17‐1727‐cv Clark v. Advanced Composites Grp.
In the United States Court of Appeals For the Second Circuit ________
AUGUST TERM, 2017
ARGUED: DECEMBER 12, 2017 DECIDED: MARCH 30, 2018
No. 17‐1727‐cv
MICHELE CLARK, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF JOHN CLARK,1 Plaintiff‐Appellant,
v.
AII ACQUISITION, LLC, AWC 1997 CORPORATION, CRANE CO., DOMCO PRODUCTS TEXAS, LP, EATON AEROQUIP LLC, GENERAL CABLE INDUSTRIES, INC., GENERAL GASKET CORP., GOODRICH CORPORATION, FKA B.F. GOODRICH COMPANY, INDUSTRIAL HOLDINGS CORPORATION, FKA CARBORUNDUM CORPORATION, LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP., MCDONNELL DOUGLAS CORPORATION, NAVISTAR, INC., FKA INTERNATIONAL TRUCK AND ENGINE CORPORATION, PECORA CORPORATION, PFIZER INC., PIRELLI INC., PIRELLI TIRE, LLC, PNEUMO ABEX CORPORATION, SAINT‐GOBAIN ABRASIVES, INC., Defendants‐Cross Defendants‐Appellees,
THE BOEING COMPANY, BORGWARNER MORSE TEC LLC, CBS CORPORATION, GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, GOODYEAR CANADA, INC., GOODYEAR TIRE AND RUBBER COMPANY, HARCO LLC, FKA HARCO LABORATORIES, INC., HENKEL CORPORATION, HOLLINGSWORTH
1 We grant Mrs. Clark's request to be substituted as the Representative of the Estate
of John Clark and direct the Clerk of Court to amend the caption as above.
& VOSE COMPANY, IMO INDUSTRIES, INC., LENNOX INDUSTRIES INC., MINE SAFETY APPLIANCE COMPANY, LLC, PARKER HANNIFIN CORPORATION, UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, PRYSMIAN CABLES AND SYSTEMS USA, LLC, FKA PIRELLI CABLE CORPORATION, Defendants‐Cross Defendants‐Cross Claimants‐Appellees,
ADVANCED GROUP COMPOSITES, INC., CERTAINTEED CORPORATION, GEORGIA‐PACIFIC LLC, ROCKWELL AUTOMATION, INC., AS SUCCESSOR IN INTEREST TO ALLEN‐BRADLEY COMPANY, LLC, UNION CARBIDE CORPORATION, WELCO MANUFACTURING COMPANY, WYETH HOLDINGS LLC, Defendants‐Cross Defendants‐Cross Claimants,
CIBA‐GEIGY CORPORATION, CURTISS‐WRIGHT CORPORATION, EATON CORPORATION, E.V. ROBERTS HEADQUARTERS, FMC CORPORATION, GREENE, TWEED & CO., HITCO CARBON COMPOSITES, INC., KAISER GYPSUM COMPANY INC., NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION, SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC, USA, INC., FKA SQUARE D COMPANY, TRANE U.S. INC., FKA AMERICAN STANDARD INC., BMCE, INC., AERCO INTERNATIONAL INC., BASF CORPORATION, Defendants‐Cross Defendants. ________
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. No. 16‐cv‐6422 - George B. Daniels, District Judge. ________
Before: JACOBS, CALABRESI, and CHIN, Circuit Judges. ________
Plaintiff‐Appellant Michele Clark appeals from an April 28, 2017 judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Daniels, J.) dismissing her personal injury claims against more than fifty corporate defendants. We hold that the district court abused its discretion in invoking the equitable doctrine of judicial estoppel to dismiss her claims. Accordingly, we vacate and remand for further proceedings.
ALANI GOLANSKI (Robert E. Shuttlesworth, Shrader & Associates, LLP, Houston, TX, on the brief) Alani Golanski, Esq., New York, NY, for Plaintiff‐Appellant.
MARTIN F. GAYNOR III (Brian D. Gross, Matthew T. Giardina, Jr., Manion Gaynor & Manning LLP, Providence, RI, Amaryah K. Bocchino, Stephan D. Dargitz, Manion Gaynor & Manning LLP, Wilmington, DE, on the brief), Manion Gaynor & Manning LLP, Boston, MA, for Defendant‐Appellee The Boeing Company.2
BRADLEY M. WANNER (Abbie Eliasberg Fuchs, on the brief), Harris Beach, PLLC, New York, NY, for Defendant‐Appellee Prysmian Communications Cables & Systems USA, LLC.
CALABRESI, Circuit Judge:
In 2015, John Edward Clark was diagnosed with mesothelioma,
a cancer caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibers. At that time, Mr.
Clark was