Ill. Court Denies Summary Judgment Motions from Ingersoll-Rand, GE, John Crane in Asbestosis Case

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. –– An Illinois federal court has denied motions for summary judgment filed by three defendants in an asbestosis case, ruling that it was not convinced that the companies should avoid liability where they designed products to be used with asbestos-containing materials.

In a series of Sept. 25 orders, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois opined in part that a jury could reasonably conclude that use of the defendants’ products caused the plaintiff to develop asbestosis.

Plaintiff Kenneth Greenleaf argued that he developed bilateral pulmonary asbestosis as a result of asbestos exposure he …