In this case, the plaintiffs claimed that the decedent was exposed to asbestos in connection with force draft blowers manufactured by Carrier Corporation and another defendant while in the Navy on board the USS Edson. The plaintiffs moved to remand after Carrier removed the case based on federal officer jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 1442(a)(1). In granting the motion to remand, the court accepted the plaintiffs’ argument that despite the exposure, they expressly disclaimed any intention to pursue damages in connection with any Navy exposure: “In …
Continue ReadingCategory: Louisiana
Another Jurisdictional Battle Results in Transfer of Venue from Tennessee to Louisiana In Asbestos Case
In this case, the plaintiff filed the lawsuit in United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville Division, based on his residence. Seven of the defendants moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, which caused the plaintiff to move for a transfer of venue to Louisiana. The court found that Louisiana had a sufficient connection to the claimed exposure: “The Western District of Louisiana is the judicial district in which a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to …
Continue ReadingPlaintiffs’ Replacement Expert’s Testimony Limited in Scope to That of Originally Disclosed Expert
In this case, the plaintiffs timely disclosed the expert report of Dr. Samuel Hammar in accordance with the case scheduling order. Subsequently, Dr. Hammar was unable to provide trial testimony due to health issues and the plaintiffs sought to replace Dr. Hammar’s report with reports from either Dr. Kraus or Dr. Kradin. The defendants did not generally oppose the request to replace Dr. Hammar, but did oppose the replacement of one expert with two and argued that the new expert’s testimony should not go outside …
Continue ReadingPlaintiff’s Expert Industrial Hygienist Found to Be Qualified to Offer Testimony on Non-Specific Levels of Asbestos Exposure
In this federal court case, the decedent, Sally Gros Vedros, is alleged to have been exposed to asbestos from laundering her father’s work clothes during the time he worked as a welder at the Avondale shipyard from 1943 to 1976 and from her own work at Avondale in the purchasing department from 1960 to 1963. The defendant, Bayer CropScience, Inc., which was the successor to several companies that formerly were known as Amchem Company, moved to preclude plaintiff’s industrial hygienist, Frank Parker, III, from testifying, …
Continue ReadingSeveral Automotive Parts Manufacturers and Tractor Manufacturer Granted Summary Judgment on Various Grounds
The plaintiffs in this federal court case alleged that the decedent, Douglas Hayes, died from mesothelioma as a result of his exposure to asbestos “while living on the family farm in the following ways: (1) secondary exposure from father’s clothing from birth to the late 1960s, (2) while working on three Case [CNH] tractors, (3) and by being exposed to asbestos containing products such as gaskets, packing, valves and pumps. Mr. Hayes also alleges that he was exposed to asbestos from other products either manufactured …
Continue ReadingFederal Court Remands Two Cases with Nexus to Naval Asbestos Exposure to State Court
In both of the following cases, the federal court remanded the actions back to state court. In the first action, the plaintiffs, the adult children of the decedent, alleged their father was exposed to asbestos while serving in the Navy as a boiler technician from 1960 to 1988. Several defendants moved to remove the case to federal court at the same time that the plaintiffs moved to amend their complaint, seeking to disclaim any claim regarding design-defect or strict-liability where defendants’ actions were compelled by, …
Continue ReadingPossible Exposure to Brake Products Held Insufficient to Defeat Summary Judgment
In this wrongful death case, the plaintiff alleged that his father, decedent Fredrick Laurent, was exposed to asbestos from several different jobs, including while working for the City of New Orleans’ brake tag station from 1958 to 1986. Various motor vehicle manufacturing defendants moved for summary judgment on two grounds: 1) the plaintiff could only offer the possibility that decedent, who died prior to testifying, was exposed to asbestos from their products; and 2) the plaintiff’s claim fails the Louisiana “substantial factor” test because any …
Continue ReadingIndustrial Hygienist William Dyson’s Dose Reconstruction Methodology for Assessing Levels of Asbestos Exposure Found Scientifically Reliable Under Daubert
The plaintiff in this Louisiana federal court case alleged that decedent pipefitter was exposed to asbestos while at various locations during his career, including a one-to-two-week period at Union Carbide. Union Carbide offered the expert testimony of industrial hygienist Dr. William Dyson to perform a dose reconstruction assessment of the decedent’s level of asbestos exposure throughout his life and specifically during the one-to-two-week period at Union Carbide. The plaintiff moved to preclude Dr. Dyson’s opinion under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert principles. In …
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