Maine Court Denies Summary Judgment for Railroad in Asbestos Case, Says Question of Foreseeability Should Be Left to Jury

BANGOR, Maine –– A Maine federal court has denied summary judgment for Maine Central Railroad in an asbestos personal injury case, concluding that it does not “seem entirely unforeseeable that there would be asbestos-containing products in the control room” in which the plaintiff worked.

In the Jan. 25 order, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine concluded that there was “some reasonable basis to conclude that MCRR should have known about the presence of asbestos” at the bridge and, as such, the question of foreseeability should be left to jurors.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs alleged that Victor …