Pappagallo v. Redco Corp.

For four decades, Ralph Pappagallo worked in machinery at shipyards in Pennsylvania. After he died of lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, his wife and son brought a state-law wrongful death action against the manufacturers of asbestos and asbestos-containing products that he was exposed to in the course of his work. Nearly two years later, one of the defendants, John Crane International, removed the case from Pennsylvania state court to federal district court, invoking the federal-officer removal statute and claiming that Mr. Pappagallo’s illness was a result of exposure on military vessels. The Pappagallos explicitly disclaimed any claims arising out of exposure on those ships, and the district court remanded the action. John Crane and two other defendants appealed to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and sought a stay from that court pending appeal. In seeking a stay, it argues that remand orders that are appealed are automatically stayed pending the resolution of all appeals.

Public Citizen serves as co-counsel for the Pappagallos on appeal. In opposing the stay, we argued that there is no automatic stay of remand orders and that the traditional four-factor standard for stays pending appeal applies. A motions panel of the Third Circuit, however, held that because John Crane appealed before the district court mailed the remand order to the state court, the district court lacked jurisdiction to do so afterwards and thus no stay was necessary. Merits briefing will follow.