Category: Federal Officer Removal

Courtroom, Gavel And Law Books
Alabama / Federal Officer Removal
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Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand Denied; Court Finds Defendants’ Removal Timely

Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama, Southern Division

This action was filed in the Circuit Court of Mobile County, Alabama, on June 23, 2022. The complaint named numerous defendants, including Paramount Global (“Westinghouse”) and General Electric Company. Plaintiff Gloria Craig suffers from mesothelioma allegedly as a result of her take-home exposure to asbestos via her ex-husband. Specifically, plaintiff alleged Mr. Craig brought home asbestos on his clothes while he was working at Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Co. (“ADDSCO”) in …

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Federal Officer Removal / Remand/Removal
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District Court Denies Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand despite Dismissal of Defendant that Formed the Basis of Federal Jurisdiction

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

As previously reported on Asbestos Case Tracker, this matter involves Plaintiff Frank P. Ragusa, who filed an action against various defendants in state court alleging occupational asbestos exposure at the Avondale Shipyards, among other facilities, where he worked as a crane operator from 1973 through 2017. On October 26, 2021, this case was removed to district court pursuant to the federal officer removal statute. The plaintiff has now reinstated a motion to remand to state court. …

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Federal Officer Removal / Louisiana
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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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Federal Officer Removal
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Navy Submarine Manufacturer Successfully Removes Case to Federal Court Under Federal Officer Removal Statute

U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, January 31, 2022

In this matter, plaintiff Michael Moore served in the Navy working as an electronics technician aboard the USS Francis Scott Key from 1965 to 1969. He alleged that he was exposed to asbestos during the construction of the submarine, and sued Electric Boat Corporation, the federal contractor that built the submarine, among other defendants.

The Electric Boat shipyard operated “in accordance with government contracts, in conformance with military specifications, and under Navy oversight.” The …

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Federal Officer Removal / Remand/Removal
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Motion to Remand Granted; Defendants Failed to Timely File Notice of Removal

U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Charleston Division, September 8, 2021

In this asbestos action, plaintiff Cynthia Warren commenced an action alleging that her husband, Bobby Warren, developed mesothelioma following exposure to asbestos from several defendants’ products, including Westinghouse. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1446(a), Westinghouse filed a Notice of Removal on September 11, 2020. Westinghouse argued that removal was timely as they removed the matter less than thirty days following the plaintiff’s service of supplemental discovery responses. The plaintiff filed a motion …

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Federal Officer Removal / Louisiana / Remand/Removal
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Motion to Remand Denied Under Federal Officer Removal Statute

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, August 26, 2021

In this asbestos action, decedent Salvador Pennino alleged asbestos exposure from working at the Avondale Shipyards. A fact witness deposition took place on January 20, 2021, during which the deponent testified that he observed the decedent hanging ductwork on Lykes Lines vessels. Defendants received the deposition transcript on January 29, 2021, and subsequently filed a Notice of Removal on February 19, 2021. Thereafter, the plaintiffs filed a Motion to Remand, arguing that the …

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Federal Officer Removal / Louisiana
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Defendants Prevail on Removal to Federal Court Based on Federal Officer Removal Statute

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, March 31, 2021

In October 2019, plaintiff Stephen Legendre, filed a lawsuit alleging that he contracted mesothelioma in September 2019. He alleged that his mesothelioma was caused by take-home exposure to asbestos from his father who worked at Avondale from 1943 to 1945.

The defendants removed this matter pursuant to the Federal Officer Removal Statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1442. Thereafter, the plaintiff filed a motion to remand asserting federal jurisdiction is not warranted.

28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1) makes removable …

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Federal Officer Removal / Maritime/Admiralty Law / Remand/Removal
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Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand Denied Based on Federal Officer Removal

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, March 16, 2021

The plaintiff filed suit against Avondale and Lamorak Insurance Co. (defendants) in state court on February 12, 2020. The defendants removed the case under the federal officer removal statute alleging that the lawsuit pertains to action by Avondale’s taken pursuant to the direction of a federal officer. By way of background, this case rises out of Harvel A. Landreaux’s (the plaintiff) alleged exposure to asbestos while working as an employee of defendant Avondale …

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Federal Officer Removal / Louisiana / Summary Judgment
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Court of Appeals Affirms Summary Judgment Finding No Evidence Decedent Exposed to Defendants’ Products

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, February 26, 2021

The plaintiffs claim their farther, a mechanical engineer at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF), was killed by asbestos products sold and installed by defendants McCarty Corporation and Taylor Seidenbach, Inc.  Deteriorating asbestos and asbestos remediation occurred in the buildings in which the decedent worked.

The plaintiffs appealed the district court’s granting of summary judgment for the defendants concluding that the court found no evidence of decedent’s exposure to respirable asbestos at the MAF.  …

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Federal Officer Removal / Louisiana
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Case Remanded to State Court as Defendants Failed to Show Improper Joinder

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, January 13, 2021

Plaintiff Brent Deaville filed the within action in state court against numerous defendants in January 2020. The plaintiff alleged he contracted mesothelioma as a result of his exposure to asbestos while working as an insulator, plumber/pipefitter and mechanic at several facilities in Louisiana from the 1960s through 1990. On November 12, 2020, defendants Exxon Mobil Corp., Ferguson Enterprises, Inc. and J-M Manufacturing Co., Inc. removed this matter to federal court alleging diversity jurisdiction.…

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