Asbestos MDL Judge Grants Over 400 Motions to Dismiss, Addresses 25-Year-Old Dispute over Jurisdiction in Maritime Cases

PHILADELPHIA –– The judge overseeing the national Asbestos Products Multidistrict Litigation docket has granted 418 motions brought by shipowner defendants to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction in a number of maritime cases, clarifying orders issued nearly 25 years ago.

In the Aug. 26 opinion, Judge Eduardo C. Robreno Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania found that the underlying MARDOC complaints do not make any allegations about the defendants’ allegedly harmful activities in Ohio.

In the same order, the MDL Judge denied approximately 150 motions to dismiss for improper service of process.