La. Judge Excludes Expert Opinion on Chemical Release from International Paper Mill

MONROE, La. — A federal judge has prohibited a plaintiffs’ expert testifying that a Louisiana paper mill had a duty under federal law to inform a surrounding community about hazardous chemicals that were released into the air as a result of its operations.

In an opinion issued Oct. 23, Judge Robert G. James of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana granted in part a motion to exclude the expert’s testimony, determining that it does not address a fact at issue in the case brought by community members who claim that the pollutants caused or exacerbated their …