Louisiana Asbestos Case Law

Asbestos decisions from Louisiana's courts and the federal courts there: 582 cases in our library so far. For what the law requires today, see Louisiana asbestos laws; for where exposure happened, see Louisiana asbestos exposure sites.

Federal district courts

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana

• Comardelle v. Pennsylvania General Insurance Company (2014). The court granted partial summary judgment to the Avondale executive officers and their insurers and dismissed plaintiffs' Article 2317 strict liability claims against them with prejudice.
• Comardelle v. Pennsylvania General Insurance Company (2014). The court granted Avondale's (Huntington Ingalls') motion for partial summary judgment and dismissed with prejudice the plaintiffs' Louisiana Civil Code Articles 1821-1823 claims based on the insurance buy-back agreements.
• Comardelle v. Pennsylvania General Insurance Company (2014). The court granted all defendants' motions for partial summary judgment and dismissed with prejudice the family's claims for bystander (Lejeune) damages for watching Comardelle's illness and death.
• Comardelle v. Pennsylvania General Insurance Company (2014). The court denied plaintiff Comardelle's motion to remand, holding that Westinghouse (joined by Foster Wheeler and GE) properly removed the case to federal court under the federal officer removal statute.
• Humphries v. OneBEACON America Insurance Company (2014). The district court denied plaintiff John Humphries's motion to remand, finding defendant Elliott Company made a sufficient showing for federal officer removal under 28 U.S.C. § 1442 and was entitled to a federal forum.
• Humphries v. OneBEACON America Insurance Company (2014). The district court denied Elliott Company's motion to stay its remand order pending appeal, so plaintiff John Humphries' case stays remanded to state court.
• Landry v. Columbia Casualty Company (2014). The district court denied the plaintiffs' motion to remand and motion for sanctions, held that Columbia Casualty and Eagle, Inc. were fraudulently joined, and dismissed the claims against them without prejudice, leaving Huntington Ingalls as the only defendant.
• Laurent v. City of New Orleans (2014). The court denied Plaintiff Scott Laurent's motion to remand, holding that GE and CBS properly removed the case under the federal officer removal statute.
• Millet v. Huntington Ingalls Incorporated (2014). The court granted Foster Wheeler's unopposed summary judgment motion against third-party plaintiff Huntington Ingalls, and denied General Electric's and CBS's motions as premature, without prejudice to re-urging them later.
• Morvant v. Maryland Casualty Company (2014). The court denied the insurers' motion to stay the federal direct-action suit under Colorado River abstention (or alternatively to continue deadlines), so plaintiff Morvant's suit against the insurers proceeds.
• Najolia v. Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Inc. (2014). The court granted Reilly-Benton Company's motion for summary judgment and dismissed the plaintiffs' claims against it with prejudice, because plaintiffs could not show Najolia, Sr. worked on ships or was near Reilly-Benton's products.
• Radosta v. Lorillard Tobacco Co. (2014). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion to remand to state court, holding that Lorillard Tobacco Co.'s removal was untimely.
• Rodrigue v. Continental Insurance Company (2014). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion to remand to Louisiana state court, finding the removing defendants had not shown that the non-diverse defendant Eagle, Inc. was improperly joined.
• Smith v. Union Carbide Corp. (2014). The court granted Miriam Smith's unopposed motion for summary judgment, ruling that no liability can be found against settled party Taylor-Seidenbach, so the remaining defendants cannot reduce damages by Taylor's share of fault.
• Smith v. Union Carbide Corp. (2014). The court granted in part the premises-owner defendants' (Union Carbide, Ethyl, Dow Chemical) summary judgment motions, dismissing vicarious-liability and strict-liability claims, but denied them on plaintiff Miriam Smith's direct negligence claims.
• Vedros v. Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Inc. (2014). The district court denied the plaintiffs' motion to remand and kept the case in federal court under supplemental jurisdiction, ruling for the defendants (Amchem, Continental, Westinghouse, Avondale and the Avondale Interests) and against the plaintiffs.
• Vedros v. Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Inc. (2014). The court granted Westinghouse's summary judgment motion on the turbine claims, dismissing them with prejudice, and denied it on the micarta claims, which go forward.
• Vedros v. Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Inc. (2014). The district court granted General Electric's motion for summary judgment and dismissed the plaintiffs' claims against GE with prejudice, because the plaintiffs lacked evidence that GE supplied or attached any asbestos-containing material.
