On June 06, 2007 a Motion,Ex Parte was filed involving a dispute between Castagna, Louis, and Advocate Mines Limited, Albay Construction Company, All Asbestos Defendants, Allis-Chalmers Corporation Product Liability Trust, American Conference Of Governmental Industrial, American Conference Of Governmental Industrial Hyg, American Standard, Inc., Ameron International Corporation, A.O. Smith Corporation, Asbestos Defendants, Asbestos Manufacturing Company, Auto Friction Corporation, Auto Specialties Manufacturing Company, Baugh Construction Company, Bechtel Corporation, Bell Asbestos Mines Ltd., Borgwarner Morse Tec, Inc., Brassbestos Brake Lining Company, Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, Llc, Briggs & Stratton Corporation, Bucyrus International, Inc., Caterpillar Inc., Cbs Corporation, A Delaware Corporation, Chevron Products Company, Chevron U.S.A. Inc., Chicago Bridge & Iron Company,, Chrysler Llc Fka Daimlerchrysler Company Llc,, Conocophillips Company, Consolidated Insulation, Inc., Contra Costa Electric, Inc., Copeland Corporation, Copeland Corporation, Llc Fka Copeland Corporation, Crane Co., Csk Auto, Inc., Daimlerchrysler Company Llc, Formerly Known As, Daimlerchrysler Corporation, Dana Corporation, Dillingham Construction N.A., Inc., Does 1-8500, Douglass Insulation Company, Inc., Durametallic Corporation, Eaton Corporation, Eaton Electrical Inc., Elliott Company,, Elliott Turbomachinery Co., Inc., Emsco Asbestos Company, Fibre & Metal Products Company, Fibre & Metal Products Company, Inc., Fisher Controls International Llc, Fmc Corporation, Fmc Corporation-Chicago Pump, Forcee Manufacturing Corp., Ford Motor Company, Foster Wheeler Llc, Garlock Sealing Technologies, Llc, Gate City Plumbing & Heating, Gatke Corporation, General Electric Company, General Motors Corporation, Genuine Parts Co., Genuine Parts Company, Henry Vogt Machine Co., H. Krasne Manufacturing Company, Honeywell International Inc.,, Hopeman Brothers, Inc., Imo Industries Inc., Ingersoll-Rand Company, Interlake Steamship Co., Johnson Controls, Inc., J.T. Thorpe & Son, Inc., Kaiser Gypsum Company, Inc., Kelly-Moore Paint Company, Inc., Lamons Gasket Company, Landsea Holding Company, Lasco Brake Products, Lear Siegler Diversified Holdings Corp., Lindstrom & King Co., Inc., L.J. Miley Company, Maremont Corporation, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Molded Industrial Friction Corporation, Morton International, Inc., National Automotive Parts Association, National Transport Supply, Inc., Nibco Inc., Oakfabco, Inc., Owens-Illinois, Inc., Paccar Inc., Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Pacific Mechanical Corporation, Parker-Hannifin Corp., Performance Mechanical, Inc., Plant Insulation Company, Pneumo Abex Llc, Quintec Industries, Inc., Rapid-American Corporation, Red-White Valve Corporation, Republic Supply Company, Riley Power Inc., Riley Power, Inc., Erroneously Sued As Babcock, Riteset Manufacturing Company, Rockwell Automation, Inc., Rossendale-Ruboil Company, Santa Fe Braun, Inc., Schlage Lock Company, Scott Co. Of California,, Sequoia Ventures Inc., Shell Oil Company, Silver Line Products, Inc., Southern Friction Materials Company, Special Electric Company, Inc., Special Materials, Inc.-Wisconsin, Standard Motor Products, Inc., Standco, Inc, Sta-Rite Industries, Llc, Stuart-Western, Inc., Swinerton Builders Fka Swinerton & Walberg Co., Taco, Inc., Temporary Plant Cleaners, Inc., Terry Corporation Of Connecticut, Terry Steam Turbine Co., The Budd Company, The Dow Chemical Company, The Industrial Maintenance Engineering Contracting, The William Powell Company, Thomas Dee Engineering Company, Timec Company, Inc., Tosco Refining Company, Inc., Trane Us, Inc., Triple A Machine Shop, Inc., Tyco International, Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., Uniroyal Holding, Inc., Universal Friction Materials Company, Unocal Corporation, U.S. Spring & Bumper Company, Warren Pumps, Llc, Wheeling Brake Block Manufacturing Company, Yarway Corporation, Zurn Industries, Llc, Formerly Known As Zurn, for civil in the District Court of San Francisco County.
