Lopez v. Union Carbide Corp.

83 F. Supp. 2d 880, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2208, 2000 WL 222245
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedFebruary 23, 2000
DocketNo. Civ.A. 96-40464
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 83 F. Supp. 2d 880 (Lopez v. Union Carbide Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lopez v. Union Carbide Corp., 83 F. Supp. 2d 880, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2208, 2000 WL 222245 (E.D. Mich. 2000).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON GUADALUPE AND EVA LOPEZ’S CLAIMS ONLY AND DEFENDANT’S RENEWED MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

GADOLA, District Judge.

Before the Court are Defendant Union Carbide Corporation’s Motion for Sum[882]*882mary Judgment on Guadalupe and Eva Lopez’s Claims Only and Defendant’s Renewed Motion for Summary Judgment. For reasons stated below, this Court grants Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment on Guadalupe and Eva Lopez’s Claims Only, grants Defendant’s Renewed Motion for Summary Judgment, and dismisses this civil action.

Factual and Procedural Background

At oral argument on the motions before the Court, the parties agreed to the following summary of the factual and procedural background.

Plaintiffs are Manuel Lopez, his wife Karen Lopez, Guadalupe Lopez, and his wife Eva Lopez. The only remaining Defendant in this civil action is Union Carbide Corporation, a New York corporation.

Plaintiffs Manual Lopez and Guadalupe Lopez worked for National Steel Corporation but were temporarily assigned to work at the Linde Division Plant in Ecorse, Michigan, owned and operated by Union Carbide pursuant to written agreements between National Steel and Union Carbide known as the “Oxygen Agreements.” While working at the Union Carbide plant, Plaintiffs allegedly were exposed to hazardous and toxic chemicals, among them the chemical solvent 1, 1, 1 trichloroethane. The exposure and contact with such chemicals allegedly caused severe injuries to Plaintiffs Manual Lopez and Guadalupe Lopez.

Plaintiffs filed their Complaint in the State of Michigan Circuit Court for the County of Wayne. The Complaint initially named as Defendants Union Carbide, National Steel Corporation, Dow Chemical Corporation, and a John Doe later identified as Roger Vincent. Defendants National Steel and Dow Chemical had been dismissed by the time Defendant Union Carbide filed its Notice of Removal, and Judge Anna Diggs Taylor, to whom this case originally had been assigned, denied Plaintiffs’ motion to amend Complaint to include Roger Vincent.

The only remaining claims for relief are Plaintiffs Manuel Lopez’s and Guadalupe Lopez’s claims for negligence and intentional tort (Count I) and Plaintiffs Karen Lopez’s and Eva Lopez’s claim for loss of consortium (Count IV).

This Court stayed this case in November, 1997 pending the conclusion of proceedings before the State of Michigan Bureau of Workers’ Disability Compensation (the “Bureau”) and any appeals from the Bureau’s decision. Those state proceedings and appeals concluded, and in March, 1999 the stay was lifted.

Plaintiff Guadalupe Lopez had filed a claim with the Bureau alleging that “during the course of his employment [he] was exposed to dust, asbestos, vapors, chemicals and other deleterious substances causing chest, lung, heart, and kidney pathology causing and/or aggravating to the point of disability.” On May 13, 1997, Magistrate John J. Hurbis of the Bureau found that Guadalupe Lopez “suffers from a disease which is in no way associated with his employment” and did not reach the question of by whom Guadalupe Lopez was employed. Magistrate Hurbis’ opinion was based on extensive testimony by both lay and expert witnesses for all parties.

Plaintiff Guadalupe Lopez appealed the Bureau’s opinion to the State of Michigan Workers’ Compensation Appellate Commission (the “Commission”). The Commission dismissed the appeal because it was untimely. Plaintiff Guadalupe Lopez appealed that dismissal to the State of Michigan Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals reversed the Commission’s dismissal and remanded the case to the Commission to consider the substance of Plaintiffs appeal. In an opinion signed by Commissioners Marten N. Garn, Richard B. Leslie, and Jürgen Skoppek and entered on March 31, 1999, the Commission reviewed the record, found the requisite support for the magistrate’s opinion, and affirmed that opinion “in its entirety.” Plaintiff Guadalupe Lopez did not appeal the final opinion of the Commission.

[883]*883Plaintiff Manuel Lopez had filed a similar claim with the Bureau, but settled with National Steel prior to a trial before the Bureau. (See Pis.’ Resp. at 6.)

Discussion

1. Standards

a. Summary judgment

Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that summary judgment “shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c). Summary judgment is appropriate where the moving party demonstrates that there is no genuine issue of material fact as to the existence of an essential element of the nonmoving party’s case on which the nonmoving party would bear the burden of proof at trial. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Martin v. Ohio Turnpike Commission, 968 F.2d 606, 608 (6th Cir.1992).

In considering a motion for summary judgment, the court must view the facts and draw all reasonable inferences therefrom in a light most favorable to the non-moving party. 60 Ivy Street Corp. v. Alexander, 822 F.2d 1432, 1435 (6th Cir.1981). The Court is not required or permitted, however, to judge the evidence or make findings of fact. Id. at 1435-36. The moving party has the burden of showing conclusively that no genuine issue of material fact exists. Id. at 1435.

A fact is “material” for purposes of summary judgment where proof of that fact would have the effect of establishing or refuting an essential element of the cause of action or a defense advanced by the parties. Kendall v. Hoover Co., 751 F.2d 171, 174 (6th Cir.1984) A dispute over a material fact is genuine “if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Accordingly, where a reasonable jury could not find that the nonmoving party is entitled to a verdict, there is no genuine issue for trial and summary judgment is appropriate. Id.; Feliciano v. City of Cleveland, 988 F.2d 649, 654 (6th Cir.1993).

Once the moving party carries its initial burden of demonstrating that no genuine issues of material fact are in dispute, the burden shifts to the nonmoving party to present specific facts to prove that there is a genuine issue for trial. To create a genuine issue of material fact, the nonmov-ing party must present more than just some evidence of a disputed issue. As the United States Supreme Court has stated:

[Tjhere is no issue for trial unless there is sufficient evidence favoring the non-moving party for a jury to return a verdict for that party.

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83 F. Supp. 2d 880, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2208, 2000 WL 222245, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lopez-v-union-carbide-corp-mied-2000.