New Louisiana Legislation Aims to Alter Venue and Forum Non Conveniens Procedures for Asbestos, Silica Actions

BATON ROUGE, La. –– Three bills were recently introduced in the Louisiana State Legislature, each aiming to alter current laws allowing asbestos and silica plaintiffs to choose their venue, regardless of residence or exposure.

House Bill Nos. 219, 482 and 483 all seek, in part, to mandate that those asserting claims involving latent disease must be brought in the parish in which the plaintiff has resided for no less than one year preceding the filing of the lawsuit, or in the parish in which the alleged substantial exposure occurred.

All three pieces of legislation were referred to the …