HARRISBURG – The Superior Court of Pennsylvania agreed with CSX Transportation, Inc. that a retired train brakeman and conductor’s toxic substances exposure lawsuit filed against the company properly belonged in a Maryland court, as opposed to a Philadelphia one.
On Dec. 21, a panel trio from the Superior Court reversed an order from the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas which denied CSX’s motion to dismiss plaintiff Clyde Green’s litigation, and remanded the case with directions to the trial court to dismiss it without prejudice, so that it may then be refiled in a more appropriate court.
Superior Court Judge James Gardner Colins authored the opinion on behalf of himself and colleague judges Alice Beck Dubow and Mary P. Murray.
Green, a lifelong Maryland resident who worked for CSX and its predecessors over a 42-year career, alleged he developed colon cancer through his employment-based exposure to toxic substances.
Specifically, Green argued that excessive amounts of asbestos, diesel exhaust/fumes and second-hand smoke were either causally or contributorily related to the onset of his cancer, and that his employer was negligent for not providing him with a reasonably safe working environment.
“Although his primary job sites were in Maryland, on occasion, Green would work out of rail yards and terminals in Virginia and Washington, D.C. While under CSXT’s employ, Green never worked in Pennsylvania. However, Green, in the 1970s and 80s, infrequently traveled to a singular rail yard in Pennsylvania as a result of working for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the Chessie System. In total, over the course of his entire career, Green worked at 13 separate rail yards,” Colins said.
“Green was both diagnosed and exclusively treated for his cancer in Maryland. Every single medical professional that was directly involved in Green’s health maintains or operated his or her practice in either Baltimore or Annapolis, Maryland.”
CSX moved to dismiss the case through a forum non conveniens argument.
In its dismissal motion, CSX said if the complaint was dismissed and re-filed in Maryland, it would not object to venue or personal jurisdiction and would consent to utilizing the Pennsylvania filing date of this action for statute-of-limitations purposes – if Green re-filed his complaint in a timely manner.
However, the trial court denied CSX’s move and the company appealed to the Superior Court.
While the trial court found that in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was equally burdensome to conduct remote litigation in both Pennsylvania and Maryland, the Superior Court disagreed – and further found that any connection to Pennsylvania was ill-founded.
“Even assuming that some component of Green’s alleged injury occurred in Pennsylvania, a location where he not only sparsely performed work in but also has not worked in over three decades, the notion that litigation could be conducted more easily in in this state is tenuous, at best. Any connection Green has with Pennsylvania is merely transitory and de minimis, with Maryland appearing to be the obvious and more convenient alternate forum,” Colins said.
“More specifically, none of the fact witnesses (medical or otherwise) identified by either party reside in Pennsylvania. In addition, Green’s work in Pennsylvania amounted to the smallest component of his time, compared to his work hours spent in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.”
Colins and his colleagues, while “considering that some percentage of Green’s purported injury may have occurred in Pennsylvania and that there is one observable worksite located within this state”, also found that “every other aspect of this case militates a finding that CSX presented ‘weighty reasons’ in motioning for dismissal on forum non conveniens grounds and that litigation could be conducted much more easily in Maryland.”
“As such, given the clear viability of Maryland as an alternate forum, it was an abuse of discretion to find to the contrary,” Colins said.
The Superior Court then reversed the trial court’s order to throw out CSX’s dismissal motion and remanded the case to the trial court for dismissal without prejudice, so that it may then be re-filed in a Maryland court.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania case 2218 EDA 2020
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas case 190302966
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com