Turbine Maker’s Military Contractor Claim Keeps Asbestos Case in Federal Court

NEW ORLEANS — A turbine manufacturer sued over its use of asbestos insulating blankets in products the company supplied to a South Carolina nuclear facility is entitled under the federal officer removal statute to defend the case in federal court, a Louisiana judge has ruled.

On Sept. 23, Judge Lance M. Africk found defendant Elliott Co. presented the court with sufficient evidence that the asbestos insulation that allegedly caused one of the facility workers to develop mesothelioma was incorporated into Elliot’s turbines pursuant to strict government specifications.

As a result of the finding, the judge said, Elliott has adequately asserted …