Abbatiello v. Monsanto Co.
This case involves consolidated actions brought by two groups of current and former employees and a group of landowners against General Electric Company (GE) and Monsanto Company (including Solutia, Inc., and Pharmacia Corporation). The plaintiffs allege various tort claims including negligence, breach of warranty, strict liability, fraud, emotional distress, abnormally dangerous activity, medical monitoring, fear of contracting illness, nuisance, and trespass, stemming from exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from a GE manufacturing facility in Schenectady, New York, where Monsanto supplied PCBs. The defendants moved to dismiss certain claims under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) and 9(b). The court granted in part and denied in part the motions to dismiss, upholding claims such as abnormally dangerous activity, intentional infliction of emotional distress, nuisance, medical monitoring, fear of contracting illness, and, for GE, negligence, strict liability, and trespass, while dismissing claims like breach of warranty, fraud, and negligent infliction of emotional distress for various parties.