La. Court Remands Asbestos Case, Says Defendant Not Shielded from Claims Under Workers’ Compensation Act

NEW ORLEANS –– A Louisiana federal court has remanded an asbestos action, concluding that the removing defendants had failed to prove that Turner Industries had been fraudulently joined as a defendant in the case.

In the Jan. 13 opinion, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana explained that mesothelioma was not a compensable occupational disease under the pre-1975 version of the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act and, as such, the claims were not subject to the exclusivity provision in the Act.

Brent Deaville filed the underlying action, contending that his pleural mesothelioma was caused by exposure to asbestos-containing …