• Vedros v. Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Inc. (2014). The court granted Avondale's and the Avondale Interests' motions for partial summary judgment and dismissed with prejudice the plaintiffs' intentional tort, fraud and conspiracy claims.
• Whatley v. Eagle, Inc. (2014). The court dismissed the third-party claims against the Veterans Administration Medical Center for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and remanded the case to Orleans Parish Civil District Court, granting the plaintiffs' motion; it did not reach Local 141's and Somdal's motions to dismiss.
• Morvant v. Asbestos Corporation Limited (2013). The federal district court granted plaintiff Mary Morvant's motion to remand and sent the case back to Orleans Parish civil court, rejecting defendant Asbestos Corporation Limited's removal.
• Phillips v. Abb Combustion Engineering, Inc. (2013). The court denied, without prejudice, the motions for summary judgment by CenterPoint Energy and Associated Electric Cooperative seeking dismissal of Carol Phillips's claims as time-barred, because the choice-of-law issue was raised first in her opposition and was inadequately briefed.
• Phillips v. Abb Combustion Engineering, Inc. (2013). The court denied Associated Electric Cooperative's Rule 12(e) motion for a more definite statement and granted its Rule 12(b)(6) motion, dismissing the Estate of Robert Lee Phillips as an improper party, while Carol Phillips's claims continued.
• Phillips v. Abb Combustion Engineering, Inc. (2013). The court granted the motions of the City of Grand Island and Nebraska Public Power District to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, dismissing the plaintiffs' claims against them.
• Pitman v. Crane Co. (2013). The court granted June Pitman's motion to remand to Orleans Parish civil court, finding Georgia-Pacific failed to show the Louisiana defendants Eagle and Taylor-Seidenbach were improperly joined, and denied Georgia-Pacific's motion for limited discovery.
• Smith v. Union Carbide Corp. (2013). The federal district court denied Miriam Smith's motion to remand, finding the removal timely and not waived and Louisiana defendant Taylor-Seidenbach improperly joined, so the Removal Defendants (Dow, Ethyl, Union Carbide) prevailed.
• Landry v. Eagle, Inc. (2012). The court granted the Landrys' motion to remand and sent the case back to Orleans Parish Civil District Court, because removing defendant J.A. Sexauer did not show complete diversity.
• Najolia v. Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Inc. (2012). The court denied plaintiff Najolia's motion to remand, holding that General Electric and CBS Corporation (Westinghouse) properly removed the case under the federal officer removal statute.
• Richoux v. Csr Limited (2008). The court granted plaintiff Richoux's motion to remand, finding Capital One had not shown the non-diverse defendants were improperly joined, and awarded plaintiff costs and fees against Capital One, with the amount referred to the Magistrate Judge.
• Bradley v. Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation (2007). The court granted plaintiff Frank Bradley's motion to remand and sent the case back to Orleans Parish Civil District Court, holding that Northrop Grumman (as alleged successor to Avondale) and Peter Territo failed to justify federal officer removal; their motion for a 1292(b) statement was denied.
• Lerille v. Monsanto Corporation (2007). The court granted Betty Lerille's motion to remand, severing and remanding her state-court suit because the defendant's removal was untimely, and denied her motion for Rule 11 sanctions and for attorneys' fees.
• Delancey v. Chicago Insurance Co. (2004). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion to remand and sent the case back to Orleans Parish Civil District Court, holding that Chicago Insurance's removal failed for lack of diversity or other federal jurisdiction.
• Hernandez v. Todd Shipyards Corporation (2004). The court granted plaintiff Eunice Hernandez's motion to remand the case to Orleans Parish Civil District Court for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, rejecting the removing defendants' LHWCA preemption argument, and denied her request for costs and expenses.
• Coates v. AC and S, Inc. (1994). The court ruled before trial that pre-comparative-fault Louisiana law and virile-share apportionment governed the wrongful death claim, denied plaintiffs' per se unreasonably dangerous motion, admitted the OSHA and EPA publications, and denied Owens-Corning's motions on third-party medical payments, mental anguish and reverse bifurcation.
• Bergeron v. Celotex Corp. (1991). The court granted Foster Wheeler and Flintkote partial summary judgment dismissing the daughter Loretta Ann Young's wrongful death claim as prescribed, granted Foster Wheeler partial summary judgment dismissing both plaintiffs' wrongful death claims because workers' compensation was the exclusive remedy, and denied plaintiffs' motion to extend the deadline to amend pleadings.

