Attorneys Bobnak & Malin Secure Dismissal Of International Supplier From Living Mesothelioma Asbestos Case

Members George “Jerry” Bobnak and Michael Malin secured the dismissal of the world’s largest, most comprehensive supplier of equipment and technologies for the wood processing industry from a potential multi-million dollar living mesothelioma asbestos case filed in the Superior Court of Newcastle County, Delaware. Burns White’s client was the sole defendant in the case. In addition to claims for strict liability and negligence, Plaintiff argued that the defendant supplier was liable as the successor-in-interest to a company that manufactured a massive plywood fabricating machine that allegedly incorporated asbestos-containing components. The Plaintiff, a resident of Oregon brought suit against the supplier claiming he contracted peritoneal mesothelioma from working around the machine during a 3-month period during the mid-1970s. Burns White’s legal team set forth its arguments in multiple negotiating sessions with plaintiff’s counsel presenting undisputed evidence that it did not acquire the liabilities of the predecessor entity as part of the asset purchase transaction, that any claims of the Plaintiff against the defendant supplier were barred by the Oregon Statute of Repose, and that the Plaintiff could not have been exposed to asbestos because the machine at issue did not incorporate any asbestos-containing components. Bobnak and Malin were ably supported by Member Maria Granaudo Gesty, David P.B. Stephens, and Heather McArthur.