La. Court Retains Jurisdiction Over Asbestos Action, Says Jurisdiction Proper As Claims Relate to OCSLA

NEW ORLEANS –– A Louisiana federal court has retained jurisdiction over an asbestos case, after finding that the plaintiff’s own testimony established that his employment involved “extensive work on the Outer Continental Shelf.”

In the Jan. 24 opinion, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana found that the removing defendants had shown that jurisdiction was appropriate “under OCSLA’s broad jurisdictional grant over cases arising out of, or in connection with, mineral operations on the OCS.”

Plaintiff Frederico Lopez filed the underlying lawsuit, contending that he was exposed to asbestos-containing products while employed by Kellogg Brown & Root …