Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani New York Partner Erik DiMarco, Senior Counsel Mohammad Haque, and Associate Ashley Saparzadeh prevailed on a pre-answer motion to dismiss made on behalf of GRSM’s cosmetic manufacturer client, predicated on New York State’s three-year statute of limitation in personal injury actions.
The plaintiff’s claim involved alleged exposure to various talcum powder products, including a body powder manufactured by a defendant with no relationship to GRSM’s client. The plaintiffs did not add the firm’s client to the action until seven years after filing the initial complaint, nearly five years after the statute of limitations had expired. The GRSM team was able to demonstrate that the statute of limitations had clearly expired, and furthermore, all claims must be dismissed pursuant to the equitable doctrine of laches.
The plaintiff did not dispute that the applicable statute of limitations had long expired. Rather, the plaintiff argued that the relation-back doctrine applied based on the assertion that GRSM’s client was responsible for a product manufactured by another defendant, who had been a party to the case from the beginning. The plaintiff’s argument was based on the theory that the firm’s client shared an interest with the now-bankrupt co-defendant, prompting a request for further discovery to determine GRSM’s client’s potential liabilities for the product line at issue.
The GRSM team argued that the claim made against the firm’s client was an unfounded theory, contradicted by the record evidence. The court agreed with each of the arguments advanced by GRSM without the need for oral arguments. The court found that the plaintiff’s claims against the firm’s client were untimely and that neither exception to the statute of limitations—the doctrine of equitable estoppel nor the relation-back doctrine—saved the plaintiff’s claims, as the plaintiff failed to show any connection between the firm’s client and any of the defendants in the case.
The favorable result secured by GRSM’s Asbestos & Talc team on behalf of the client highlights the importance of pre-answer fact development and the nuance of the New York State statute of limitations that extends to protect entities from time-barred claims.