3rd Circuit Reverses Award of Summary Judgment for General Electric in Asbestos Case

PHILADELPHIA –– The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit has vacated an award of summary judgment entered in favor of General Electric Co., saying that the plaintiffs could rely upon circumstantial evidence of intense exposure.

In the July 7 opinion, the appellate court found that the decedent’s own testimony that he worked on the defendant’s engines combined with testimony from an expert that asbestos components deteriorated was enough to defeat the summary judgment motion.

Plaintiff Susan Haas asserted the claims, contending that her father, Carl Brasmer, was exposed to General Electric’s asbestos-containing J79-GE-17A engine while serving in the …