Asbestos Hidden in Printing Press Blamed for Man’s Malignant Mesothelioma

A jury will decide whether Jean Castagna’s death from malignant mesothelioma was caused by asbestos in the printing press that he worked with for years. Though the equipment manufacturer asked for the case against them to be dismissed, a New York judge ruled that there were too many questions of fact to be decided for their motion for summary judgment to be granted.

Mesothelioma Blamed on Years of Work with Asbestos-contaminated Equipment

Before he succumbed to his illness, Jean Castagna filed a mesothelioma lawsuit against several companies that he accused of having negligently exposed him to the carcinogen asbestos. In response to being named as one of the defendants, Komori America Corporation filed a motion for summary judgment, asking the Supreme Court of New York County to dismiss the case against them dismissed.

Company Argues Against Liability for Mesothelioma

Mr. Castagna provided testimony while undergoing chemotherapy for his malignant mesothelioma, and during his deposition, he indicated that between 1980 and 1988, he had worked for Martin Lithographers with Komori’s printing presses. The company responded by arguing that since they had not been incorporated until 1982, they could not have caused his illness, and also submitted an affidavit from an employee to agree to the timeline of their entity having been formed.

The employee also signed a document saying that there had been no asbestos in their printing presses and that there were no records of Komori having ever sold a printing press to the mesothelioma victim’s employer, but Justice Adam Silvera rejected both the company’s assertions and their attempt to have an employee excuse them from standing trial. He noted that since the victim claimed exposure through 1988, the argument regarding the two years before incorporation was inadequate to justify the case being dismissed.

The judge also said that the employee’s testimony had not proven that their equipment did not contain the asbestos that had caused Mr. Castagna’s mesothelioma, and that the fact that there were no receipts of a sale to his employer ignored the role that resellers might have played in the sale of contaminated equipment. Calling all of the printing press company’s arguments weak, the judge decided that the case must be heard by a jury.