Civil Procedure Keyed to Marcus
Celotex Corp. v. Catrett
ProfessorTodd Berman
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
Petitioner commenced this action alleging the wrongful death of her husband, which resulted from his exposure to products containing asbestos manufactured and distributed by the Respondent. Petitioner’s complaint alleged negligence, breach of warranty and strict liability. Respondent filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on the grounds that the Petitioner failed to produce evidence that any of Respondent’s products were the proximate cause of the injury. In response to Respondent’s Motion for Summary Judgment, Petitioner produced three documents, which she claimed demonstrated that there is a material issue of fact as to whether the decedent was exposed to Respondent’s asbestos. The district court granted Respondent’s Motion for Summary Judgment against the Petitioner, because Petitioner was unable to produce evidence in support of her allegation of wrongful death. Petitioner’s complaint alleged that the wrongful death of the Petitioner was a result of being exposed to Respondent’s asbestos products. The court of appeals reversed and held that Respondent’s failure to support the motion with evidence tending to negate such exposure of asbestos products precluded the entry of summary judgment in its favor.
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