Neither a Product Nor a Premise Claim Says Texas Silica MDL Court
Yesterday, the Texas Silica MDL Court granted a defendant’s no evidence summary judgment motion in a case in which the plaintiff alleged that pipes specified by the defendant to be sandblasted offsite and thereafter installed on its premises were either defective products or somehow an extension of the defendant’s premises over which it retained and exercised control. Plaintiff had sandblasted the pipes but had never actually worked at defendant’s facility. He was subsequently diagnosed with silicosis and “silica related lupus”.
Plaintiff claimed that the defendant’s specifications for a particular surface finish on the pipes, which plaintiff argued could only be achieved by using high silica containing flint or other abrasive, meant that the defendant exercised enough control over the manner of plaintiff’s work that it could be held liable for his injury. The defendant argued that there was no legal duty to the plaintiff and that there was no control that would give rise to Chapter 95 liability.
The Texas MDL court rejected plaintiff’s attempt to use premise liability theories to maintain product liability or negligence claims when there was no product created, manufactured or sold by the defendant and none of the acts allegedly responsible for his injuries occurred on the defendant’s premises. Plaintiff had admitted that there was no Texas case law to support his theory.
