Mesothelioma: Asbestos Court Decisions

Decisions in our case-law library that involve mesothelioma: 2,859 cases, by state. Each line gives the exposure the court described, or else what it decided. For the topic itself, see Mesothelioma.

Louisiana

• Leech v. 3M Company (2018). The court denied Rohm and Haas Chemicals LLC's Rule 12(b)(2) motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction without prejudice, giving plaintiffs 30 days for jurisdictional discovery and 60 days to amend their complaint.
• Legendre v. Huntington Ingalls, Incorporated (2018). The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's order remanding the case to Louisiana state court, ruling that Huntington Ingalls (Avondale) failed to show the causal nexus needed for federal officer removal, so the Legendre brothers prevailed.
• Lopez v. McDERMOTT, Inc. (2018). The court granted McDermott, Inc.'s unopposed motion for summary judgment and dismissed the Lopez plaintiffs' claims against McDermott with prejudice.
• Lopez v. McDERMOTT, Inc. (2018). The district court denied Federico Lopez's motion to remand, ruling that federal jurisdiction existed under OCSLA, so Shell Oil and Tennessee Gas Pipeline prevailed on removal.
• 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.
• Melancon v. Lamorak Insurance Company (2018). The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's order remanding the case to Louisiana state court, ruling against Huntington Ingalls and the other defendants and for the Melancons.
• Melancon v. Lamorak Insurance Company (2018). The court granted the Melancon family's motion to remand the case to state court, rejecting Huntington Ingalls' and the other defendants' federal officer removal.
• Michel v. Ford Motor Company (2018). The court granted Cummins's and Ford's motion to exclude plaintiffs' experts Dr. Brody and Dr. Castleman for late disclosure of their reports and denied plaintiffs' motion to amend the scheduling order.
• Michel v. Ford Motor Company (2018). The district court denied the plaintiffs' motion to remand, finding Louisiana defendant Taylor-Seidenbach was improperly joined and Cummins' removal was timely, so the case stays in federal court.
• Morgan v. Huntington Ingalls, Incorporated (2018). The Fifth Circuit vacated the district court's remand order, holding Huntington Ingalls (Avondale) removed on time, and remanded for the district court to decide the federal officer requirements; it dismissed Murphy Oil's appeal for lack of standing.
• Rivera v. Huntington Ingalls, Inc. (2018). The district court granted summary judgment to Huntington Ingalls (Avondale), joined by other defendants, and dismissed with prejudice Judith Punch Rivera's wrongful death and survival claims as prescribed.
• Rivera v. Huntington Ingalls, Inc. (2018). The court denied plaintiff Judith Punch Rivera's motion to remand, keeping the case in federal court under the Federal Officer Removal Statute and ruling for defendant Huntington Ingalls (Avondale).
• Rousseau v. Johnson & Johnson (2018). The court granted plaintiff Marilyn Rousseau's motion to remand and sent the case back to Louisiana state court, rejecting Johnson & Johnson's claim that the non-diverse defendant K&B was improperly joined.
• Schindler v. Dravo Basic Materials Company, Inc. (2018). The district court denied Dravo Basic Materials Company's motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, so plaintiff Robert Schindler's Jones Act suit stays in the Eastern District of Louisiana.
• Uzee v. Huntington Ingalls Incorporated (2018). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion to remand to state court, finding that Avondale (Huntington Ingalls) timely removed but failed to show the causal nexus required for federal officer removal.
• Williams v. Taylor-Seidenbach, Incorporated (2018). The Fifth Circuit dismissed the Williams children's consolidated appeals against Taylor-Seidenbach, McCarty, Boeing and Lockheed Martin for lack of appellate jurisdiction because the district court never entered a final decision, so the defendants prevailed on the jurisdictional point.
• Bell v. Foster Wheeler Energy Corp. (2017). The court ruled that Louisiana law, not Idaho law, governs both the survival claim and the wrongful death claim (including punitive damages) for the alleged Idaho exposures, favoring the plaintiffs' position on choice of law.
• Bell v. Foster Wheeler Energy Corp. (2017). The court ruled that, for the Idaho exposures, Louisiana law governs the survival claim (favoring the Bell plaintiffs) and Idaho law governs punitive damages on the wrongful death claim (favoring the defendants).
