CALIFORNIA — On November 7, 2018, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint in state court alleging that decedent, Ronald Viale, was exposed to asbestos when he was employed by the U.S. Navy as a steamfitter/firefighter from 1968 to 1970, and that he developed mesothelioma as a result of said exposure. On January 3, 2019, Foster Wheeler removed the matter under the federal officer defense. The removing defendants produced declarations provided by witnesses demonstrating that the Navy issued specifications regarding the form and content of all warnings, that those specifications did not require warnings about asbestos hazards, and that the Navy knew at least as much about asbestos hazards as its contractors. Additionally, evidence was presented by the removing defendants that the equipment it provided to the Navy complied with the Navy’s specifications. Finally, removing the defendants showed a causal nexus between the plaintiffs’ claims and the acts they took pursuant to a federal officer’s direction. Accordingly, the plaintiffs’ motion to remand was denied.
Only the Westlaw citation is currently available at 2019 WL 1114873.