backOn May 29, 2025, King & Spalding secured a complete defense victory for Caesarstone LTD and Caesarstone USA, Inc. (Caesarstone) after a hard-fought five-week trial in the Superior Court of California County of Los Angeles, which was preceded by five weeks of pre-trial live expert witness hearings regarding admissibility of their opinions and motions in limine.
Caesarstone and other defendants manufacture and distribute quartz slabs, which are cut, ground, and polished into countertops and vanities for homes and commercial establishments, such as hotels and hospitals. The plaintiff, Wendy Solano Claustro, along with her three children, alleged that her husband, Raul Garcia’s death from silicosis at age 46 was caused by a design defect in the slabs. She claimed the slabs release respirable crystalline silica (RCS) when fabricated, which can lead to silicosis if sufficient amounts are inhaled over time, and that the defendants failed to warn her husband (and his employer) of the potential hazards of RCS. Plaintiffs also sought punitive damages based on alleged fraudulent concealment.
Plaintiffs dismissed their fraudulent concealment claim early in the trial and the Court granted Caesarstone’s motion for nonsuit on failure to warn and punitive damages. The case went to the jury on negligence and design defect theories, as well as Caesarstone’s affirmative defenses of intentional/criminal superseding cause, negligent superseding cause and product misuse. The jury found that Caesarstone was not negligent and that the quartz slabs do not contain a design defect. As a result, the jury did not reach Caesarstone’s affirmative defenses.
Mr. Garcia worked as a fabricator for 25 years in illegal shops operated by cross-defendant Bernardino Sanchez. Caesarstone sells its slabs only to licensed contractors and fabricators. Unbeknownst to Caesarstone and in violation of its policies, one of these licensed fabricators had been reselling Caesarstone slabs at a significant mark up to a slab “broker,” who then sent them to Mr. Sanchez’s shops for fabrication. Upon discovering these backdoor sales, Caesarstone promptly terminated its relationship with the purchaser.
The evidence showed that quartz slabs are not defective because they do not contain RCS. RCS is created only when the slabs are fabricated and presents a danger to workers only when standard industrial hygiene practices and/or Cal-OSHA regulations relating to silica are not followed.
The evidence showed that Mr. Sanchez operated illegal, unlicensed and unregistered shops and that he paid his workers under the table. The undisputed evidence also showed that he failed to train his workers, warn his workers, and to provide them with proper ventilation, wet cutting tools, appropriate respiratory protection, and other basic safety controls. Caesarstone’s certified industrial hygienist expert—a former 27-year Cal-OSHA compliance officer and consultant—testified that there were 32 Cal-OSHA violations at the Sanchez shops. She described the working conditions in these shops as among the worst she had ever encountered, referring to them as "uniquely dangerous." She further testified that had she encountered the Sanchez shop, she would have shut it down immediately. Stone slabs are fabricated safely every day throughout the United States and the evidence was undisputed that Mr. Garcia would not have developed silicosis had Mr. Sanchez implemented the proper safety precautions in his shops, as required by Cal-OSHA.
The defense team prosecuted the case against Mr. Sanchez in addition to defending the quartz slabs. This approach involved highlighting Caesarstone’s commitment to safety, including its detailed warnings, instructional guides, and free educational resources including safety videos designed to prevent such tragedies. Prosecuting the case against Mr. Sanchez while asserting the defendants’ affirmative defenses and highlighting Caesarstone’s dedication to safety proved highly effective. The jury returned a complete defense verdict after less than one day of deliberation.
The trial team included Peter Strotz, Bryan King, and Michael Mosher.