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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 B&H ml Ss 2 Gf a< Ee 14 Me is SE 16 So oo wn 18 19 20 21 2 23 24 25 26 27 28 207628.) 1677,28787 RICHARD D. DUMONT (SBN 107967) rdumont@selmanbreitman.com PAUL J. GAMBA (SBN 146097) ELECTRONICALLY pgamba@selmanbreitman.com FILED SEL) BREITMAN LLP Superior Court of California, 33 New Montgomery, Sixth Floor County of San Francisco San Francisco, CA 94105 OCT 29 2010 Telephone: (415) 979-0400 Clerk of the Court Facsimile: (415) 979-2099 BY: JUANITA D. MURPHY Deputy Clerk Attomeys for Defendant LAMONS GASKET COMPANY SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO - UNLIMITED JURISDICTION LOUIS CASTAGNA, Case No. CGC-07-274230 Plaintiff, MOTION IN LIMINE TO PRECLUDE EVIDENCE v. PERTAINING TO TRADE ORGANIZATIONS OF WHICH IT ASBESTOS DEFENDANTS (BP), WAS NOT A MEMBER - Motion in Limine No. 30 Action Filed: June 6, 2007 Trial Date: October 29, 2010 Defendant. Defendant LAMONS GASKET COMPANY (hereinafter referred to as "LAMONS") herein submits the following motion in limine. IL. INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND Defendant Lamons anticipates that plaintiffs will seek to introduce into evidence documents relating to trade organizations of which Lamons was never a member. Because this evidence is irrelevant and would create a substantial danger of undue prejudice to Lamons and mislead the jury, it should be excluded. if iif 1 MOTION IN LIMINE TO PRECLUDE EVIDENCE PERTAINING TO TRADE ORGANIZATIONS OF WHICH IT WAS NOT A MEMBER ~- MIL NO. 302 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 % 1 wed 12 88 e302 ae oe 14 HG a z 15 S SE 16 < & o wn 18 19 20 21 22 2B 24 25 26 27 28 2076281 1077.28787 Hi TW ARGUMENT As Evidence Regarding Trade Organizations Of Which Lamons Was Not A Member Is Irrelevant. It is axiomatic that the party proffering evidence bears the burden of demonstrating its admissibility, and that evidence that is not relevant is not admissible. Cal. Evid. Code, § 350. Relevant evidence is that which has “any tendency in reason to prove or disprove any disputed fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action." Cal. Evid. Code, § 210. One of the issues in this action is whether Lamons knew or should have known that, at the time its equipment was being sold and distributed, exposure to any asbestos components of that equipment could be dangerous. Knowledge possessed by trade organizations are available only to that trade organization's members. Thus, knowledge possessed by trade organizations of which Lamons was not a member would not be available to Lamons. Therefore, such evidence has absolutely no bearing on what Lamons knew or should have during the relevant time. B. Evidence Regarding Trade Organizations Of Which Lamons Was Net A Member Should Be Precluded Under Cal. Evid. Code Section 352. Section 352 of the California Evidence Code provides: The court in its discretion may exclude evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the probability that its admission will (a) necessitate undue consumption of time or (b) create substantial danger of undue prejudice, of confusing the issues, or of misleading the jury. Regardless of any instruction that would be given to the jury, evidence regarding a trade organization of which Lamons was not a member would create a substantial danger of misleading the jury and undue prejudice to Lamons. Specifically, the jury would be mislead to believing that Lamons should have been aware of certain information simply because some other trade organization was aware of it. fi 2 MOTION IN LIMINE TO PRECLUDE EVIDENCE PERTAINING TO TRADE ORGANIZATIONS OF WHICH IT WAS NOT A MEMBER - MIL NO. 304 5 6 7 8 9 10 ao sed 2 52 as 13 Be te oe 14 mG mO z 15 Se = & 16 Ss ou na 18 19 20 21 2 2B 24 25 26 27 28 207628.1 1077.28787 iif Il. CONCLUSION For the foregoing reasons, Lamons' Motion should be granted. DATED: October 28, 2010 SELMAN BREITMAN LLP By:__/s/ Paul J. Gamba RICHARD D. DUMONT PAUL J. GAMBA Attorneys for Defendant LAMONS GASKET COMPANY 3 MOTION IN LIMINE TO PRECLUDE EVIDENCE PERTAINING TO TRADE ORGANIZATIONS OF WHICH IT WAS NOT A MEMBER - MIL NO. 302 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 mit ~ on 53 as 13 ee s oo 14 ee i Re 15 ge 16 3 n 18 19 20 21 2 2B 24 25 26 27 28 W628 107728787 PROOF OF SERVICE BY ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION Louis Castagna v. Asbestos Defendants (BP) San Francisco Superior Court Case No. CGC-07-274230 Defendant: LAMONS GASKET COMPANY STATE OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO lam employed in the County of San Francisco, State of California. ] am over the age of 18 years and am not a patty to the within action; my business address is 33 New Montgomery, Sixth Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105. On the date shown below, | electronically served the following document(s) via LexisNexis File & Serve described as MOTION IN LIMINE TO PRECLUDE EVIDENCE PERTAINING TO TRADE ORGANIZATIONS OF WHICH IT WAS NOT A MEMBER - MOTION IN LIMINE NO. 30 on the recipients designated on the Transaction Receipt located on the LexisNexis File & Serve website. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on October 2201 0, at San Francisco, California. A Cynthia Elrod 4 MOTION IN LIMINE TO PRECLUDE EVIDENCE PERTAINING TO TRADE ORGANIZATIONS OF WHICH IT WAS NOT A MEMBER - MIL. NO. 30