Rhode Island Asbestos Case Law

Asbestos decisions from Rhode Island's courts and the federal courts there: 60 cases in our library so far. For what the law requires today, see Rhode Island asbestos laws; for where exposure happened, see Rhode Island asbestos exposure sites.

State supreme court

Rhode Island Supreme Court

• Gallagher v. National Grid Usa/narragansett Electric. (2012). The Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed the Appellate Division's decrees, which vacated the trial judge's decrees against USGEN New England and held National Grid USA/Narragansett Electric liable as the employer for Mr. Gallagher's mesothelioma benefits.

State trial courts

Rhode Island Superior Court

• Day v. 3M Company Inc. (2024). The court denied Union Carbide's and Graybar's motions to exclude Dr. Kradin and Dr. Ellenbecker, except that Dr. Ellenbecker may not testify on the design adequacy of the warnings, so the plaintiffs largely prevailed.
• Day v. 3M Company Inc. (2024). The Rhode Island Superior Court denied summary judgment to Ford Motor Company and to Graybar Electric Company, so the estate's claims against both go forward, and it also denied Ford's motion for partial entry of separate and final judgment.
• Freitas v. AO Smith Water Products Corporation (2024). The court granted defendant PBV Inc.'s motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, ruling against the plaintiff estate co-executors.
• Lowe v. 3M Company (2024). The court granted Kamco Supply Corporation of New England's summary judgment motion as to CertainTeed cement pipe and denied it as to Johns-Manville cement pipe, so plaintiffs' claim against Kamco on the Johns-Manville pipe goes forward.
• Soares v. Avon Products, Inc. (2024). The court denied the motions of LLT Management LLC and Johnson & Johnson Holdco (NA) Inc. (Old Holdco) to substitute Pecos River Talc LLC and New Holdco as defendants, siding with plaintiffs Susan and Brian Soares.
• Stadtler v. Aurora Pump Co. (2022). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion to compel Westinghouse (Paramount Global) to produce documents about products it sold to the power stations where Ferguson worked before 1966, and denied Westinghouse's objection.
• Burdick v. NIBCO (In re Asbestos Litigation) (2021). The court denied NIBCO's motion for summary judgment, so the Burdick plaintiffs' claims against NIBCO go forward because fact issues remain about whether Walter Burdick was exposed to asbestos-containing NIBCO valves.
• Wallace v. Trane Company (2021). The Superior Court granted General Electric's motion for summary judgment on all counts because the Wallace plaintiffs failed to show that Mr. Wallace was exposed to asbestos from an original GE product.
• Wallace v. Trane Company (2020). The court granted Crane Co.'s motion for summary judgment on all counts because the Wallace plaintiffs offered insufficient evidence that Mr. Wallace was exposed to an asbestos-containing product originating with Crane.
• Belac v. 3M Company (2018). The court denied Evenheat Kiln's motion for leave to renew its summary judgment motion and granted the plaintiff's motion to voluntarily dismiss her claims against Evenheat without prejudice.
• Carson v. 3M Company (2018). The court granted ExxonMobil's motion for summary judgment, holding the Carsons' common-law suit was barred by the Workers' Compensation Act's exclusivity provision, and also dismissed Dorothy Carson's derivative loss of consortium claim.
• Nichols v. Allis Chalmers Product Liability Trust (2018). The Rhode Island Superior Court denied Crane Co.'s motion for summary judgment on all counts, holding Crane owed a duty to the decedent and that causation evidence sufficed, so the plaintiffs' claims proceed.
• Turcotte v. 3M Company (2018). The court ruled on the choice-of-law motions, holding that New Hampshire law governs all issues, which granted the Plaintiffs' motion and denied the Defendants' motions to apply Florida law. It also rejected Westinghouse and GE's request to apply New Hampshire law to liability and Florida law to damages.
• Belac v. Evenheat Kiln (In re Asbestos Litigation) (2017). The court denied the summary judgment motions of Evenheat Kiln and Sargent Art, and also denied Evenheat's motion to strike the daughter's affidavit under the sham affidavit doctrine, so plaintiff Loretta Belac's claims continued.
• McCarthy v. Warren Pumps (In re Asbestos Litigation) (2017). The Superior Court denied the motions for summary judgment of Warren Pumps, Gardner Denver and General Electric, ruling that the decedent's pre-suit sworn statement was admissible and that plaintiff showed enough product identification to reach a jury.
