Ganoe v. Metalclad Insulation Corp

In Ganoe v. Metalclad Insulation Corp. (2014) 227 Cal.App.4th 1577, the defendant manufacturer, Metalclad Insulation Corporation, moved for summary judgment, relying on the plaintiffs' factually devoid discovery responses, a statement by the decedent's coworker that he had never heard of Metalclad, and a statement by Metalclad that it had never performed work at or supplied materials to the decedent's workplace, a Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company plant. However, approximately two years into the litigation, Metalclad submitted evidence that it had, in fact, performed insulation work at the Goodyear plant. In response, the plaintiffs amended their discovery responses, "citing to specific facts linking Metalclad to the decedent's exposure to asbestos." (Id. at p. 1579.) On appeal, the court reversed the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Metalclad. (Ibid.) In Ganoe, the plaintiff's expert witness "provided evidence that he had been qualified as an expert witness in over 100 asbestos-related injury cases over the past 16 years, he had worked as a 'pipe coverer, insulator and asbestos worker' for 25 years, and he had been certified and trained about safety issues related to asbestos." (Ganoe, supra, 227 Cal.App.4th at p. 1586, fn. 4.) In addition, he reviewed the testimony of the decedent and the decedent's coworker and Metalclad's record of performing work at the Goodyear plant. This evidence showed that in 1974, new machines installed in an area at the Goodyear plant where the decedent worked required installation of insulated piping and removal of old insulation, which released asbestos-containing dust. The plaintiffs also submitted evidence that Metalclad performed insulation work on piping in 1974 at the Goodyear plant. The decedent described his presence during the work and described insulation "that 'looked like dirty chalk.'" (Id. at p. 1580.)