingersoll-Rand Company; Goulds Pumps LLC; General Electric Company; Foster Wheeler, LLC; CBS Corporation; International Paper Company; Owens-Illinois, Inc.; CertainTeed Corporation; Crane Co.; and Amchem Products, Inc. (collectively "the Joint Defendants");[1] and (2) a motion for summary judgment filed by defendant Burmaster Land & Development Company, LLC.[2]

I. BACKGROUND

This case arises from Theresa Rodrigue's alleged exposure to asbestos.[3] Plaintiffs contend that Rodrigue's brother worked for Avondale Shipyards as a rigger.[4] According to plaintiffs, Rodrigue's brother's position exposed him to a "tremendous amount of asbestos and asbestos-containing products."[5] Those products allegedly caused asbestos dust to become

attached to Rodrigue's brother's clothes.[6] Plaintiffs argue that Rodrigue was exposed to asbestos dust when she washed her brother's clothes each evening.[7] Rodrigue was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma on August 24, 2017.[8] On December 13, 2017, Rodrigue filed this action in state court against 32 different defendants.[9] Rodrigue alleges that each defendant manufactured, designed, packaged, furnished, stored, handled, transported, installed, distributed, sold, or otherwise supplied asbestos-containing products that contributed to her asbestos exposure and mesothelioma diagnosis.[10] Rodrigue accordingly asserted state law products liability claims against the defendants.[11] Defendant Huntington Ingalls filed a crossclaim against all other defendants. Plaintiffs have since voluntarily dismissed Huntington Ingalls from this case. [12] Rodrigue died on October 18, 2018.[13] Her surviving children, Marty Lamar, Fina Reiss, Paris Gautreaux, and Cinna J. Gautreaux, were substituted in as plaintiffs in this action.[14]

On December 7, 2018, the Joint Defendants moved for summary judgment on plaintiffs' claims and Huntington Ingalls' crossclaim.[15] The Joint Defendants contend that plaintiffs cannot establish that any of Rodrigue's family members ever worked around products they sold that contained asbestos, and that plaintiffs thus cannot establish at trial that their products caused Rodrigue's illness.[16] On February 5, 2019, plaintiffs responded to the Joint Defendants' motion.[17] Plaintiffs opposed summary judgment for only three of the Joint Defendants: General Electric Company; Foster Wheeler, LLC; and CBS Corporation.[18] But on April 11, 2019, plaintiffs, General Electric Company, Foster Wheeler, LLC, and CBS Corporation filed into the record a joint notice of a settlement agreement.[19] In addition, since the Joint Defendants filed their motion for summary judgment, plaintiffs have either moved to dismiss or settled with the following defendants which were party to the Joint Defendants' motion: FMC Corporation,[20] Ingersoll-Rand Company,[21] McCarty Corporation,[22] Owens-Illinois, Inc., [23] International Paper Company,[24] and Amchem Products, Inc.[25] To summarize, the following eleven parties to the Joint Defendants' motion for summary judgment remain in this action: John Crane Inc.; Anco Insulatations, Inc.; Zurich American Insurance Company; Warren Pumps, LLC; Atwood and Morrill; Viking Pump, Inc.; GREFCO, Inc.; Crosby Valve LLC; Goulds Pumps LLC; CertainTeed Corporation; and Crane Co. Plaintiffs do not oppose summary judgment for any of these parties. On February 13, 2019, after the parties had fully briefed the Joint Defendants' motion for summary judgment, defendant Burmaster Land & Development Company, LLC filed a separate motion for summary judgment.[26] Burmaster is not party to the motion filed by the Joint Defendants. Plaintiffs have not filed an opposition to Burmaster's motion. II. DISCUSSION

Neither plaintiffs nor Huntington Ingalls opposes summary judgment for any of the movants who remain in this action. Each movant who remains has pointed out that the evidence in the record is insufficient with respect to an essential element of plaintiffs' or Huntington Ingalls' claims. Because neither plaintiffs nor Huntington Ingalls have submitted evidence showing that a genuine factual dispute exists, summary judgment for the remaining Joint Defendants and Burmaster is proper. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324-25 (1986).

III. CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, the Joint Defendants' motion for summary judgment on Huntington Ingalls' crossclaim is GRANTED. That crossclaim against the Joint Defendants is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. In addition, the following parties to the Joint Defendants' motion are entitled to summary judgment on plaintiffs' claims: John Crane Inc.; Anco Insulatations, Inc.; Zurich American Insurance Company; Warren Pumps, LLC; Atwood and Morrill; Viking Pump, Inc.; GREFCO, Inc.; Crosby Valve LLC; Goulds Pumps LLC; CertainTeed Corporation; and Crane Co. Plaintiffs' claims against these defendants are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. Burmaster's motion for summary judgment is also GRANTED. Plaintiffs' and Huntington Ingalls' claims against Burmaster are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.

[1] R. Doc. 115.

[2] R. Doc. 167.

[3] See R. Doc. 1-2 at 5 ¶ 3.

[4] R. Doc. 156 at 2.

[5] Id. at 4-5.

[6] Id. at 5.

[7] Id.

[8] See R. Doc. 156-1.

[9] R. Doc. 1-2.

[10] Id.

[11] Id. at 5-16.

[12] R. Doc. 137.

[13] R. Doc. 127.

[14] R. Doc. 129.

[15] R. Doc. 115. On December 10, 2019, defendant International Paper Company, which is a party to the Joint Defendants' motion, also filed a separate motion for summary judgment. R. Doc. 117.

[16] R. Doc. 115-1 at 2.

[17] R. Doc. 156.

[18] Id.

[19] R. Doc. 218.

[20] R. Doc. 134; R. Doc. 141.

[21] R. Doc. 136; R. Doc. 142.

[22] R. Doc. 160.

[23] R. Doc. 161.

[24] Id.

[25] R. Doc. 162.

[26] R. Doc. 167.

Sources

• The opinion on Google Scholar
• Louisiana asbestos laws
• Louisiana asbestos exposure sites