Christine Pellegrini Busch

Practice Details

• Firm Information
  Position

  Shareholder

  Firm Name

  Marshall Dennehey
• Representative Cases & Transactions
  Cases

  Significant Representative Matters: Successfully achieved Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmance of grant of summary judgment for asbestos defendant on basis of plaintiff's inability to satisfy the product identification criteria of Eckenrod v. GAF, 544 A.2d 50 (Pa. Super. 1988).
  Successfully achieved summary judgment in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in favor of a wire
  cable company. Plaintiff was the estate of an electrician who died of lung cancer at age 49. It was argued that (1) plaintiff failed to produce competent, non-speculative evidence that any of defendant's wire products used by the decedent contained asbestos
  
  (2) any exposure would have been de minimus in light of decedent's substantial frequent, regular
  proximate exposure to a host of other products during his thirty year career.
  Successfully achieved summary judgment in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in favor of refractory premises owner in asbestos premises liability claim. Plaintiff's decedent was allegedly exposed to asbestos while employed by an insulation contractor that was installing asbestos-containing block
  pipe insulation on defendant's premises. He died at age 79 of mesothelioma. It was argued that defendant premises owner owed no duty to warn decedent, who was the employee of an independent contractor, of the hazards created by his own work. His employer, a sophisticated insulation contractor, had knowledge superior to the defendant premises owner regarding the dangers of the materials they used to perform their craft.
  Successfully achieved summary judgment in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in favor of a boiler manufacturer in an asbestos case involving the death of an 82 year old pipe fitter from lung cancer. It was argued that (1) plaintiff failed to produce any admissible evidence that the decedent was exposed to any asbestos-containing product manufactured, sold supplied or even specified for use by the boiler manufacturer
  
  (2) defendant boiler manufacturer could not be held liable for asbestos component parts it neither manufactured or supplied.
  Successfully achieved summary judgment in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in favor of a manufacturer of precipitators installed at several power plants. Plaintiff worked as an insulator
  was diagnosed with mesothelioma at age 65. He allegedly removed
  installed asbestos insulation on several of defendant's precipitators throughout his career. It was argued that (1) plaintiff's claims were extinguished by the Statute of Repose
  
  (2) plaintiff failed to adduce any evidence that the defendant manufactured, sold, supplied or specified the use of any exterior insulation products for use on its precipitators.
  Successfully achieved summary judgment in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in favor of insulation contractor in another household exposure claim in which the decedent died of mesothelioma at age 51. Plaintiff alleged that the decedent was exposed to asbestos dust brought home on the clothes of her father, who worked as a carpenter at a local power generating plant. It was argued that a contractor does not owe a duty to warn family members of byst
  ers to its activities. The decedent had no direct contact with the defendant
  there was no legally cognizable relationship between her
  defendant. Furthermore, decedent was not the intended user of insulation materials allegedly used by the defendant at her father's place of employment under a 402A analysis.
  Successfully achieved summary judgment in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in favor of insulation contractor in a case in which the plaintiff alleged development of lung cancer at age 73 as a result of exposure to asbestos insulation materials used in his presence by the defendant at a local oil refinery. Plaintiff subjectively believed that the insulation materials being used contained asbestos during the time period in question. It was argued (1) that plaintiff failed to present any competent, non-speculative evidence that plaintiff was exposed to any asbestos-containing product for which the defendant was responsible
  
  (2) defendant could not be held strictly liable for plaintiff's asbestos-related injuries since it was not a seller of or engaged in the business of selling asbestos products, but merely an end user of those products.
  Successfully achieved summary judgment in Delaware Superior Court for New Castle County in a household exposure claim involving alleged exposure to crane frictions. Plaintiff's husb
  was allegedly present when crane frictions were changed, which created dust that he brought home on his clothes which were later laundered by plaintiff. It was argued that defendant owed no duty of care to plaintiff
  there was insufficient evidence presented that the crane frictions contained asbestos.
  Published Works: The Impact of the Applicable St
  ard of Liability on Asbestos Litigation, Legal Intelligencer, May 5, 2008
  Motor Vehicle Update Winter 2002, Counterpoint, co-author with James C. Haggerty, Pennsylvania Defense Institute, May 2003
  Must Surveillance Videos Be Disclosed Prior to Trial If Only Used for Impeachment Purposes, Counterpoint, co-author with James C. Haggerty, Pennsylvania Defense Institute, April 2002
  Motor Vehicle Update April 2002, Counterpoint, co-author with James C. Haggerty, Pennsylvania Defense Institute, April 2002
  Motor Vehicle Law - 2001 Review, Counterpoint, co-authored with James C. Haggerty, Pennsylvania Defense Institute, January 2000
  Potential Implications of the Supreme Court Decision in Kumho for Psychological Expert Testimony, Ethics & Behavior, co-author with Eric A. Youngstrom, Ph.D., Fall 2000
  Motor Vehicle Law Update 1998, PBI No. 1998-2018, Civil Litigation Update 1998, co-author with James C. Haggerty, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, 1998
  Overview: Recission of Auto Policies, SC&D, co-author with James C. Haggerty, 1998
  Motor Vehicle Law Update 1997, PBI No. 1997-1250, Civil Litigation Update 1997, co-author with James C. Haggerty, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, 1997
  Financial Responsibility Law Update, Counterpoint, Pennsylvania Defense Institute, co-author with James C. Haggerty
  Scott J. Tredwell, January 1997
  Congressional Battle Lost: The Constitutionality of New Federal Legislation Regulating Indecent Traffic on the Internet, Villanova Law Chronicle, 1996
• Additional Links
  http://www.marshalldennehey.com