Category: Louisiana

Louisiana / Remand/Removal
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Removal Deemed Timely in Navy Shipyard Case

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, March 2, 2021

Plaintiff Linda Crossland filed a motion to remand and defendants Avondale and Hopeman Brothers Inc. oppose the plaintiff’s motion. The plaintiff’s alleged exposure to asbestos was from asbestos fibers floating from Avondale Shipyards into her neighborhood, take home asbestos exposure from her father and husband’s work at Avondale, and from her own work at Avondale’s Main yard from 1966 through the 1970s. The plaintiff was deposed on December 11, 2020 and Avondale removed …

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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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Louisiana / Summary Judgment
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Summary Judgment Affirmed; Mere Presence of Asbestos Materials Insufficient for Causation

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit

From 1975 to 1977, the decedent participated in the construction of a Marathon oil refinery while employed by Parsons Government Services, Inc. Parsons filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing the decedent could not establish that he was exposed to asbestos from his work as a pipefitter at the Marathon refinery during the aforementioned time period. One business day later, Marathon filed an ex parte motion to join in several motions. The plaintiff opposed Parsons and Marathon’s motions …

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Louisiana / Remand/Removal
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Motion for Remand Denied; Plaintiff Withheld Notice of Settlement of Non-Diverse Defendant

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

In June 2019, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit against multiple defendants alleging that he developed asbestos-related lung cancer. In December 2020, defendant Exxon Mobil removed this matter to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332. One month later, the plaintiff filed a motion to remand the matter to the Civil District Court of Orleans Parish.

First, the plaintiff contended that Exxon’s removal was untimely as Exxon filed …

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Louisiana / Summary Judgment
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Sealant Manufacturer Granted Summary Judgment in Shipyard Case

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, February 1, 2021

Plaintiff William Hulin Sr. was diagnosed with lung cancer and alleged that he was exposed to asbestos during the course of his employment at Avondale Shipyards. He sued numerous defendants, including Bayer CropScience, as successor to AmChem Products, Inc. in state court, and his case was subsequently removed to federal court in the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Bayer moved for summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiff had not introduced evidence showing that he …

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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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Louisiana / Trial
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Jury Verdict Found Consistent as Exposure May Not Be Substantial Contributing Factor of Disease

Supreme Court of Louisiana, January 12, 2021

The plaintiffs sued various defendants alleging that the decedent (Bagwell) developed mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure which resulted in his death. At trial, the jury rendered a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs against the decedent’s employer, RMC, finding it 75 percent at fault. CAPCO, a non-party defendant, was found 25 percent at fault. The jury assigned no fault to Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) and Montello, Inc., the manufacturer and the distributor of asbestos-containing products. The trial court …

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Louisiana / Remand/Removal
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Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand Denied as Removal Deemed Proper Under Federal Officer Statute

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

In the instant action, plaintiff Martha T. Roussell alleges she contracted mesothelioma through take-home asbestos exposure from the work of her father, Asward P. Theriot, who worked at Avondale Shipyard in 1957 and 1958. The plaintiff brought this action in state court against multiple defendants including Huntington Ingalls Incorporated and Lamorak Insurance Company (The Avondale Interests).

During the course of discovery it was revealed that Asward Theriot’s job application showed that his brother (Roussell’s uncle), Tracy …

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Louisiana / Remand/Removal
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Shipyard Defendant’s Removal Deemed Timely Following Receipt of Discovery

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, December 7, 2020

Plaintiff Ethel Sampey was diagnosed with mesothelioma, which she alleged was caused by secondhand exposure to asbestos from her uncle, Huey Levron, who worked at the Avondale Shipyard from 1957 to 1965, and also from working as a bartender and serving Avondale workers. The plaintiff filed suit against Avondale, among other defendants, in July 2020. On August 1, 2020, the plaintiff served her fact witness list, which identified numerous witnesses, including two individuals, …

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Damages / Louisiana
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Longshoreman Plaintiff Exposed to Raw Asbestos Awarded $10.3 Million in Mesothelioma Case

An in-person jury trial was recently held in Louisiana on the plaintiff’s negligence claims. After graduating high school, the plaintiff worked as a longshoreman from 1964 to 1968 at the Port of New Orleans. As part of his job, he unloaded burlap bags of raw asbestos. The plaintiff testified that the bags would frequently tear, releasing asbestos dust into the ship’s hold. At trial, the plaintiff testified that each of the defendants knew of the dangers the asbestos posed but took no steps to warn …

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