Pangborn Says Sophisticated User Bars California Silica Claims

LOS ANGELES -- A defendant named in a California silica suit has filed a motion for summary judgment claiming that if the court refuses to find that the plaintiff could not have been exposed to the company's product, it should dismiss the case based on the sophisticated user doctrine. Beltran v. J.R. Simplot Co., et al., No. BC356257 (Calif. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty.).

Pangborn Corp. filed the motion Feb. 7 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, asserting that its product could not have caused the silica-related injuries allegedly suffered by plaintiff Lino Cardoza.

Cardoza claims he was exposed to …