California Court Of Appeals Affirms Summary Judgement Obtained By Booth LLP

BOOTH LLP partners Paul Rasmussen and Ben Caplan, and senior associate Allan Bareng, defended a glass manufacturer in a wrongful death action which claimed that its products exposed plaintiff to silica dust and other alleged toxins, leading to his death from lung disease. BOOTH LLP successfully argued on summary judgment that their client's products could not, and did not, cause plaintiff's illness and death, since there was no evidence that the products had been cut or otherwise manipulated so as to cause a release of dangerous particulates. Without exposure, the court concluded, there could be no causation, and therefore summary judgment was warranted. Plaintiff appealed the decision, and the BOOTH LLP defense team drafted the successful Appellate Brief. The Second District Court of Appeal agreed with the trial court and affirmed the judgment unanimously, as well as awarded costs.