A Blank Rome team successfully represented APU Consolidated, Inc. (“APU”) in the Appellate Court of Maryland, which affirmed a Motion for Summary Judgment granted by the trial court on behalf of APU. Edward Hughes v. APU Consolidated, Inc., and Consolidated Rail Corporation.
The plaintiff alleged that he contracted bladder cancer as result of exposures to various toxic substances, including asbestos and diesel exhaust, during his employment on the railroad from 1964 to 1993. His cause of action was brought under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, which is the statute that affords railroad workers the avenue to sue their employers for a failure to provide a reasonably safe place to work. For context, APU is the successor-in-liability to the former Penn Central Railroad.
In 2003, the plaintiff settled a lawsuit against APU and co-defendant Consolidated Rail Corporation (“Conrail”) and, in doing so, executed a release that barred him from bringing a future action against the railroad defendants for various injuries, including contracting cancer. The case was litigated in Wicomico County, Maryland, and the defendants filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on the grounds that the prior release executed in 2003 barred the pending bladder cancer case.
Blank Rome’s Daniel “Casey” Jones argued the motion before the trial court, and it granted the defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment. The plaintiff appealed to the Appellate Court of Maryland.
When the appellate court held oral arguments, Casey argued on behalf of both defendants. On May 15, 2025, the Appellant Court affirmed the trial court’s decision granting the defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment.
The Blank Rome team was led by Casey Jones, and included Julie Palermo and Sarah Tankersley.