• Lepore v. AO Smith Corp. (2017). The court partly granted the hospital defendants' motion for a protective order, limiting some deposition topics to buildings existing in 1960-1987, but denied it as to discovery of later asbestos removal, which the plaintiff may pursue without a time limit.
• Murray v. 3M Company (2017). The court granted the defendants' motion and ruled that Tennessee substantive law, not Virginia law, governs Mr. Murray's asbestos personal injury action, a ruling that favors the defendants.
• Sweredoski v. Alfa Laval, Inc. (2017). The court denied plaintiff Rosie Sweredoski's motion in limine to preclude defendant Crane Co.'s expert pathologist Dr. Graham from testifying on causation, finding him qualified under Rule 702.
• Pisano v. Sears, Roebuck and Co. (In re Asbestos Litigation) (2016). The court denied Sears, Roebuck and Co.'s motion for summary judgment, so the Pisano plaintiffs' claims against Sears go forward.
• Murray v. Dana Companies (In re Asbestos Litigation) (2016). The court granted Dana Companies, LLC's motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, finding no general or specific jurisdiction and no forfeiture of the defense, so the Murrays lost as to Dana.
• Baumgartner v. American Standard, Inc. (2015). The court applied Ohio law and granted summary judgment to Crane, Honeywell and Robertshaw under the bare-metal defense, and to GE, CBS, Cleaver-Brooks, Foster Wheeler, Riley and Oakfabco under Ohio's statute of repose, so the Baumgartners lost on those claims.
• Jones v. 84 Lumber Company (2015). The Rhode Island Superior Court granted the defendants' motions and took judicial notice of four areas of Tennessee law (modified comparative fault, the $750,000 noneconomic damages cap, the nonparty fault defense, and the innocent retailer statute).
• Santos v. AC McLOON Oil Co. (2015). The court stayed the vessel purchaser defendants' summary judgment motion and gave plaintiff three months to complete depositions of Blount Marine, rather than granting or denying the motion.
• Gallagher v. American Insulated Wire Corp. (2014). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion to consolidate the Gallagher and Podedworny asbestos cases for trial over the defendants' objections.
• Hostetter v. Air & Liquid Systems Corporation (2014). The Superior Court granted summary judgment to ArvinMeritor against plaintiff Eliza Hostetter because she could not show that her late husband was exposed to ArvinMeritor's asbestos-containing brake products.
• Podedworny v. American Insulated Wire Corp. (2014). The Superior Court denied T&N's motion for summary judgment, holding the plaintiff's estate's claims were not time barred because T&N's bankruptcy discharge was conditioned on exhaustion of the Hercules Policy.
• Reera v. AO Smith Corp. (2014). The court granted Boston Edison's motion for summary judgment because the plaintiff, executor of James Reera's estate, offered no admissible evidence that Reera was exposed to asbestos at the Mystic station, and directed entry of final judgment for Boston Edison under Rule 54(b).
• Cary v. 3M Company (2013). The court granted in part and denied in part the plaintiff's motions to compel: the defendants must produce their photos and video from the June 23, 2011 Hoechst site inspection, but need not produce their photocopies of Hoechst documents.
• Cary v. American Optical Corporation (2013). The court deferred ruling on Watts's motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, denying it without prejudice and granting plaintiff Gloria Cary limited jurisdictional discovery into Watts's Rhode Island contacts.
• Santos v. AC McLOON Oil Co. (2013). The Superior Court denied the six out-of-state ferry company defendants' motions to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and denied dismissal of the failure-to-warn, negligence, strict liability, implied merchantability warranty and wrongful death claims, but dismissed the express warranty and implied fitness-for-purpose warranty claims; plaintiff prevailed mostly.
• Sweredoski v. Alfa Laval, Inc. (2013). The court denied plaintiff Rosie Sweredoski's motion for summary judgment against Crane Co. on its government contractor defense, finding triable fact issues on all three prongs for both the design defect and failure-to-warn claims.
