Gucciardi v. Bonide Products, Inc.

28 F. Supp. 3d 383, 2014 WL 2862207, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85509
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedJune 24, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 12-932
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 28 F. Supp. 3d 383 (Gucciardi v. Bonide Products, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gucciardi v. Bonide Products, Inc., 28 F. Supp. 3d 383, 2014 WL 2862207, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85509 (E.D. Pa. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

BUCKWALTER, Senior District Judge.

Currently pending before the .Court are: (1) a Motion for Summary Judgment by Defendant Bonide. Products, Inc.; (2) a Second Motion for Summary Judgment by Defendant Nationwide Chemical Products, Inc.; and (3) First and Second Motions for Summary Judgment by Defendant NCP of Northwest Ohio, Inc. For the following reasons, the Motions are denied.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The present matter is a products liability action brought by Plaintiffs Steven Guc-ciardi and Regina Gueeiardi, husband and wife, (collectively “Plaintiffs”) against Defendants Lowe’s Companies, Inc. d/b/a Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse, Lowe’s, and Lowe’s d/b/a Lowe’s of North Wilmington Delaware (collectively the “Lowe’s Defendants”), Bonide Products, Inc., Nationwide Chemical Products, Inc., and NCP of Northwest Ohio, Inc.

Plaintiffs purchased their new home at eighty-seven Carter Way, Glen Mills, Pennsylvania in 1984. (Pis.’ Resp. Opp’n Bonide’s Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 1, Dep. of Steven Gueeiardi (“S. Gueeiardi Dep.”), 36:7-8, Mar. 8, 2013.) Sometime in 2003 to 2004, Steven Gueeiardi bought a can of Bonide Termite and Ant Control (the “Product”), but did not use it until November 2006. (Id. at 61:3-9; Pis.’ Resp. Opp’n [386]*386Bonide’s Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 8.) The Product was originally manufactured by Defendant Nationwide Chemical Products, Inc. and sold to Bonide, who distributed the Product to various wholesalers and retailers. (Pis.’ Resp. Opp’n Bonide’s Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 4, Dep. of James Wurz (“Wurz Dep.”), 93:20-94:16, Sept. 6, 2013.)

On approximately January 24, 2010, Mr.' Guceiardi was cleaning out his basement and saw some black insects crawling on the concrete wall. (S. Guceiardi Dep. 68:13-21.) He got the Bonide Termite & Carpenter Ant Control Product, shook it up, “glanced” at the label, and sprayed it on the wall. (Id. at 72:11-73:20.) The process took a total of approximately twenty minutes to a half hour, which included moving his ladder and moving objects away from the wall. (Id. at 74:13-76:1.) Altogether, however, he actually sprayed the bugs for only about two minutes and used about a third to a half of the can. (Id. at 76:2-6.) Prior to doing so, he noted the instructions that said to spray in the area of the infestation and to wear glasses and long sleeves, both of which he was wearing. (Id. at 76:10-24.) After he was done spraying, he left the windows open in the basement for approximately four to five hours. (Id. at 82:15-24.)

On January 25, 2010 — the last evening he slept in his house — he experienced an elevated or rapid heartbeat, had a headache, and felt nauseous. (Id. at 91:19-92:9, 99:1-12.) Subsequently, due to the overwhelming odor and resulting symptoms, he did not return to the house until January 30th or 31st, and thereafter only sporadically in order to pick up some items. (Id. at 99:1-20, 115:11-23.) Plaintiffs’ expert, Wayne K. Ross, M.D., opined that the Product caused a direct toxic effect to Mr. Guceiardi on the day of administration, resulting in “a series of neurotoxic signs and symptoms including headache, dizziness, agitation and fatigue” and that “Mr. Guceiardi continues to have adverse effects from the contaminated fumes at the residence” which .are “permanent.” (Pis.’ Resp. 'Opp’n Summ. J., Ex. 3, Expert Report of Wayne Ross, M.D. (“Ross Report”), at 8.) Dr. Ross also concluded that “the continued presence of the contaminated fumes at his residence is so prevalent that the fumes would render any individual incapable of normally living in and breathing the atmospheric conditions at his residence.” (Id.)

Mr. Gucciardi’s wife, Regina Guceiardi, was away in Key West, Florida when her husband sprayed the Product on January 24, 2010. (Pis.’ Resp. Opp’n Summ. J., Ex. 5, Dep. of Regina Guceiardi (“R. Guceiardi Dep.”), 15:9-13, Mar. 8, 2013.) Although she returned to town approximately a week later, Ms. Guceiardi did not go into her home until early April. (Id. at 17:1-12.) When she did enter the home, she remarked' that the home had a horrible smell and she stayed only forty-five minutes to an hour, just long enough to open the windows. (Id. at 18:1-12.) Her lips began to burn and she felt light-headed. (Id. at 19:23-20:1.) Each time she subsequently entered the house, she felt successively worse. (Id. at 20:1-5.) Dr, Ross observed that after her exposure to the Bonide Product, “Ms. Guceiardi developed burning lips, lightheadedness, nausea, headaches, eye irritation, dizziness, fatigue, profuse sweating, chemical hypersensitivity, weight loss and impaired concentration.” (Ross Report 8.) On April 12, 2011, Mrs. Guceiardi was diagnosed with Reactive Airway Disease, which Dr. Ross believes was caused by the environmental exposure to the pesticide. (Id. at 4.) Plaintiffs have presented evidence that several other individuals who have entered the home since use of the Product have suffered adverse health effects.

[387]*387Plaintiffs’ toxicology expert, Gary Whit-myre, has opined that the “Bonide Termite and Carpenter Ant Control aerosol product has rendered the Gucciardi home uninhabitable” and has noted that “[b]ecause of the adverse reactions still experienced by Steve and Gina Gucciardi when they enter their home, they will never be able to reoccupy their home and have a normal life there.” (Defs.’ Mot. Summ. J., Ex. F, Expert Report of Gary Whitmyre (“Whit-myre Report”), 4.) Thus, he concluded that the residence represents a permanent nonrecoverable loss to Plaintiffs. (Id. at 19.)

On January 17, 2012, Plaintiffs initiated the current litigation in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, alleging several claims. First, Plaintiffs set out a cause of action for strict liability, as follows:

At the time and place aforesaid, Defendants, through its agents, servants, workmen, and/or employees, who were acting within the scope of their authority and within the course of their employment, breached their duties and obligations as designers, formulators, composers, manufacturers, producers, marketers, sellers, installers and/or distributors of the product involved herein under Section 402(a) of the Restatement of the Law of Torts-Second in inter alia:
a. Manufacturing, composing, formulating, designing, producing, selling and/or distributing the product that was unreasonably dangerous at the time of its original manufacture and sale;
b. Manufacturing, composing, formulating, designing, producing, selling and/or distributing the product that was unsafe and defective in its design, composition, formulation and manufacture;
c. Failing to properly design, compose, formulate, manufacture, inspect, test, service, distribute and/or sell products such as the one in question;
d. Failing to use reasonable care in the design, manufacture, composition, formulation, inspection, testing, servicing, distributing, and/or sale of the product, as the one in question;
e. Failing to discover the defects and unsafety in said product;
f. Failing to design, manufacture and/or formulate said product;
g. Failing to make reasonable in- .

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Bluebook (online)
28 F. Supp. 3d 383, 2014 WL 2862207, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85509, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gucciardi-v-bonide-products-inc-paed-2014.