• Bell v. Foster Wheeler Energy Corp. (2017). The court granted summary judgment to York International and Foster Wheeler Energy and dismissed the claims against them with prejudice, and denied summary judgment to General Electric, Crane, Air & Liquid Systems (Buffalo), Aurora Pump, Atwood & Morrill, CBS, IMO Industries and Warren Pumps.
• Bell v. Foster Wheeler Energy Corp. (2017). The court denied the plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration, leaving in place its exclusion of their experts' specific causation opinions, and clarified what the experts may say at trial.
• Bell v. Foster Wheeler Energy Corp. (2017). The court granted in part and denied in part the defendants' partial summary judgment motion: it dismissed Vickie Campos's individual claims and John Bell's nonpecuniary wrongful death damages, but allowed the survival claim, Bell's pecuniary wrongful death claim, and the decedent's pre-death pain and suffering damages to proceed.
• Blouin v. Huntington Ingalls Inc. (2017). The district court granted the Blouin family's motion to remand and sent the case back to Louisiana state court, rejecting Huntington Ingalls (Avondale)'s federal officer removal.
• Bordelon v. Atlantic Richfield Co. (2017). The magistrate judge recommended granting plaintiff Mary Bordelon's motions to amend her complaint to add a non-diverse defendant and to remand to state court, rejecting removing defendant Expro's claims of federal jurisdiction.
• Coleman v. Anco Insulations, Inc. (2017). The magistrate judge granted in part and denied in part the Coleman plaintiffs' motion to compel Pilkington North America to produce a Rule 30(b)(6) corporate representative, granting topic 52 and topic 40 (pre-1972 only) and denying the general dust and post-employment topics.
• Coleman v. Anco Insulations, Inc. (2017). The magistrate judge granted the unopposed motion by defendant Pilkington North America to run destructive fiber burden testing on up to 50% of the decedent's pathology materials, against the plaintiffs.
• Coleman v. Anco Insulations, Inc. (2017). The magistrate judge granted the plaintiffs' motion to substitute Pamela Coleman and Jody Coleman Nolte for the deceased William Coleman and to file an amended complaint, over Pilkington North America's objection.
• Coleman v. Anco Insulations, Inc. (2017). The magistrate judge ordered the plaintiffs' heirs to file a new motion to substitute with a proposed amended complaint that properly alleges the citizenship of all parties, and to state whether the defendants consent.
• Hayden v. 3M Co. (4th Circuit, 2017). The appeals court reversed the trial court's order quashing trial subpoenas served on the out-of-state corporate defendants, siding with plaintiffs Thomas and Jacqueline Hayden, and remanded for further consideration.
• Leech v. 3M Co. (2017). The court denied plaintiff Margaret Leech's motion to remand and her request for attorneys' fees and costs, holding that Honeywell's removal before any defendant was served was proper.
• Leech v. 3M Company (2017). The court denied plaintiff Margaret Leech's motion to remand and her request for attorneys' fees, holding Honeywell's removal before any defendant was served was proper, so Honeywell and the other defendants prevailed.
• Legendre v. Huntington Ingalls Inc. (2017). The federal district court granted the Legendre brothers' motion to remand their wrongful death suit against Huntington Ingalls (Avondale) to Louisiana state court, rejecting Avondale's federal officer removal.
• Mayeaux v. Taylor-Seidenbach, Inc. (2017). The federal district court granted George Mayeaux's motion to remand and sent the case back to the Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, rejecting Avondale/Huntington Ingalls and OneBeacon's federal officer removal.
• Morgan v. Dow Chemical Company (2017). The court granted in part Curtis Morgan's motion to remand, sending the case back to Louisiana state court because Avondale's federal officer removal was untimely, and denied Morgan's request for attorneys' fees and costs.
• Murphy v. Alcatel-Lucent USA Inc. (2017). The court denied Rohm and Haas's motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction (allowing 60 days of jurisdictional discovery) and Honeywell's Rule 12(b)(6) motion, and ordered plaintiffs to file a more detailed Fourth Amended Complaint.
