Kurns v. Railroad Friction Products Corp., No. 10-879; U.S. Supreme Court; opinion by Thomas, J.; concurrence by Kagan, J.; partial dissent by Sotomayor, J.; decided February 29, 2012. On certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
George Corson worked as a welder and machinist for a railroad carrier. After retirement, Corson was diagnosed with mesothelioma. He and his wife, a petitioner here, sued respondents Railroad Friction Products Corporation and Viad Corp. in state court, claiming injury from Corson’s exposure to asbestos in locomotives and locomotive parts distributed by respondents. The Corsons alleged state-law claims of defective design and failure to warn of the dangers posed by asbestos. After Corson died, petitioner Kurns, executrix of his estate, was substituted as a party. Respondents removed the case to the Federal District Court, which granted them summary judgment, ruling that the state-law claims were pre-empted by the Locomotive Inspection Act (LIA), 49 U.S.C. § 20701 et seq. The Third Circuit affirmed.
