Buffalo Jury Awards 3 Million to Union Pipefitter

By: Chris Placitella @ Oct 26, 2012

Congratulations to my friends Michael Ponterio, Joseph Kremer and Myles Epperson for thier great efforts in beating back the no pay Crane Company once again.  The Plaintiff died at age 77 of mesothelioma.  He worked as a Union Pipefitter from 1961 to about 1985 at a General Motors Engine Plant in Tonawanda, New York.   Crane was found 4 percent at fault. The charge conference was reportedly  a dog fight.  The Court ended up charging the following language on replacement parts, based on Sage and Call (New York Cases), “A manufacturer is liable for injuries resulting from defects in replacement parts that are foreseeably incorporated into its products, even if it did not, in fact, manufacture the replacement part.” The application of this law is great precedent for future case.Crane was represented by K & L Gates attorneys Angela DiGiglio, David Fusco, and Michael Ross.