• Romano v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. (4th Circuit, 2017). The court affirmed the jury's liability and causation findings against Union Carbide and refused it a credit for Johns-Manville's fault, but reversed the damages ruling and raised the general damages award for the Romanos from $500,000 to $1,500,000.
• Savoie v. Pennsylvania General Insurance Co. (2017). The court granted Owens-Illinois's re-urged exception of res judicata, holding the 1996 release barred the Savoie family's mesothelioma, wrongful death and survival claims against Owens-Illinois.
• Savoie v. Pennsylvania General Insurance Co. (2017). On remand from the Fifth Circuit, the court denied the plaintiffs' (Savoie family) motion to remand, finding Avondale (Huntington Ingalls) and the other defendants made a colorable government contractor defense, so federal officer removal stands.
• Sheppard v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company (2017). The court denied Sheppard's motions to exclude settlement and collateral-source evidence, for in limine relief on undeposed experts, for judicial admission on asbestosis, and to exclude the Dr. Smith consultation note, and denied as moot his motion to strike a witness and the defendants' motion for partial summary judgment on asbestosis.
• Sheppard v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company (2017). The court granted the defendants' motion and excluded plaintiff Sheppard's treating physicians from giving expert opinion testimony, because he did not make the required Rule 26(a)(2)(C) disclosures; the physicians may offer only lay testimony.
• Sheppard v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company (2017). The court granted Liberty Mutual Insurance Company's motion for summary judgment, dismissing plaintiff Sheppard's claims against it in its individual capacity because it owed him no duty.
• Sheppard v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company (2017). The court denied Jesse Frank Sheppard's second motion to remand to Louisiana state court and struck his amendments deleting the Caminada allegations, so Mosaic and the other defendants kept the case in federal court.
• Sheppard v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company (2017). The court granted Mosaic Global Holdings' motion to dismiss Sheppard's amended fraud claim with prejudice for failure to plead fraud with particularity, and denied Mosaic's motion to strike as moot.
• Signal Mutual Indemnity Association, Ltd. v. Asbestos Corporation, Ltd. (2017). The court granted the Port of Greater Baton Rouge's motion and dismissed without prejudice the claims of Signal Mutual and Baton Rouge Marine Contractors for lack of admiralty subject-matter jurisdiction.
• Smith v. Georgia-Pacific, LLC (2017). The court granted plaintiff Ronald Smith's motion to remand to Orleans Parish Civil District Court, finding removing defendant Honeywell had not shown that Louisiana defendant Taylor-Seidenbach was improperly joined; Honeywell lost on removal.
• Storer v. Crown Cork & Seal Company (2017). The magistrate judge granted plaintiffs' third motion to compel Trane US, Inc.'s Rule 30(b)(6) deposition, overruled Trane's objections, and ordered a prepared witness, a $2,000 fee payment and reimbursement of deposition costs.
• Storer v. Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc. (2017). The court denied Trane US, Inc.'s motion for partial summary judgment on economic damages, leaving the plaintiffs' claims for lost earnings and loss of support, including income through the Company, for the jury.
• Williams v. Placid Oil Company (3rd Circuit, 2017). The court affirmed in all respects the bench-trial judgment for the Williams family against Ingersoll-Rand, including the liability findings, fault allocations and damage awards, and assessed costs to Ingersoll-Rand.
• Bell v. Foster Wheeler Energy Corp. (2016). The court denied the defendants' motion to strike John Croix from the plaintiffs' witness list, allowed defendants to depose him, and allowed them to seek leave to supplement their expert reports.
• Bell v. Foster Wheeler Energy Corp. (2016). The court granted in part and denied in part the pump and valve defendants' motion to exclude studies and videos from plaintiffs' expert Dr. James Millette: most of his study testimony was allowed, but he may not call a study representative of Mr. Bell's likely exposure without a threshold showing, and the challenge to his videos was denied as premature.
• Bell v. Foster Wheeler Energy Corp. (2016). The court granted in part and denied in part the defendants' motions in limine: it excluded the plaintiffs' experts' specific causation opinions as unreliable but allowed them to testify on Mr. Bell's mesothelioma and general causation, and refused to strike Dr. Kradin or disqualify Dr. Kraus.