Higgins v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co.

671 F. Supp. 1055 (1987)

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Higgins v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co.

United States District Court for the District of Maryland
671 F. Supp. 1055 (1987)

SC

Facts

Eastman and Union Carbide (defendants) were bulk suppliers of liquid chemicals to E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Company, Inc. (DuPont) (defendant). Specifically, Eastman and Union Carbide supplied glycol ether acetates to DuPont for use in DuPont’s paint. Eastman and Union Carbide supplied the chemicals to DuPont in railroad cars and tank trucks. DuPont then reprocessed the chemicals into its paint and sold the paint to the Baltimore City Fire Department. Kevin Higgins and several other firefighters (plaintiffs) used the paint. Subsequently, the firefighters each had a child die at birth. The firefighters brought suit against DuPont, Eastman, and Union Carbide for failure to warn of the dangers of the glycol ether acetates, which caused birth defects and stillbirths. The firefighters presented a DuPont memorandum indicating that DuPont knew of the birth-related dangers of glycol ether acetates before purchasing the chemicals for its paint. Eastman and Union Carbide filed motions for summary judgment.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Smalkin, J.)

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