United States Eighth Circuit

In products-liability actions for injuries that plaintiffs sustained while operating a ratchet system designed by defendant, denial of plaintiffs' motions to remand the case and summary judgment for defendant is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) the district court properly exercised removal jurisdiction and did not err in denying the motions to remand; 2) summary judgment for defendant on a ladder design defect claim was proper; but 3) plaintiffs presented evidence to create a material question of fact regarding whether their injuries were caused by an unreasonably dangerous design defect in the manual nature of the ratchet system.

Appellate Information

• Decided 01/23/2008
• Published 01/23/2008

Judges

• HANSEN, Circuit Judge., Before MURPHY, HANSEN, and COLLOTON, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Eighth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Thomas G. Maag, argued, Brian M. Wender, Edwardsville, IL, Charles Armbruster, Wood River, IL, R. Denise and Stephen Bough, Kansis City, MO, on the brief, for appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Brian C. Walsh, argued, Thomas C. Walsh, on the brief, St. Louis, MO, for appellee.