Hill v. Exxon Mobil Corp.

988 F. Supp. 2d 691, 2013 WL 27634, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 259
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Louisiana
DecidedJanuary 2, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 11-2786
StatusPublished

This text of 988 F. Supp. 2d 691 (Hill v. Exxon Mobil Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hill v. Exxon Mobil Corp., 988 F. Supp. 2d 691, 2013 WL 27634, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 259 (E.D. La. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER AND REASONS

SARAH S. VANCE, District Judge.

Defendants move for summary judgment on the issue of individual causation. For the following reasons, the Court grants defendants’ motion.

1. BACKGROUND

At Tuboscope Veteo International, LP, Clarence Hill handled pipes that became clogged during oil production. The build up in the pipes, known as scale, can be radioactive, and Clarence Hill alleges that he was exposed to radioactive scale known as Normally Occurring Radioactive Material (“NORM”) when he worked for Tuboscope. This radioactive exposure, Hill originally alleged, caused him to have a heart attack, places him at an increased risk of cancer, and gives him a fear of developing cancer. Hill no longer alleges that his exposure caused him to have a heart attack. Hill’s alleged exposure to NORM took place from 1972 to 1977.1 Hill has sued two oil companies, Shell Oil Co. and Chevron U.S.A. Inc., that had their pipes treated by Tuboscope. Shell and Chevron now move for summary judgment on the issue of individual causation.2

II. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

Summary judgment is warranted when “the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a); Celotex Corp. [693]*693v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Little v. Liquid Air Corp., 37 F.3d 1069, 1075 (5th Cir.1994). When assessing whether a dispute as to any material fact exists, the Court considers “all of the evidence in the record but refrains from making credibility determinations or weighing the evidence.” Delta & Pine Land Co. v. Nationwide Agribusiness Ins. Co., 530 F.3d 395, 398 (5th Cir.2008). All reasonable inferences are drawn in favor of the nonmoving party, but “unsupported allegations or affidavits setting forth ‘ultimate or conclusory facts and conclusions of law’ are insufficient to either support or defeat a motion for summary judgment.” Galindo v. Precision Am. Corp., 754 F.2d 1212, 1216 (5th Cir.1985) (quoting Wright & Miller, Fed. Prac. and Proc. Civ. 2d § 2738 (1983)).

If the dispositive issue is one on which the moving party will bear the burden of proof at trial, the moving party “must come forward with evidence which would ‘entitle it to a directed verdict if the evidence went uncontroverted at trial.’ ” Int’l Shortstop, Inc. v. Rally’s, Inc., 939 F.2d 1257, 1263-64 (5th Cir.1991). The nonmoving party can then defeat the motion by either countering with sufficient evidence of its own, or “showing that the moving party’s evidence is so sheer that it may not persuade the reasonable fact-finder to return a verdict in favor of the moving party.” Id. at 1265.

If the dispositive issue is one on which the nonmoving party will bear the burden of proof at trial, the moving party may satisfy its burden by merely pointing out that the evidence in the record is insufficient with respect to an essential element of the nonmoving party’s claim. See Celotex, 477 U.S. at 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548. The burden then shifts to the nonmoving party, who must, by submitting or referring to evidence, set out specific facts showing that a genuine issue exists. See id. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548. The nonmovant may not rest upon the pleadings, but must identify specific facts that establish a genuine issue for trial. Id. at 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548; see also Little, 37 F.3d at 1075 (“Rule 56 ‘mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial.’”) (quoting Celotex, 477 U.S. at 332, 106 S.Ct. 2548).

III. DISCUSSION

A. Hill Must Prove Causation

Hill alleges that he was exposed to radiation while working at Tuboscope and that this radiation caused him to have an increased risk of cancer and a fear of cancer. At trial, Hill must prove that defendants’ conduct was the cause-in-fact of these injuries. Rando v. Anco Insulations Inc., 16 So.3d 1065, 1088 (La.2009). More specifically, Hill must prove (1) that he was exposed to radiation attributable to each of the defendants and (2) that each defendant’s conduct substantially caused his injuries. Id.; Quick v. Murphy Oil Co., 643 So.2d 1291, 1294-95 (La.Ct.App.1994) (noting that in cases with multiple defendants, courts apply the “substantial factor inquiry”). Defendants’ motion for summary judgment argues that Hill has not provided sufficient evidence that he was exposed to radiation attributable to them.

B. Hill Does Not Meet His Evidentiary Burden

As a matter of background, it is undisputed that new pipe does not have scale, and not all used pipe has scale. Further, not all used pipe with scale contains [694]*694NORM.3 In order to prove his exposure, then, Hill must show that he handled a specific category of defendants’ pipes, namely, used pipes with scale containing NORM.

Hill offers no direct evidence that he was exposed to defendants’ pipes with scale containing NORM. Tuboscope did not keep records of radioactivity at its pipe yard from 1972-1977, nor did it keep track of which oil companies’ pipes contained radioactive scale.4 Instead, Hill bases his claim on circumstantial evidence, which is the “evidence of one fact, or of a set of facts, from which the existence of the fact to be determined may reasonably be inferred.” Rando, 16 So.3d at 1090 (“Use of circumstantial evidence and the deductions and inferences arising therefrom is a common process for establishing liability in negligence cases.”).

Hill supplies enough circumstantial evidence that he worked on used pipe from Shell and Chevron at Tuboscope. He provides records showing that Chevron and Shell sent used pipe to the yard where he worked during his time at Tuboscope.5 Hill also stated that he worked on many oil companies’ pipes, including Shell’s,6 and that he primarily handled used pipe containing “rust and scale.”7 But, as previously stated, not all used pipes contain scale, and not all used pipes containing scale have NORM. Hill’s claim fails because he has not provided enough evidence to show that some of the defendants’ used pipes that he handled had scale containing NORM.

Hill attempts to establish that he handled defendants’ used pipes containing scale with NORM through a series of documents.

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Related

Little v. Liquid Air Corp.
37 F.3d 1069 (Fifth Circuit, 1994)
Rando v. Anco Insulations Inc.
16 So. 3d 1065 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2009)
Quick v. Murphy Oil Co.
643 So. 2d 1291 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1994)
Lucas v. Hopeman Bros., Inc.
60 So. 3d 690 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2011)
Thibodeaux v. Asbestos Corp.
976 So. 2d 859 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2008)

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Bluebook (online)
988 F. Supp. 2d 691, 2013 WL 27634, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 259, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hill-v-exxon-mobil-corp-laed-2013.