Mich. Judge Denies Motion to Dismiss Suit Over Storage Tank Fatalities

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - A Michigan federal judge has denied a dairy farm's motion to dismiss claims filed on behalf of a worker killed in a storage tank accident, saying that the exclusivity provisions of the state's Workers' Disability and Compensation Act don't apply. Garcia v. Yankee Springs Dairy Inc., No. 1:11-cv-1010 (W.D. Mich.).

Judge Gordon J. Quist of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan also concluded Feb. 15 that representatives of the Estate of Francisco Javier Mendez Martinez have sufficiently pleaded negligence and intentional tort claims to withstand a motion to dismiss.

Tomas M. Garcia …