• Sweredoski v. Alfa Laval, Inc. (2013). The court granted in part and denied in part Crane Co.'s motion in limine, allowing evidence of settled defendants' fault but not that of bankrupt trust entities, and denied Crane's motion to compel the plaintiff's bankruptcy trust claim forms.
• Sweredoski v. Alfa Laval, Inc. (2013). The court denied Crane Co.'s motion in limine to bar "each and every exposure" evidence, but held that such evidence alone cannot prove causation and adopted the frequency, regularity, proximity test.
• Sweredoski v. Alfa Laval, Inc. (2013). The Superior Court granted defendant Crane Co.'s motion to amend its answer to add the government contractor defense, because plaintiff Rosie Sweredoski did not show prejudice.
• Sweredoski v. Alfa Laval, Inc. (2013). The Superior Court granted in part and denied in part Crane Co.'s summary judgment motion: the Sweredoskis' strict liability, negligent failure-to-warn and implied warranty claims survived, but their civil conspiracy claim was dismissed.
• Burdick v. Air & Liquid Systems Corporation (2012). The court declined to rule on the Hartford defendants' Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss because the complaint lacked enough facts to decide choice of law, and invited the parties to brief choice of law before it rules, staying its ruling in the meantime.
• Cera v. AW Chesterton Company (2012). The Superior Court granted Providence College's motion for summary judgment, holding that workers' compensation was the exclusive remedy for Marco Cera's alleged asbestos injury, and transferred the case to the Workers' Compensation Commission, so the Cera plaintiffs lost their tort suit against the college.
• Melford v. Abex Corporation (2012). The Superior Court denied the Melfords' motion to stay their Rhode Island asbestos case in favor of a later-filed Louisiana case, so the case stays in Rhode Island against Mack Trucks and the other defendants.
• Brandt v. AW Chesterton Company (2011). The court denied Mack Trucks' motion for summary judgment, ruling for plaintiff Elizabeth Brandt, because the exposure chart was admissible as a dying declaration and showed enough product identification to reach a jury.
• Carlson v. 84 Lumber Company (2011). The court granted in part the defendants' (CertainTeed and American Biltrite) Motion to Apply Foreign Law, holding that they had not waived it, but ruled that Pennsylvania law, not Michigan law, governs the plaintiffs' claims.
• Cone v. Agco Corp. (2011). The Rhode Island Superior Court denied Detroit Diesel Corporation's motion for summary judgment in four consolidated asbestos cases, so the plaintiffs' claims against DDC go forward.
• Hopkins v. Buffalo Pumps, Inc. (2011). The court granted Foster Wheeler's motion to consolidate the two Hopkins cases for trial only, over the objections of the plaintiffs and several defendants, and continued the May 9, 2011 trial date.
• Asbury v. AW Chesterton Company (2010). The court denied Union Carbide's motion to dismiss for forum non conveniens, so the Asburys' case stays in Rhode Island. It ruled out Rhode Island law, tentatively found Iowa had the most significant relationship, and reserved judgment on the defendants' motion to apply foreign law pending further briefing.
• Downs v. 3M Company (2010). The Rhode Island Superior Court denied the defendants' motions to dismiss on forum non conveniens grounds, so the nonresident plaintiffs (the Downs and Kroskob families) kept their asbestos cases in Rhode Island.
• Sharp v. Afc-Holcroft (2010). The Superior Court denied Kentile Floors' motion for summary judgment, holding the statute of repose in G.L. § 9-1-29 did not protect Kentile as a passive manufacturer, so the plaintiffs' suit against it could continue.
• Benoit v. AW Smith Corporation (2009). The court denied summary judgment motions by Utica Boiler, Keeler Dorr-Oliver Burner Co., and Sterling Fluid Systems, finding the plaintiff estate had raised a triable issue on product identification.
• Clayton v. American Biltrate (2008). The Rhode Island Superior Court denied Caterpillar's motion for summary judgment without prejudice as premature, because Caterpillar had not answered the plaintiffs' Master Interrogatories.
• Dyer v. Aurora Pump Co. (2008). The court granted the Dyers' motion for leave to amend their complaint to add Clifton Associates and New England Insulation as defendants, and moved the trial to October 2008 so the new defendants could conduct discovery.
• Lapointe v. 3M Company (2008). The Superior Court denied Homasote Company's motion for summary judgment against plaintiff Joseph LaPointe, finding genuine factual disputes over product identity.