Tulsa, Okla. (AP) -- A federal judge has denied a request by Cintas Corp. for summary judgment in a 2007 wrongful death lawsuit in Tulsa.

The ruling clears the way for a jury to hear the case against the nation's largest uniform supplier next year.

District judge Claire Eagan wrote in a 31-page opinion that there is "conflicting evidence" whether Cincinnati-based Cintas managers knew workers in company laundries were breaking safety rules to save time, but did nothing to stop them.

Amalia Diaz torres is suing Cintas, claiming the company's plant managers knew about -- and even encouraged -- the dangerous working practices that led to the death of her husband, Eleazar Torres-Gomez, in 2007.

Cintas has denied those allegations.

A trial is scheduled for April 19 in Tulsa federal court.

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