163417P.pdf   04/05/2018  Jodelle Kirk  v.  Schaeffler Group USA
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  16-3417
   U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Joplin   
   [PUBLISHED] [Loken, Author, with Arnold and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] 
   Civil case - Environmental Torts. In action alleging defendant FAG 
   Bearing's negligent release of the chemical tricholorethylene (TCE) 
   resulted in plaintiff developing autoimmune hepatitis, the district court 
   erred in finding defendant Schaeffler's pleadings in actions in the U.S. 
   Court of International Trade and federal district court in Connecticut 
   judicially estopped Schaeffler from denying that it is liable as Fag 
   Bearing's successor for FAG Bearing's pre-acquisition torts; as plaintiff 
   failed to establish successor liability and the district court should have 
   dismissed plaintiff's claims against Schaeffler: with respect to Fag 
   Bearing's appeal, a partial new trial on punitive damages should be 
   awarded as the punitive damage award did not distinguish how much each 
   defendant owed, and plaintiff based her claims for punitive damages, at 
   least in part, on alleged misconduct by Schaeffler; plaintiff submitted 
   sufficient evidence of general causation to submit her claim; plaintiff's 
   expert witnesses' testimony on specific causation was properly admitted; 
   no error in admitting government reports stating the public health 
   regulatory standards for TCE, where the court instructed the jury that 
   exceeding those numbers "does not in and of itself establish causation in 
   this case, though it may be considered by [the jury] in determining 
   causation; the evidence in the case was sufficient to submit plaintiff's 
   failure to warn claim to the jury; remanded to the district court with 
   directions to dismiss the claims against Schaeffler and to conduct further 
   proceedings on the punitive damages claims against Fag Bearing. Judge 
   Shepherd, dissenting.