Meyer ex rel. Coplin v. Fluor Corporation
Missouri Supreme Court
220 S.W.3d 712 (2007)
- Written by Rose VanHofwegen, JD
Facts
Rebecca Coplin brought a class action against the operator of a lead smelter, the Fluor Corporation (defendant), on behalf of Lani Meyer (plaintiff) and some 200 other children who lived near it. Meyer asserted that she was a member of a class of children exposed to toxic emissions from the smelter. The smelter emitted large quantities of lead into the environment, which is more toxic for children than adults, and often causes latent injuries not discovered until years after exposure. Meyer sought compensatory damages to pay for lead testing and ongoing medical monitoring of local children. However, the trial court refused to certify the class, finding that individual issues would predominate over issues common to the class. Meyer appealed, arguing that the trial court erred in requiring a present physical injury in a medical-monitoring action and focusing on individual-proof issues relevant primarily in personal injury suits.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Teitelman, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 807,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.