MDL Judge Says Navy Workers' Claims Against Turbine Makers Not Preempted

PHILADELPHIA - Asbestos-related failure-to-warn claims asserted by Naval officers against two turbine manufacturers are neither preempted nor do they present non-justiciable political questions that cannot be decided without second guessing the military's judgment, the federal asbestos MDL judge has ruled. Donn v. A.W. Chesterton Co. Inc., et al., No. 10-62071 (E.D. Pa.).

In refusing to dismiss cases by three servicemen who developed mesothelioma after working aboard nuclear submarines, Judge Eduardo C. Robreno of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled Feb. 1 that the limited circumstances for preemption of state law claims cannot be expanded to …