Zimmerman v. AO Smith Water Prods. (2014)

Our plain-English summary of Zimmerman v. AO Smith Water Prods. (New York Supreme Court, February 5, 2014).

Ira Zimmerman, as administrator of the estate of Leo Zimmerman, sued A.O. Smith Water Products and other companies. Mr. Zimmerman was a plumber from 1946 to 1987 who installed water heaters, boilers, pipes and valves in homes in Brooklyn and Queens. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma in May 2012 and died that November. He testified that insulation under the jackets of Rheem water heaters, and the flue liners, exposed him to asbestos. Rheem asked for summary judgment, arguing there was no evidence he was exposed to asbestos from its products and that its heaters used fiberglass insulation. It offered an employee's affidavit and two undated catalogs. The court found the catalogs could not be assumed to cover the years of his work. The plaintiff showed that Rheem's G23 heaters, made from 1956 to 1958, used asbestos insulation and asbestos flue liners. The court held Rheem had not shown that its products could not have contributed to his illness and denied the motion.

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: New York Supreme Court
• Decided: February 5, 2014
• Citation: 2014 NY Slip Op 30339(U)
• Docket: No. 190383/12, Motion Seq. No. 003
• Stage: Summary judgment
• Unpublished opinion. Many courts limit citing unpublished opinions as precedent.
• State: New York

Outcome. The court denied Rheem Manufacturing Company's motion for summary judgment, so the estate's claims against Rheem go forward.

What the court held. A defendant seeking summary judgment must show the absence of any material issue of fact; Rheem's limited and undated catalogs and affidavit did not conclusively show its water heaters could not have contained asbestos that exposed the plaintiff.

Issues decided: Product Identification.

The people and their exposure

• Leo Zimmerman: mesothelioma; died

Who	Work	Where	When	Products
Leo Zimmerman	plumber (construction)	New York	1946-1987	pipe and block insulation, Rheem water heaters (insulation jackets and flue liners)

The defendants

• Rheem Manufacturing Company (manufacturer)
• A.O. Smith Water Products (manufacturer)

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.

2014 NY Slip Op 30339(U)

IRA ZIMMERMAN, as Administrator to the Estate of LEO ZIMMERMAN, Plaintiff,

v.

A.O. SMITH WATER PRODUCTS., etal. Defendants.

No. 190383/12, Motion Seq. No. 003.

January 31, 2014.

Filed February 5, 2014.

Supreme Court, New York County.

DECISION & ORDER

SHERRY KLEIN HEITLER, Judge.

This motion is decided in accordance with the memorandum decision dated 1-31-14.

Defendant Rheem Manufacturing Company ("Rheem") moves pursuant to CPLR 3212 for summary judgment dismissing the complaint against it on the ground that there is no evidence to show that plaintiff's decedent Leo Zimmerman was exposed to asbestos fibers released from a product manufactured or specified by Rheem. Plaintiff's position is that Mr. Zimmerman's deposition testimony which identifies Rheem water heaters as a source of his exposure gives rise to a triable issue of fact.

Mr. Zimmerman worked as a plumber's helper from 1939 until he joined the army in 1944. After being honorably discharged in 1946, Mr. Zimmerman joined Local 1 of the plumber's union and worked as a plumber until 1987. His duties included the installation of hot water heaters, boilers, pipes, valves, and other equipment in residences throughout Brooklyn and Queens. Mr. Zimmerman was diagnosed with mesothelioma in May of 2012. He commenced this action on August 20, 2012 to recover damages for personal injuries allegedly caused by his exposure to asbestos-containing products.[1] He was deposed on September 10, 2012 and September 11, 2012.[2] With respect to this defendant, Mr. Zimmerman testified that he was exposed to asbestos from the insulation jackets and flue liners associated with Rheem water heaters (Deposition pp. 274-75, 351-54, 355, 360, 361, objections omitted):

Q. And how would you be exposed to asbestos from the A.O. Smith hot water heaters and the Rheem hot water heaters?

A. Because asbestos you could see sticking up from the bottom, from the top, you know, on a ship. But it's all right, the jacket is already on though.

Q. And how would you be exposed to asbestos at times, when it leaked?

A. Because many of those jackets are asbestos. They're thick to insulate the boiler, it's this thick. * * * *

Q. . . . Now, do you believe you were exposed to asbestos from a Rheem hot water heater?

A. Yeah. Because the jacket came on the units but under the jacket was the insulation that stuck out all over the seams and stuff like that.

