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KJMSH&R Obtained Summary Judgment for Defendant in Two Benzene Exposure Cases

KJMSH&R obtained summary judgment for our client in two toxic tort/chemical exposure cases filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.  Plaintiffs’ claims involved alleged exposures to benzene in the defendant’s automotive solvent products resulting in myelodysplastic syndrome.  The motions raised the lack of general and specific personal jurisdiction, citing Daimler AG v. Bauman, 571 U.S. 117, 137 (2014) and its progeny, holding that a corporation is only at home for the purposes of general personal jurisdiction where it is incorporated and has it principal place of business. Our client was a foreign corporation with a principal place of business outside of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  In both cases, the alleged exposures arose outside of Pennsylvania.  The motions also challenged the legal sufficiency of plaintiffs’ evidence of product exposure and their expert opinions regarding causation. Richard Walker and John Martin collaborated on the briefs.