Union Carbide seeks transfer of asbestos mass tort claim from Phila. to federal court

Attorneys for Union Carbide Corp. have petitioned the federal court in Philadelphia for a

transfer of an asbestos mass tort claim that was brought last month by a Florida woman at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

Susan E. Murphy is suing Union Carbide over the mesothelioma related death of Donald Murphy, who was diagnosed with the disease in July 2011 by a doctor at Broward General Medical Center in the Sunshine State.

Donald Murphy’s disease, the plaintiff claims, was directly attributed to the man’s exposure to asbestos, which occurred during his career with the United States Army and during private work as a housing renovator.

Donald Murphy, the lawsuit shows, was also a cigarette and pipe smoker for a number of years.

The plaintiff claims the defendant manufactured and distributed the asbestos-containing products that Donald Murphy came into contact with during his career.

While the exact nature of the relationship between the plaintiff and Donald Murphy could not be ascertained by the lawsuit, which was filed as a short-form complaint in the master Asbestos Litigation in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, their respective birth dates show the two could have been father and daughter; Donald Murphy was born in 1929 while Susan Murphy was born in 1953.

The plaintiff is being represented by attorney Tia Dinh, of the Cherry Hill, N.J. firm Weitz & Luxenberg.

On July 24, Philadelphia lawyers Robert N. Spinelli and Catherine N. Jasons, of the firm Kelley Jasons McGowan Spinelli Hanna & Reber LLP, filed a notice of removal at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Philadelphia on behalf of their client, Union Carbide.

The notice seeks to remove the complaint, originally filed June 28 in Common Pleas Court, to the federal venue because diversity of citizenship exists between the parties.

While the plaintiff is a Florida resident, Union Carbide is a New York corporation with its principal place of business in Houston, TX, the defense filing states.

The defense lawyers stated that the matter also meets the $75,000 threshold for federal court jurisdiction.

 

The state case ID number is 130600387 and the federal case number is 2:13-cv-04288-ER.