Q. So, it's your testimony that this insulation was underneath the jacket, correct?

A. Yes * * * *

Q. So, in installing this unit you really wouldn't have come in contact with this insulation because you're just connecting it to the lines, correct?

A. It came in a carton, you opened the carton up and there's the product, period....

Q. So, in installing these Rheem hot water heaters, it's safe to say you wouldn't be disturbing the inner portions of the jacket, correct? . . . .

A. You've moving it around. They wanted it in the basement, they drop it off, you have to bring it to the other end of the basement where the chimney is, you're handling it.

Q. You're handling the heater itself?

A. Right.

Q. This fully packaged heater?

A. Yeah.

Q. And the outer part of the heater is metal; is that correct?

A. It's metal.

Q. So, you wouldn't be touching this inner portion of the heater then. . . .

A. You have to open up the top.

Q. And why would you have to open up the top?....

A. Because you have to put a rod in, that rod brings the water to the bottom so the hot and cold water doesn't mix.

* * * *

Q. Now, what's the basis of your belief that the material that was on the inner portions of the hot water heater was asbestos?

A. Asbestos.

Q. What's the basis of your belief, how do you believe that that contained asbestos?

A. Well, the asbestos is underneath the jackets and it's sticking out of the seams.

Q. Right. But how do you know that that was asbestos-containing material?

A. It was only one reason they put it there, to keep the heat in.

* * * *

Q. So now this insulation underneath the jacket of the hot water heater, is that the only way you believe you were exposed to asbestos from the Rheem hot water heaters?

A. With a Rheem, yeah.... we have to put the chimney in too.

Q. For a hot water heater?

A. Yeah. Anything that gives off heat has to have a chimney.

* * * *

Q. So, we've now spoken about all the ways you believe you were exposed to asbestos from the Rheem hot water heater?

A. It has asbestos covering and you were handling it, you were exposed to asbestos.

The defendant asserts that the insulation associated with its water heaters was fiberglass, not asbestos. In support the defendant submits the affidavit of Richard Furhman, sworn to March 22, 2013. From 1966 to 1999 Mr. Furhman held a variety of positions with the defendant, including that of lab technician, product development specialist, lab manager and project engineer.[3] Mr. Furhman averred that the vast majority of Rheem water heaters sold during the relevant time period utilized fiberglass, mineral wool, or polyurethane foam insulation. His conclusions are supported by two catalogs which indicate that Rheem did in fact sell fiberglass insulated gas water heaters.[4] However, these catalogs are undated, and it would only invite speculation to assume that the water heaters portrayed therein were the ones available during Mr. Zimmerman's exposure period. It is also questionable whether these two catalogs could represent the totality of all of the Rheem gas fired water heaters available during the course of Mr. Zimmerman's long career.

In this regard, plaintiffs show that Rheem's "G23" series of hot water heaters manufactured from mid-1956 to early 1958 used a piece of asbestos insulation to protect the combustion chamber access door.[5] Plaintiffs also submit a replacement parts list catalog for G23 water heaters which references the use of asbestos-containing flue liners. These submissions establish that at least some of Rheem's water heaters did in fact utilize asbestos components, including the flue liners which Mr. Zimmerman described as a source of his exposure.

The movant on a summary judgment motion must establish its defense sufficiently to warrant a court's directing judgment in its favor as a matter of law by demonstrating the absence of any material issue of fact. Zuckerman v City of New York, 49 NY2d 557, 562 (1980). Here, and as set forth above, the defendant's limited and undated proofs do not conclusively demonstrate that its products could not have contributed to the plaintiff's injuries.

Accordingly, it is hereby

ORDERED that Rheem Manufacturing Co.'s motion for summary judgment is denied.

This constitutes the decision and order of the court.

[1] Mr. Zimmerman died on November 12, 2012. The complaint has since been amended to add a wrongful death claim. [2] Mr. Zimmerman's deposition transcripts are submitted as defendant's exhibits D & E ("Deposition"). [3] Mr. Furhman's affidavit is submitted as an exhibit to the moving papers.

[4] Defendant's exhibit F. The catalogs refer respectively to the Rheem "Series 40 automatic gas water heater" and the Rheem "Series 60 automatic electric storage water heater."

[5] Plaintiff's exhibit I, p. 15.

Sources

• The opinion on Google Scholar
• New York asbestos laws
• New York asbestos exposure sites