Court: Plaintiffs Not Required to Get Consent before Dismissing Defendant

NEW YORK -- A federal court in New York has remanded an asbestos case, rejecting the plaintiffs' argument that they needed to gain consent from other defendants in the action before dismissing Viad Corp. from the lawsuit. Smith, et al. v. Anchor Packing Co., et al., No. 08-7219 (S.D. N.Y.).

In the Nov. 10 opinion, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that the plaintiffs were not required to obtain consent from Viad's co-defendants, who had filed cross-claims against the dismissed party.

The claims were asserted on behalf of Kenneth Smith, who was allegedly …