Winfield P. Frederick is a former auto and cruise ship engine mechanic who was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2017. He filed a personal injury claim against multiple defendants whose asbestos-contaminated parts he blamed for his illness, including Western Auto Supply Company. Though the company asked for the case against them to be dismissed, the judge hearing their motion for summary judgment denied their request, allowing the case to continue and move forward.
Auto Parts Company Asks for Dismissal of Lung Cancer Claim
Mr. Frederick has been seeking justice for his lung cancer diagnosis for years. In deposition testimony. he provided extensive information about his exposure to Western Auto Supply Company’s auto parts, yet the company filed two separate motions to have the claims against them dismissed.
They asserted that the Supreme Court of New York has no personal jurisdiction over them in the lung cancer claim, arguing that because they are incorporated and maintain a principal place of business outside of New York. The company also argued that the lung cancer case against them should be dismissed because the victim had provided insufficient identification of their products in his claim.
Judge Rejects Both of Auto Parts Company’s Arguments in Lung Cancer Claim
Upon reviewing the case and the arguments from both the defendant and the lung cancer victim, Justice Adam Silvera denied the company’s petitions to have the case against them dismissed. He first noted that because the company had done business in New York, the state’s long-arm statute established that the court does, in fact, have jurisdiction over the claim.
As for the argument that the plaintiff did not provide enough proof of causation between their product and his lung cancer diagnosis, the judge noted that the company’s only affirmative piece of evidence was the affidavit of their corporate representative, which neither demonstrated the required level of personal knowledge to establish that Mr. Frederick could not have been exposed to their products, but also that the timelines indicated by the representative did not establish that their products would not still have been in circulation or available to the victim during the contested timeline.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer, or any other asbestos-related disease, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net can help. For more information, contact us today at 1-800-692-8608.
