Louisiana Federal Court Awards Summary Judgment to 2 Defendants in Asbestos Case, Says Claims Preempted

NEW ORLEANS –– A Louisiana federal court has awarded summary judgment to Huntington Ingalls Inc. and Lamorak Insurance Co. in a lung cancer asbestos suit, finding that the claims are preempted by the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act.

In the April 30 opinion, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana wrote that the plaintiffs had offered no evidence that they were entitled to pursue the state tort claims under exceptions to the Act.

The plaintiffs asserted the claims on behalf of Stewart Pitre, who worked as a pipefitter for Avondale Shipyard in the 1960s and 1970s. …