Third-Party Asbestos Defendants Denied Judgment Ahead of Discovery Deadline

NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge has refused to award summary judgment to two third-party defendants in a Louisiana asbestos lawsuit after determining that the motions, based entirely on the substance of plaintiff’s deposition, were filed months prior to the close of discovery.

In an Oct. 7 decision, Judge Eldon E. Fallon of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana deemed the motions premature, given that more discovery could substantiate third-party allegations that the plaintiff was exposed to the moving defendants’ products.

General Electric Co. and CBS Corp. were brought into the suit by defendant Huntington Ingalls …