December 29, 2010
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Exclusion of Plaintiff Causation Experts in Insecticide Case
On December 9, 2010, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld summary judgment in favor of 2 defendants.
As stated by the Eighth Circuit:
Rene Junk brought this action in state court on behalf of her son, Tyler (T.J.) Junk, against Terminix International Company (Terminix), Dow Chemical Company and Dow AgroSciences LLC (collectively Dow), and Terminix employee Jim Breneman. Junk alleged that T.J.’s multiple medical conditions were caused by exposure to Dursban, an insecticide manufactured by Dow, distributed by Terminix, and applied to the Junk household by Breneman and other Terminix employees. After Dow removed the case to federal district court, Junk moved to remand for lack of diversity since Junk and defendant Breneman were both citizens of Iowa. The district court denied the motion after concluding that Breneman had been fraudulently joined to evade diversity. Junk’s claims against Breneman were subsequently dismissed, and summary judgment was entered for Dow and Terminix. Junk appeals. We affirm the judgment in favor of Dow and Terminix but reverse in respect to the claim against Breneman.
The Eighth Circuit’s opinion can be found here
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