Argument Scheduled in Eighth Circuit Silica Appeal

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals heard argument Dec. 12 in the appeal of a decision to award summary judgment to a company that supplied silica sand to a facility operated by the John Deere Co., which the supplier argued should have been considered a sophisticated user of the product. Bergfeld v. Martin Marietta Corp., et al., No. 02-2114 (8th Cir.).

Roger Bergfeld's appeal of the U.S. District Court for the District of Iowa's decision to award summary judgment to Lockheed Martin, which supplied Deere with sand that allegedly caused Bergfeld to develop silicosis was …