N.Y. Court Awards Summary Judgment to Rockwell Automation, Says Asbestos Claims Preempted

NEW YORK –– A New York trial court has awarded summary judgment to Rockwell Automation Inc. in an asbestos exposure case, finding that the decedent’s own testimony establishes that he worked on parts of train cars that were an “integral or essential” part of a completed locomotive.

In the Dec. 21 opinion, the New York Supreme Court for New York County found that, as a result, the claims were preempted by the Locomotive Inspection Act.

The plaintiffs asserted the claims on behalf of Michael J. Hanley, contending that his exposure to asbestos-containing products for three decades caused him to develop …