Looks like it is Circuit Court week here at TLT.
Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, based in Cincinnati, upheld the grant of summary judgment to CSX Transportation, Inc. in an action brought by local residents following the October 2007 derailment and fire near Painesville, Ohio. Liability was not an issue. Rather the questions before the Court were causation and injury, and under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56, whether there was sufficient evidence to create a genuine issue of material fact for a jury to consider.
The residents suing the railroad did not have current injuries, but sued for medical monitoring expenses and an increased risk of future cancer. After summary judgment was granted by the District Court, the Sixth Circuit affirmed, reasoning that expert testimony supporting plaintiffs' claims of increased risk of cancer was speculative, and bordered on "legal insignificance."
A copy of the Opinion is attached here.
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