Triton Energy Corp. v. Square D Co.

Triton Energy Corporation, Page Airport Services, Inc., and Continental Loss Adjusting, Inc. (Triton) appeal the district court’s final judgment which granted Square D Company’s motion for summary judgment and denied Triton’s motion to alter or amend. We affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment.

I.

FACTS & PROCEEDINGS BELOW

The circumstances of this ease are quite unusual. It begins with a fire in the Hughes Hangar in Las Vegas, Nevada, continues with inefficient fire inspectors, the razing of the fire-damaged hangar because of asbestos problems, several experts on the causes of the fire, and ends with a still missing circuit breaker allegedly manufactured by Square D Company several decades ago. It was and remains an unsolved mystery. The facts, more precisely stated, are as follows.

A. The Fire and Investigation

On October 9, 1989, a fire in the Hughes Hangar extensively damaged several aircraft as well as the hangar itself. Triton leased the hangar from Clark County, Nevada, and operated an aircraft maintenance business. Immediately following the fire, Clark County Fire Department investigators reported that the probable cause was an electrical malfunction…