Benzene Plaintiff Moves to Remand Suit, Says He Didn’t Assert OCSLA Claims

NEW ORLEANS –– A benzene plaintiff has moved to remand his lawsuit, contending that he filed the complaint under a “savings to suitors” clause when asserted his Jones Act and general maritime law claims.

In the May 9 motion to remand filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, the plaintiff said that under the “savings to suitors” clause, maritime causes of action that are asserted in connection with Jones Act claims do not come within the scope of 28 U.S.C. § 1441(c).

The plaintiffs filed their complaint on March 29 in the Louisiana 25th Judicial …