Missouri Federal Court Remands Asbestos Suit, Says No Law in Complaint Invokes Federal Jurisdiction

ST. LOUIS –– A Missouri federal court has remanded an asbestos action, finding that there was no law cited in the lawsuit that created a federal cause of action.

In the April 10 order, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri wrote that a 2011 amendment to section 1441 did not permit maritime claims to be removed to federal court, as defendant Exxon Mobil had suggested.

The plaintiffs brought the claims on behalf of Nicholas Schaffer, contending that his work as a ship repairman at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. exposed him to asbestos-containing products. …