Federal Court’s Resolution Of Mesothelioma Case Wrong Under California Law.

Plaintiff worked for decades in Navy shipyards. He died from mesothelioma six months after he sued 17 asbestos manufacturers in a California state court. His children were substituted as plaintiffs in a survivor action. The children brought another action against six more defendants in a federal court in California. That federal action was transferred to Pennsylvania as part of a multi-district litigation. In the federal action, the judge granted summary judgment in favor of a defendant because the purchaser of its asbestos, the United States Navy, was a sophisticated user. Relying on that ruling, a defendant in the California state action successfully argued to the state judge that summary judgment should be granted because plaintiffs were collaterally estopped from relitigating the issue in superior court. On appeal, the appellate court stated:  “We reverse, holding that the federal court’s resolution of this issue was wrong under California law, and thus collateral estoppels does not apply.” (Gottschall v. Crane Co. (Cal. App. First Dist., Div. 2; October 22, 2014)  230 Cal.App.4th 1115, [179 Cal.Rptr.3d 39].)