Meadows v. Union Carbide Corp.

710 F. Supp. 1163, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4906, 1989 WL 46680
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedApril 28, 1989
Docket86 C 7088
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 710 F. Supp. 1163 (Meadows v. Union Carbide Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Meadows v. Union Carbide Corp., 710 F. Supp. 1163, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4906, 1989 WL 46680 (N.D. Ill. 1989).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

MORAN, District Judge.

On August 14, 1986, plaintiff filed this personal injury action against defendants in the Circuit Court of Cook County, alleging defendants manufactured and supplied his employer with unreasonably dangerous chemicals and that, as a direct result, he sustained chronic respiratory problems and other ailments. Defendant American Cyanamid Co. subsequently removed the action to the district court here. Citing Illinois’ two-year limitations upon the filing of lawsuits for personal injuries, defendants assert that plaintiffs cause of action is time-barred. Ill.Rev.Stat. ch. 110, § 13-213(d). Pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, defendants seek summary judgment on the statute of limitations issue. We conclude that under the “continuing tort doctrine” plaintiffs cause of action accrued within the two-year statute of limitations period and therefore deny defendants’ motion for summary judgment.

FACTS

On- January 14, 1980, plaintiff commenced working as a reactor operator for DeSoto Chemical Incorporated. His responsibilities included loading and mixing of various chemicals within tanks and heating the resultant mixture to form certain products. After two weeks in the reactor room plaintiff developed a rash.

In early 1980 plaintiff began suffering from nervousness, breathing difficulties and heart palpitations. In August of the same year he consulted a doctor because of his medical condition. The doctor concluded that chemical toxicity caused plaintiff’s physical condition, including hyperthyro-dism.

In October 1980 plaintiff requested a transfer from the reactor room, claiming the chemicals were causing his medical problems. This request was denied. A meeting with DeSoto personnel in November 1980 also failed to secure plaintiff’s removal from the reactor room.

Plaintiff continued to have problems: difficulty in breathing, chest pains and sleepless nights, and in December 1980 he went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, seeking treatment. Doctors there conducted several tests, all of which were inconclusive.

Following a February 11, 1981 explosion at the DeSoto plant plaintiff was assigned to assist in cleaning up the resulting debris. This task was completed within a month and, until repairs were made in the reactor room, DeSoto transferred plaintiff elsewhere within the plant. These other positions included working as a security guard and as an order-picker at a company warehouse. None of these positions exposed plaintiff to chemicals. On or about May 31, 1982, plaintiff was transferred back to his former position in the reactor room.

On June 7, 1983, plaintiff again requested a transfer from the reactor room, which was subsequently denied. In January 1984 plaintiff entered the Cook County Hospital’s Occupational Medicine Clinics, seeking a determination as to whether his deteriorating physical condition was related to the use of dangerous chemicals. The Clinic provided him with a badge to wear on his lapel to measure solvent exposure at work. After wearing the badge in the reactor room for an eight-hour period, readings indicated exposure to high amounts of vinyl acetate.

In September 1985 plaintiff was transferred from the reactor room to his former *1165 position as a bulkloader. This lawsuit was subsequently filed on August 14, 1986.

For purposes of ruling on defendants’ motion for summary judgment, we hold that defendants’ failure to provide a safe product and their failure to adequately warn plaintiff of the dangers of using this product, constitutes a continuing tort. Thus, plaintiff’s cause of action accrues on the date when he last faced chemical exposure and, this date coming within the two-year statute of limitations, is not time-barred.

DISCUSSION

A. Local Rule 12(f)

A motion for summary judgment can only be granted if the moving party establishes that there is no genuine issue of material fact and judgment is due as a matter of law, Fed.R.Civ.P. 56. County of Milwaukee v. Northrop Data Systems, 602 F.2d 767, 774 (7th Cir.1979). The movant must submit a statement of material facts as to which there are no genuine disputes. Local Rule 12(e). The party opposing a Rule 56 motion must file a statement setting forth facts as to which there exist genuine issues in need of litigation. Local Rule 12(f).

Since plaintiff did not controvert the facts asserted by defendants, we consider admitted all facts stated in defendants’ Local Rule 12(e) filing. Given that terrain, we now address whether defendants should be granted summary judgment as a matter of law.

B. Statute of Limitations

In this diversity action we look to the applicable Illinois law. The central issue presented is when plaintiff’s cause of action accrued. Plaintiff contends the operation of the statute of limitations is controlled by the “continuing tort doctrine”— when a tort involves repeated injury the statute begins to run from the date of the last injury, or when the tortious act ceases. See, e.g., Anderson v. Sutter, 119 Ill.App.3d 1070, 1076, 458 N.E.2d 39, 44, 75 Ill.Dec. 871, 876 (2d Dist.1983) (improper construction of dam caused continued flooding of homeowner’s property); Johnson v. Tipton, 103 Ill.App.3d 291, 300, 431 N.E.2d 464, 473, 59 Ill.Dec. 179, 188 (2d Dist.1982) (pollution migration from neighboring land caused successive incidents of trespass upon farmer’s property); City of Rock Falls v. Chicago Title & Trust Co., 13 Ill.App.3d 359, 364, 300 N.E.2d 331, 334 (3d Dist.1973) (continued tortious interference with plaintiff’s business). Were the cause of action to have accrued on the date of plaintiff’s last exposure to defendants’ chemicals (during September 1985), the two-year statute of limitations would not bar his claim.

Defendants argue that the discovery rule controls the operation of the statute of limitations. Pursuant to the discovery rule, the statute of limitations begins to run when a party knows or reasonably should know that an injury occurred and that it was wrongfully caused. See, e.g., Nolan v. Johns-Manville Asbestos, 85 Ill.2d 161, 171, 421 N.E.2d 864, 868, 52 Ill.Dec. 1, 5 (1981); Witherell v. Weimer, 85 Ill.2d 146, 156, 421 N.E.2d 869, 874, 52 Ill.Dec. 6, 11 (1981).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Sta-Rite Industries, LLC v. Franklin Electric Co., Inc.
519 F. App'x 370 (Sixth Circuit, 2013)
Alston v. Hormel Foods Corp.
730 N.W.2d 376 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 2007)
Ganousis v. E.I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co.
803 F. Supp. 149 (N.D. Illinois, 1992)
Crisman v. Odeco, Inc.
736 F. Supp. 712 (E.D. Louisiana, 1990)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
710 F. Supp. 1163, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4906, 1989 WL 46680, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/meadows-v-union-carbide-corp-ilnd-1989.