Maryland Asbestos Case Law

Asbestos decisions from Maryland's courts and the federal courts there: 128 cases in our library so far. For what the law requires today, see Maryland asbestos laws; for where exposure happened, see Maryland asbestos exposure sites.

Federal district courts

U.S. District Court, District of Maryland

• Arbogast v. AW Chesterton Co. (2016). The court granted the defendants' summary judgment motions that the plaintiffs did not oppose, and entered partial judgment for all defendants on the aiding and abetting and conspiracy claims; fourteen defendants remain in the case.
• Oliver v. Campbell McCORMICK, Inc. (2016). The court granted Oliver's motion to sever and remand all non-third-party claims to Baltimore City Circuit Court, and granted in part and denied as moot in part Campbell-McCormick's motion to reconsider the stay, keeping only the third-party claims.
• Rhodes v. McIC, Inc. (2016). The court denied the plaintiffs' motion to remand and their alternative motion to sever and remand the non-Crane Co. claims, so Crane Co. kept its federal forum under the federal officer removal statute.
• Sawyer v. Union Carbide Corporation (2016). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion to remand the case to Baltimore City state court, finding Foster Wheeler failed to establish a colorable federal contractor defense or a causal nexus needed for federal officer removal.
• Citrano v. John Crane-Houdaille, Inc. (2015). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion to remand the suit to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City after GE was dismissed, over CBS's opposition, and denied the plaintiffs' motion for leave to file a surreply.
• Haney v. 3M Company (2015). The district court granted Hopeman Brothers' motion for summary judgment on all claims, ruling that the plaintiffs' evidence of Haney's exposure to Hopeman-installed Marinite panels was too infrequent and brief to be a substantial factor in causing his mesothelioma.
• Haney v. 3M Company (2015). The court granted Crane Co.'s motion for summary judgment against the Haney plaintiffs, finding no admissible evidence that Haney was exposed to asbestos in a product for which Crane Co. is liable.
• Sherin v. John Crane-Houdaille, Inc. (2015). The district court denied the Plaintiffs' motion to remand the remaining claims against Union Carbide and A.W. Chesterton to Baltimore City Circuit Court, retaining supplemental jurisdiction, so Union Carbide prevailed on the motion.
• Sroka v. Union Carbide Corp. (2015). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion to remand to Baltimore City Circuit Court, holding that Hopeman Brothers, Lofton Corp. and Wayne Manufacturing had not raised a colorable federal contractor defense to support federal officer removal.
• Citrano v. John Crane-Houdaille, Inc. (2014). The district court denied the plaintiffs' motion to remand the case to state court, or to sever and remand the claims against the non-removing defendants, so General Electric kept its federal forum.
• National Union Fire Insurance Company OF Pittsburgh, PA v. Porter Hayden Company (2014). The court granted in part and denied in part the cross-motions for summary judgment: the Insurers (National Union and American Home) waived the voluntary obligation provision, but they may challenge the reasonableness of the Trust's settlements and Porter Hayden bears the ultimate burden of persuasion on reasonableness.
• Netzer v. Union Carbide Corp. (2014). The court granted Netzer's motion to remand to the Baltimore City Circuit Court, rejecting CBS Corp.'s removal because the passing of a witness deadline was not an "other paper" that triggered a right to remove.
• Sherin v. John Crane-Houdaille, Inc. (2014). The court denied Union Carbide's motion in limine and its summary judgment motion on product identification, exposure and causation, but granted summary judgment to Union Carbide on the duty-to-warn claim and on the unopposed warranty, fraud, conspiracy, aiding and abetting and punitive damages claims.
• Joyner v. AC & R. Insulation Co. (2013). The court let plaintiff Joyner amend his complaint to disclaim all damages tied to Crane Co.'s valves, remanded his remaining Cranite gasket claims against Crane Co. to the Baltimore City Circuit Court, and denied the motion to strike and the motions for reconsideration by Crane Co. and Owens-Illinois as moot.
