Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County

Plaintiff Jean Castagna filed suit against a number of defendants, including Komori America Corporation, alleging exposure to asbestos during his employment with Martin Lithographers, Inc. in the 1980s. Komori moved to dismiss the action of the grounds that Mr. Castagna was not exposed to asbestos from any Komori-branded product. Specifically, Mr. Castagna alleged that he was exposed to asbestos via a Komori printing press in 1980, but Komori was not incorporated until 1982. Komori also provided an affidavit of a former employee that asserted that there were no records that Komori distributed any Komori-branded printing presses to Martin Lithographers, Inc.

The court ultimately determined that Komori failed to meet its initial burden in establishing that its product did not contain asbestos and could not have contributed to the plaintiff’s asbestos exposure. The court pointed out that Mr. Castagna testified he worked at Martin Lithographers, Inc. until 1988 – well after the point of Komori’s 1982 incorporation. Moreover, according to the court, “1980 and 1982 are not so far apart as to dispel with certainty any exposure to a Komori product.” The court also determined that the affidavit of Komori’s former employee was insufficient to establish with certainty that Komori printing presses did not contain asbestos and that any asbestos-containing Komori printing press could not have been available to or used by Mr. Castagna. Finally, the court noted that “the deposition testimony of a litigant is sufficient to raise an issue of fact as to preclude the grant of summary judgment” and “the assessment of the value of a witness’s testimony constitutes an issue for resolution by a trier of fact.” For these reasons, the court dismissed Komori’s motion in its entirety.

Read the full decision here.