MDL Court Delays Determination on Preemption in 2,350 Asbestos Cases

PHILADELPHIA –– The court overseeing the national asbestos products liability MDL has refrained from weighing in on the preemptive effect of the Locomotive Inspection Act on more than 2,300 pending asbestos cases, opining that since no discovery has taken place in the case, a determination on preemption cannot be made at this time.

In a three-page order issued Oct. 10, Judge Eduardo C. Robreno of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied defendant Pullman Passenger Car Company Inc.’s motions to dismiss without prejudice, noting that “important facts remain unknown in these cases.”

In a footnote, …