• Joyner v. AC & R. Insulation Co. (2013). The court held Crane Co. properly removed the case under the federal officer removal statute, severed Joyner's claims against Crane Co. and kept them in federal court, and remanded his claims against the other defendants to Baltimore City Circuit Court.
• Barlow v. John Crane Houdaille, Inc. (2012). The court granted Joyce Barlow's motion to remand the case to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, rejecting Colgate-Palmolive's fraudulent joinder argument, denied her request for fees, and did not rule on Colgate's motion for judgment on the pleadings.
• Dilks v. 4520 Corp., Inc. (2012). The court granted Dilks's motion to remand to state court because Ingersoll-Rand's federal officer removal was untimely, but denied her request for attorney's fees and costs.
• Jones v. John Crane-Houdaille, Inc. (2012). The district court denied, without prejudice, the plaintiffs' (Michael and Paulette Jones) motion to remand, finding the defendants' notice of removal plausibly alleged federal enclave jurisdiction, so the defendants kept the case in federal court for now.
• O'connor v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore (2007). The district court denied the City of Baltimore's motion to dismiss, holding that O'Connor had standing to sue under the Medicare Secondary Payer statute, so he won at this stage.
• National Union Fire Insurance Company OF Pittsburgh v. Porter Hayden Company (2005). The court denied the insurers' (National Union and American Home) motion on trigger of coverage, granted it on pro rata allocation, and granted it in part on completed operations aggregate limits, leaving fact questions on whether Porter Hayden's operations were completed.
• Sledz v. Flintkote Co. (2002). The court granted plaintiff Sledz's motion to remand the case to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City because Flintkote's removal came more than one year after the action commenced, and denied his request for attorney's fees.
• Royal Ins. Co. of America v. Miles & Stockbridge (2001). The court granted Parler & Wobber's motion for reconsideration and entered summary judgment for Parler & Wobber on Miles & Stockbridge's third-party contribution claim, and it entered judgment for Royal against Miles & Stockbridge and Barreiro for $1,655,916 plus prejudgment interest.
• Royal Ins. Co. of America v. Miles & Stockbridge (2001). The court granted Royal Insurance summary judgment against Miles & Stockbridge on the malpractice claims about the default judgment and settlement, but granted Miles judgment on the third-party-claims issue; it also granted Parler & Wobber judgment on indemnification and denied it on contribution.
• Vaughn v. Marine Transport Lines, Inc. (1989). After a non-jury trial on the shipowners' third-party indemnity claim, the court entered judgment for the Shipowners (Amoco, Farrell Lines, Gulf, Keystone, Isco, Texaco) against Foster Wheeler for $72,883.17, with no reduction for the other manufacturers' settlement.
• Knauer v. Johns-Manville Corp. (1986). The court refused to rescind leave to amend, held Ann Knauer's wrongful death claim time-barred (granting defendants summary judgment on it), and denied dismissal of her survival claims for pre- and post-death damages.

Federal bankruptcy courts

U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Maryland

• In re RailWORKS Corporation (2020). The bankruptcy court granted L.K. Comstock's motion for summary judgment and denied the Reibie Defendants' cross-motion (except on sanctions, which it deferred), holding the Reibies' asbestos claims against Comstock were discharged in its chapter 11 case.
• In re RailWORKS Corporation (2020). The bankruptcy court granted L.K. Comstock's motion for summary judgment and denied the Reibie Defendants' cross-motion (except on sanctions, which it deferred), holding their asbestos claims were discharged by the 2002 chapter 11 plan.
• National Union Fire Insurance Company OF Pittsburgh, PA. v. Porter Hayden Company (2014). The court granted Porter Hayden's motion to exclude the insurers' expert Brown, and granted in part and denied in part its motion to exclude the insurers' expert Mullin, excluding only his testimony on loss allocable to the excess policies.