KJMSH&R Obtains Dismissals of Two Defendants in Toxic Tort/Chemical Exposure Case
June 2020KJMSH&R obtained dismissals for two of our clients in a toxic tort/chemical exposure cases filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. The dismissals resulted when preliminary objections we filed on behalf of our clients were sustained. Plaintiffs’ claims involved alleged exposures to benzene in the defendants’ automotive solvent products, resulting in acute myelogenous leukemia. The defendants’ preliminary objections 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. Both clients are foreign corporations with principal places of business outside of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Plaintiffs never resided in Pennsylvania and the injured plaintiff/husband never worked in Pennsylvania. The preliminary objections also challenged the legal sufficiency of plaintiffs’ breach of warranty, intentional tort battery and fraud claims, as well as plaintiffs’ claims for punitive damages. Richard Walker, Robert Connor and John Martin collaborated on the briefs.