Bartolome E. Abuan v. General Electric Co. Monsanto Company, Bartolome E. Abuan v. General Electric Co., and Monsanto Company

In May of 1987, an electrical transformer ruptured at the Piti Power Plant on the United States Naval Base in Guam, releasing a variety of toxic chemicals. Appellant Bartolome Abuan and a similarly situated class of plaintiffs (“Plaintiffs”) sued General Electric Company (“GE”) and Monsanto Company (“Monsanto”) for injuries arising from the accident. The district court granted defendants’ motions for summary judgment. Plaintiffs appeal from the grant of summary judgment, and Monsanto cross-appeals the district court’s denial of its motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Until the late 1970’s, Monsanto manufactured chemicals known as polychlorinated biphenyls (“PCBs”). GE purchased PCBs from Monsanto in order to produce Pyranol, a fire-resistant dielectric fluid, which GE then used as insulation in electrical transformers and other devices. In 1949, GE sold one of its transformers to the Navy and delivered it to Guam, where it was used at the Piti Power Plant. The junction box on the transformer ruptured on May 26, 1987, releasing its contents and allegedly exposing Plaintiffs to PCBs and other toxic chemicals. The Navy…