Missouri Court of Appeals Affirms Summary Judgment and Denial of Class Certification in Medical Monitoring Case

In an opinion handed down on August 23, 2021, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District affirmed the denial of class certification as well as the grant of summary judgment to Dowd Bennett client Emerson Electric.  The plaintiffs alleged that they were in need of continuous medical monitoring due to the alleged exposure to a toxic substance at a manufacturing plant where they worked, and sought to certify a class of persons who had worked at the plant.  The circuit court in Laclede County, Missouri denied class certification, finding that the plaintiffs could not meet the superiority and typicality requirements for class certification.  The court later granted Emerson summary judgment on the putative class representatives’ claims.  The plaintiffs appealed both the denial of class certification and the grant of summary judgment, but the Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed both decisions in its opinion.