Louisiana Federal Court Remands Drilling Mud Additive Asbestos Exposure Suit

NEW ORLEANS –– A Louisiana federal court has remanded a drilling mud additive asbestos exposure suit, finding that the defendants could not remove the claims on admiralty jurisdiction grounds since the claims were nonremovable under the Jones Act.

In the April 8 opinion, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana also ruled that the claims did not fall under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act since the defendants failed to present enough evidence that the semi-submersible rig on which the plaintiff worked was similar to those that can drill in Outer Continental Shelf depths.

Plaintiff Dan Freeman …