Category: Maritime/Admiralty Law

Maritime/Admiralty Law / Summary Judgment
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Summary Judgment Granted Dismissing Plaintiff’s State Claims Against Employer Under LHWCA

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, May 19, 2022

In this asbestos action, plaintiff Callen Cortez brought state tort claims against Continental Insurance Company, sued in its capacity as the insurer of Halter Marine Services, Inc. The plaintiff worked at Halter Marine from 1974 until 1975, and was subsequently diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2020. Continental moved for summary judgment on the basis that the plaintiff’s claims against it are preempted under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA).

Ultimately, the …

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Maritime/Admiralty Law / New York / Summary Judgment
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Motions for Summary Judgment in Jones Act Matter Denied on Statute of Limitations and Causation Grounds

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, May 9, 2022

In this asbestos action, decedent Carlo Badamo served on several vessels during his time as a merchant marine from 1944 to 1955. Thereafter, he alleged that he developed asbestos-related cancer and brought a claim under the Jones Act. Three defendants: Farrell Lines, Chiquita, and Chevron, brought motions for summary judgment contending that the decedent’s claim is barred by the three-year statute of limitations. The defendants assert that the decedent underwent X-ray …

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Louisiana / Maritime/Admiralty Law / Remand/Removal
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Federal Court Exercises Supplemental Jurisdiction in Shipyard Case

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, March 17, 2022

In this asbestos action, decedent Joseph B. Savoie, Jr. developed mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos at the Avondale Shipyards. Certain defendants removed this matter to federal court in 2015. Following the plaintiff’s motion to remand, the Fifth Circuit held that removal was proper as the “Avondale Interests presented a colorable defense of federal contractor immunity” in 2017. The Avondale Interests were dismissed in 2021. Thereafter, the plaintiffs filed a motion to remand …

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Maritime/Admiralty Law / Summary Judgment
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Report and Recommendation on 20 Motions for Summary Judgment Based on Product Identification and Causation Adopted

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, December 2, 2021

In this matter the plaintiff, Darlene Data, sued numerous defendants on behalf of her husband, Michael Data, who was diagnosed with mesothelioma in January 2019 and died on February 6, 2020. Mr. Data served in the United States Navy from June 1969 to March 1973, including aboard the U.S.S. Newport News. From July 1973 to August 1974, he worked at the Crane Company foundry in New Castle, Pennsylvania. Next, he worked at …

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Maritime/Admiralty Law / Motion to Dismiss
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Manufacturer Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Failure to Warn Claim Denied

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, October 21, 2021

In this asbestos action, Dale Spurlin served in the U.S. Navy from 1963 until 1969. During this time, he alleged asbestos exposure while maintaining the boilers and other equipment in the fire rooms on the USS McGinty and the USS Rowan. After this matter was more than two years into its pendency and the filing of summary judgment motions, the defendants argued that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction by way of a …

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Louisiana / Maritime/Admiralty Law
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Defendants’ MSJ Granted Based on Preemption by Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, September 24, 2021

Plaintiff Ronald J. Barrosse filed a petition for damages in Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, Louisiana, against several defendants. The plaintiff alleged that he was exposed to asbestos and/or asbestos-containing products during the course of his employment at Avondale Industries, Inc., and Union Carbide between 1969 and 1979, and that such products were produced, installed, removed, maintained, sold, and distributed by the defendants. The plaintiff testified that during his employment, …

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Louisiana / Maritime/Admiralty Law / Summary Judgment
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Wallboard Manufacturer Denied Summary Judgment Due to Issue of Fact

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

In August 2019, plaintiff Patricia Jackson brought a lawsuit for asbestos exposure in Orleans Parish Civil District Court against a number of defendants. On March 25, 2020, the case was removed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana by the Avondale defendants following the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s decision in Latiolais v. Huntington Ingalls, Inc., which held that removal under section 1442(a) is …

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Maritime/Admiralty Law / Summary Judgment / Washington
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Valve Manufacturer Granted Summary Judgment on Causation Grounds

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, August 2, 2021

In this asbestos action, the plaintiff alleges that the decedent, John Dale Wineland, worked aboard a series of Navy ships and in Navy offices between 1963 and 1984. The plaintiffs allege that Mr. Wineland was exposed to asbestos contained in Powell products while aboard the USS Tuscaloosa between 1972 and 1974. Mr. Wineland worked primarily in the engine rooms of the ships to which he was assigned, repairing and maintaining machinery and equipment …

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Maritime/Admiralty Law / Summary Judgment / Washington
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Purifier Defendant Granted Summary Judgment as Plaintiffs Failed to Establish Causation

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, July 19, 2021

Defendant Alfa Laval filed this present amended motion for summary judgment. The plaintiffs allege the decedent, John Dale Wineland (decedent or Mr. Wineland), worked aboard a series of Navy ships including the USS Dynamic, USS Pledge, USS Loyalty, USS Tuscaloosa, and USS Esteem from 1963 to 1984, where he was exposed to asbestos from Alfa Laval products aboard these ships. The decedent worked in the engine room where he …

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Maritime/Admiralty Law / Pennsylvania / Summary Judgment
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Two Defendants Obtain Summary Judgment Due to Insufficient Evidence as Required by Applicable Law

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, June 15, 2021

As previously reported by Asbestos Case Tracker, the plaintiff alleges that the decedent Richard Nybeck developed lung cancer following occupational exposure to asbestos. Defendants Ford Motor Company (Ford) and defendant, Air & Liquid Systems Corporation, as successor by merger to Buffalo Pumps, Inc. (Buffalo) filed motions for summary judgment. The allegations as Ford stem from the decedent’s work during high school at his father’s gas station in Michigan. As to Buffalo, the …

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