FBM Sets New Precedent in Sixth Circuit on Governmental Contractor Liability
Foley, Baron & Metzger recently set new precedent in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on an issue involving federal jurisdiction based on the governmental contractor defense. FBM represented an environmental remediation contractor, hired by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), to remediate mold contamination in the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport Air Traffic Control Tower where a group of DTW controllers filed lawsuits and claimed they became ill from exposure to toxic mold. After successfully removing the lawsuit from Wayne County Circuit Court to US District Court, FBM attorneys, Richard Baron and Brian Phinney obtained complete dismissal of their client. The plaintiffs appealed these rulings to the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which upheld the dismissal of FBM’s client. Ruling on an issue of first impression in the Sixth Circuit, the appeals court held that the governmental contractor defense should be broadly interpreted to protect a wide-range of contractors, not merely contractors who provide services to the military. To review the Court’s Order in this case click here: Bennett et.al. v MIS Corporation, et.al. No. 08-2567.