Asbestos Wrongful Death Case Remanded to Ohio State Court for Lack of Diversity

CLEVELAND — An Ohio federal judge has remanded an asbestos wrongful death action to state court, ruling that the non-diverse defendants were not fraudulently joined because the pleadings indicate there was at least some chance they sold the asbestos-containing products that the decedent encountered at his workplace.

In an April 28 order, Judge James S. Gwin of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio sent the case to the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, explaining that the plaintiff has pled viable claims against in-state defendants Red Seal Electric Co. and Donald McKay Smith Inc.

David …