David Martin v. Cincinnati Gas and Electric Co

Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit·Decided April 3, 2009·No. 07-6385·Published

Opinion

RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION Pursuant to Sixth Circuit Rule 206 File Name: 09a0134p.06

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT _________________

X - DAVID MARTIN, Executor of the Estate of

Plaintiff-Appellant, -- Dennis B. Martin,

- No. 07-6385

, > - v.

- - CINCINNATI GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY, - GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, GENERAL - Defendants-Appellees. - ELECTRIC COMPANY,

- N Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky at Covington. No. 02-00201—David L. Bunning, District Judge. Argued: October 29, 2008 * Decided and Filed: January 27, 2009 ** Before: SILER and McKEAGUE, Circuit Judges; LUDINGTON, District Judge.

_________________

COUNSEL ARGUED: Kenneth L. Sales, SALES, TILLMAN, WALBAUM, CATLETT & SATTERLEY, Louisville, Kentucky, for Appellant. Gary J. Sergent, O’HARA, RUBERG, TAYLOR, SLOAN & SERGENT, Covington, Kentucky, James K. Vines, KING & SPALDING, Washington, D.C., Scott T. Dickens, FULTZ, MADDOX, HOVIOUS & DICKENS, Louisville, Kentucky, for Appellees. ON BRIEF: Kenneth L. Sales, Paul J. Kelley, SALES, TILLMAN, WALBAUM, CATLETT & SATTERLEY, Louisville, Kentucky, for Appellant. Gary J. Sergent, Michael J. O’Hara, O’HARA, RUBERG, TAYLOR, SLOAN & SERGENT, Covington, Kentucky, James K. Vines, KING & SPALDING, Washington, D.C., Scott T. Dickens, FULTZ, MADDOX, HOVIOUS & DICKENS, Louisville, Kentucky, Eric M. Cavanaugh, DUKE

* This decision was originally issued as an “unpublished decision” filed on January 27, 2009. On March 30, 2009, the court designated the opinion as one recommended for full-text publication. ** The Honorable Thomas L. Ludington, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan, sitting by designation.

1 No. 07-6385 Martin v. Cincinnati Gas and Electric Co., et al. Page 2

ENERGY SHARED SERVICES, INC., Plainfield, Indiana, for Appellees. Mark A. Behrens, SHOOK, HARDY & BACON, Washington, D.C., for Amicus Curiae. _________________

OPINION _________________

McKEAGUE, Circuit Judge. Dennis Martin (“Mr. Martin”) died from malignant mesothelioma on March 22, 2002. His son, David Martin (“Plaintiff”), serving as executor of his father’s estate, filed a complaint based on asbestos exposure in Kentucky state court against nine defendants. Defendants removed the case to the Eastern District of Kentucky based on diversity.

After various defendants settled or were dismissed from the suit, claims remained against Cincinnati Gas & Electric Company (“CG&E”), General Electric (“GE”), and General Motors (“GM”). The claims against CG&E and GE were based on asbestos that Mr. Martin’s father, Vernon Martin, brought home on his work clothes while working for CG&E. The claim against GM was based on Mr. Martin’s alleged exposure to asbestos while working as a ship mechanic from 1979 to 1984. The district court found that Plaintiff did not raise an issue of material fact regarding causation in his claim against GM, and so granted summary judgment to GM. The district court also granted summary judgment for CG&E and GE because the injury to Mr. Martin was not foreseeable at the time of exposure. Plaintiff appeals both orders. For the reasons given below, we affirm the district court’s orders.

I. BACKGROUND

Mr. Martin’s father worked for CG&E for thirty-eight years. He began working for CG&E in 1951 as a laborer. Within a year, he was promoted to mechanic. His work at CG&E during this period involved underground power lines. The work brought him into contact with fireproofing that contained asbestos. In the 1950’s, he worked with fireproofing every month or two. One power line in particular, the “66,” was treated only with asbestos. Mr. Martin’s father worked on the 66 “[q]uite a few” times. In No. 07-6385 Martin v. Cincinnati Gas and Electric Co., et al. Page 3

1963, he was promoted to equipment operator, where he operated heavy excavating machinery. In 1973, he was promoted to senior mechanic in underground utilities. The district court found that his work with asbestos lasted from 1951 to 1963. Martin v. Gen. Elec. Co., No. 02-201-DLB, 2007 WL 2682064, at *1-2 (E.D. Ky. Sept. 5, 2007). Plaintiff does not challenge that finding on appeal. As Mr. Martin was born in 1952, the relevant asbestos exposure occurred between 1952 and 1963.

Internal memoranda indicate that CG&E used asbestos products. Several documents from CG&E also indicate that GE provided asbestos products to CG&E. A memo from 1948 notes an order from GE for “asbestos gaskets.” Another order indicates that CG&E purchased pipe insulation from GE. Several other memos indicate that GE provided most of the materials for CG&E pipes.

CG&E provided lockers and showers for their employees. After work, Mr. Martin’s father would sometimes shower and change at CG&E. Other times, he would go directly home. When he got home, he would most often change and leave his work clothes in the basement laundry room. Occasionally, he would do yard work in his work clothes. Mr. Martin’s father recalls Mr. Martin sometimes sitting on his lap or hugging him while he was still in his work clothes.

Mr. Martin’s mother, Mary Helen, did the laundry. Mr. Martin and his cousin, Steve Boesing (“Mr. Boesing”), would often play in the basement. The laundry room, however, was in a separate room in the basement, “way over on the far side” from where the children played. This proximity to his father’s work clothes is the basis for Mr. Martin’s first potential exposure to asbestos.

After serving in the Navy, Mr. Martin held a variety of jobs in the Kentucky area. Many of these jobs involved ships; others involved chemical manufacture. The record does not include testimony regarding asbestos exposure during Mr. Martin’s time at these other positions. Mr. Boesing frequently worked with Mr. Martin. At many of these jobs, Mr. Boesing remembered no exposure to anything that might have been asbestos. This was not the case at Valley Line Company, where Mr. Martin was No. 07-6385 Martin v. Cincinnati Gas and Electric Co., et al. Page 4

employed from 1979 to 1984 as a welder and a mechanic. Mr. Boesing also worked at Valley Line, and he recalled asbestos in a variety of forms.

Mr. Boesing recalled working with products made with asbestos during periodic engine overhauls. Eighty-five percent of the engines that Mr. Martin and Mr. Boesing worked on were manufactured by EMD, a GM subsidiary. During the overhauls, Valley Line employees would sometimes have to remove insulation from the exhaust systems. Mr. Boesing believed this insulation was provided by the shipyard when the boats were built. There were two general types of insulation: a silver mesh that could simply be unhooked from the exhaust, and a white insulation with a hard shell. With the latter type, Mr. Martin would have to cut through the hard shell in order to reach the engine. The need to cut through the shell would only occur on one out of four engine overhauls, and it would often involve only enough to remove a bolt.

During the course of work at Valley Line, Mr. Boesing and Mr. Martin also frequently used gaskets. There were two types of gaskets: precut and custom. Precut gaskets were made by EMD. When Valley Line employees made custom gaskets, they did so with materials provided by a different company, Durabla. The new gaskets used during engine overhauls were the precut EMD gaskets. They were installed as provided; at no point did Valley Line employees cut into the new EMD gaskets. Removing old gaskets created a visible white dust. Mr. Boesing did not know if the gaskets replaced during overhauls were made by GM.

Mr. Martin and Mr. Boesing also replaced power packs on ship engines. Part of this work involved removing old gaskets, which created dust.

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