judge's gavel and books

Stay of Action against Insurer under First-to-File Rule

Court: U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana.

Plaintiff filed an action alleging take-home exposure from asbestos fibers while living with her grandfather, who was a welder for 40 years at Avondale Shipyards.

The plaintiff was diagnosed with lung cancer, which she alleged resulted from asbestos exposure from asbestos fibers brought home on her grandfather’s work clothing from her birth in 1962 until 1982, when her grandfather retired from the shipyard. The action was removed to federal court and amended to add numerous additional defendants, …

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Shipyard Defendant Granted Partial Summary Judgment on Plaintiff’s Non-Employee Exposure Claims

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

From 1972 to 1975, plaintiff Frank P. Ragusa Jr. operated a cherry picker at Avondale Shipyards as an employee of Huntington Ingalls, Inc. He then worked at Avondale for a second stint in the late 1980s as a Pauline Management (JP & Sons) employee. The plaintiff received a mesothelioma diagnosis and filed suit in July 2021, alleging asbestos exposure from the friction materials present inside the cranes he operated in 1989.

Avondale Shipyards moved for …

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Courtroom, Gavel And Law Books

Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment under Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act Granted

Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

Plaintiff Frank P. Ragusa Jr. filed an asbestos-related lawsuit in Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans alleging he was exposed to asbestos in 1972, and from 1975 to 1976, while working at the Avondale Shipyard. He alleged that as a result of his occupational exposure to asbestos he developed mesothelioma.

Defendant Avondale moved for summary judgment, seeking dismissal of the plaintiff’s claims as barred and preempted by the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ …

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District Court Finds Defendant Has Colorable Federal Officer Statutory Defense, Denies Plaintiffs’ Motion to Remand

Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

This is an asbestos-related lawsuit claiming that Shelton Boutte contracted lung cancer from alleged exposure to asbestos during his career as a rigger at the Avondale Shipyard from 1973 to 1975. Plaintiffs bring this lawsuit against defendant, Huntington Ingalls, as successor in interest and party responsible for the Avondale Shipyard. Plaintiffs originally filed this lawsuit in Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans. Defendant removed the case to district court, and in response, …

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Inconsistent Testimony Not Sufficient to Preclude Summary Judgment for Employer Defendant

Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit

In this fact-specific case, the plaintiff alleged the decedent Joyce Allen was exposed to asbestos through her husband, Odell Allen, who worked as a longshoreman and freight handler for various employers on the New Orleans riverfront from the 1960s to the 1980s. Defendant Ports America filed a motion for summary judgment, asserting there was no evidence Allen was exposed to asbestos while employed by Ports America. In support of its motion, Ports America submitted depositions of its …

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$5.5 Million Wrongful Death Damages and Pre-Judgment Interest Awards Affirmed on Appeal

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit

In this asbestos action, David Stauder Jr. (decedent) developed mesothelioma after working as a pipefitter for two decades. His daughters, Jill and Shelley Stauder (appellees) brought a survival action and wrongful death action against several defendants. Following a trial in December 2021 where Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) was the sole remaining defendant, the jury found UCC negligent and strictly liable for the decedent’s injuries. The jury apportioned 20% to UCC. As pertinent to this appeal, the jury awarded …

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Asbestos Distributor Defendant Obtains Summary Judgment Due to Lack of Identification

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Jan. 13

Plaintiff Glen King  alleged that his exposure to asbestos during the course of his employment with the United States Navy, Louisiana State University, and BASF Corporation caused him to develop mesothelioma. He sued various defendants including Union Carbide, alleging in his negligence claim that Union Carbide supplied asbestos-containing products to his worksites and failed to adequately warn him of the presence of asbestos and the health hazards associated therewith. This matter was removed …

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Motion to Remand Denied as Defendant’s Removal Timely Under Federal Officer Removal Statute

Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

In this asbestos action, decedent Gayle LeBeau alleged take-home exposure to asbestos from her father and brother’s work at the Avondale Shipyards. After decedent filed her claim in state court, defendant Huntington Ingalls Incorporated (“Avondale”) removed the case to federal court. Plaintiffs moved to remand the case to state court, which Avondale opposed.   

Plaintiffs argued that removal was untimely as Avondale had notice of the appropriateness of removal from the decedent’s original petition on …

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Removal of Case Based on the Federal Officer Removal Statute by Shipyard Defendant Upheld

United States District Court for the District of Louisiana

In this asbestos action, the plaintiff, Wilson Goffner Sr., alleged he developed lung cancer as a result of his work as a shipfitter at the Avondale Shipyard from 1974 to 1997. The plaintiff commenced this action by asserting a failure-to-warn cause of action. Avondale subsequently removed the matter to federal court.

The plaintiff subsequently filed a motion to remand, wherein he argued that Avondale did not satisfy the ‘colorable’ defense prong of the Federal Officer Removal …

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Mesothelioma

Defendants’ Corporate Representatives’ Testimony Condemns own Motions

United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, October 31, 2022

Plaintiffs brought this wrongful death and survival action on behalf of decedent Kirk Reulet, alleging that Mr. Reulet was exposed to asbestos while working as a tradesman at various marine-economy jobs from 1972 to 2013. Plaintiffs alleged that this exposure led to his mesothelioma diagnosis and eventual death, and sought damages from dozens of defendants, including employers, premise owners, asbestos manufacturers or supplies, and insurers.

Defendants General Electric Company and ViacomCBS Inc. …

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