Paul Scandaliato was diagnosed with lung cancer after more than forty years of working for Con Edison in New York. He filed an asbestos lawsuit that named dozens of companies whose asbestos-contaminated products he was exposed to or worked with during his career. One of those companies, Kennedy Electrical Supply Corporation, asked to be dismissed from the case based on a discrepancy in Mr. Scandaliato’s deposition testimony, but Justice Adam Silvera of the Supreme Court of New York County denied the company’s request.
New York’s Summary Judgment Laws Set High Bar in Mesothelioma and Asbestos Lung Cancer Claims
After being named a defendant in Mr. Scandaliato’s lung cancer lawsuit, Kennedy Electrical Supply Corporation did what many other mesothelioma and asbestos defendants do: They filed a motion to have the case against them dismissed. The company justified its petition by pointing to the victim having shifted his testimony about its electrical products during his deposition testimony.
Mr. Scandaliato’s attorneys objected to the company’s request, noting that Kennedy Electrical had failed to proffer any argument that its products could not have contributed to his lung cancer and that the company had instead pointed to gaps in his proof. This approach falls short of the state’s previous rulings about granting summary judgment.
Judge Rejects Asbestos Company’s Request for Dismissal from Lung Cancer Claim
In his ruling, Justice Silvera pointed to New York’s judicial position that “the assessment of the value of a witness’s testimony constitutes an issue for resolution by the trier of fact, and any apparent discrepancy between the testimony and the evidence of record goes only to the weight and not the admissibility of the testimony.”
Because the asbestos company failed to “affirmatively establish that plaintiff’s alleged exposure to asbestos from Kennedy products could not have contributed” to Mr. Scandaliato’s lung cancer, the case will move forward for a jury to weigh the testimony and decide.
If you or someone you love has suffered as a result of asbestos exposure, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net can help. Contact us today at 1-800-692-8608 to learn more.