U.S. District Court, Middle District of Louisiana

• Alford v. Taylor-Seidenbach, Inc. (2025). The court granted Union Carbide's partial summary judgment motion on the failure-to-properly-package claim, denied it as moot on the conceded take-home and lost-earnings claims, and denied it on the Super Visbestos, failure-to-warn and product supplier strict liability issues, so those go to trial for the plaintiffs.
• Manchester v. Anco Insulations, Inc. (2022). The court granted defendant Arrow Electronics' motion to withdraw its notice of removal and remanded the case to the Nineteenth Judicial District Court for East Baton Rouge Parish, so plaintiff Manchester prevailed on keeping the case in state court.
• Reulet v. Lamorak Ins. Co. (2022). The court denied the summary judgment motions of General Electric and ViacomCBS/Westinghouse, so the plaintiffs' claims against the two turbine manufacturers go forward.
• Reulet v. Lamorak Ins. Co. (2022). The court granted in part and denied in part Berkshire's summary judgment motion: claims tied to the second policy period and to the father's second-hand exposure were dismissed with prejudice, while the claim of direct exposure during the first policy period survived for Plaintiffs and Avondale.
• Reulet v. Lamorak Ins. Co. (2022). The district court denied Aerojet Rocketdyne's motion for summary judgment, finding fact disputes on whether the decedent was exposed to asbestos at Barnard and Burk and whether Aerojet inherited its liabilities, so plaintiffs and Avondale prevailed on the motion.
• Reulet v. Lamorak Ins. Co. (2022). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment, finding no genuine dispute that Kirk Reulet had mesothelioma and that it resulted in his death, over the opposition of Bayer CropScience, Hopeman Brothers and Liberty Mutual.
• Reulet v. Lamorak Ins. Co. (2022). The court denied American Insurance Company's motion for summary judgment on coverage, so the plaintiffs prevailed, and ordered American's counsel to show cause why sanctions should not be imposed.
• Reulet v. Lamorak Ins. Co. (2022). The court granted in part the motion by insurers Wausau and Liberty and stayed the plaintiffs' direct action claims against them pending the Reilly-Benton bankruptcy; the claims were not dismissed.
• Hsieh v. Apache Deepwater, LLC (2021). The magistrate judge denied plaintiff David Hsieh's motions to compel discovery against BP, Chevron, Exxon and Texaco, so the defendants prevailed on the motions.
• Hsieh v. Badger Oil Corporation (2021). The court granted seven defendants' unopposed motions for summary judgment (Nustar, Murphy EXPRO, Union Carbide, Montello, Apache, and the Baker Hughes entities) and dismissed the plaintiff's claims against them with prejudice.
• Hsieh v. Badger Oil Corporation (2021). The court granted summary judgment to Badger Oil Corporation and Klentos Production Corporation, dismissing plaintiff David Hsieh's claims against them with prejudice because he did not oppose and they had no role in his exposure.
• Hsieh v. Apache Deepwater, LLC (2020). The district court denied plaintiff David Hsieh's motion for reconsideration of its order denying remand, leaving in place federal OCSLA jurisdiction and the removal by defendants Apache Deepwater and ENSCO.
• McAllister v. McDERMOTT, Inc. (2020). The court granted summary judgment to Tate Andale (no successor liability) and Velan Valve (no evidence of exposure) and denied it to Spirax Sarco, Air & Liquid Systems and Flowserve, so the plaintiffs' claims against those three go forward.
• McAllister v. McDERMOTT, Inc. (2020). The court denied defendant Nash Engineering's motion for partial summary judgment on the McAllister plaintiffs' damages claims, but limited recovery of loss of income and household services to the surviving spouse as executrix of the estate.
• McAllister v. McDERMOTT, Inc. (2018). The court denied plaintiff James McAllister's motion for an expedited trial setting, which Air & Liquid Systems Corporation had opposed.