Pa. Federal Court Says Past Settlement Agreement Doesn’t Bar Current Asbestos FELA Claims

PHILADELPHIA –– A Pennsylvania federal court has refused to dismiss asbestos claims asserted against railroad defendants, saying that a prior settlement agreement between the defendants and their former employee did not preclude the claims.

In the Sept. 17 opinion, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania opined that the settlement agreement contained the kind of boilerplate language prior courts have found “suspicious.”

The plaintiffs asserting the claims contended that Roger Hindle was exposed to asbestos-containing products while employed by the defendants between 1948 and 1990. Hindle had previously filed a claim against the “Railroad Defendants” relating …