Kansas Federal Court Says Asbestos Claims Not Preempted by Locomotive Inspection, Safety Appliance Acts

KANSAS CITY, Kan. –– A Kansas federal court has denied an asbestos defendant’s motion for judgment on the pleadings, rejecting the company’s position that the underlying claims are preempted by the Locomotive Inspection Act and the Federal Safety Appliance Act (SAA).

In the Jan. 12 opinion, the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas in part found that it could not conclude that the plaintiff’s allegations were directed at the equipment of locomotives, as required under the LIA.

The court reached a similar conclusion when assessing the applicability of the SAA to the plaintiff’s claims, saying that it could …