Court Denies Plaintiffs Access to Shell Database of Employee Illnesses

NEW ORLEANS -- A federal court in Louisiana has denied a plaintiff motion to compel production of a Shell Oil Co. database that allegedly tracks illnesses from which their employees have died. Sanderson, et al. v. Shell Oil Co., et al., No. 09-7336 (E.D. La.).

In a Sept. 9 order, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana concluded that the database did not include any information relevant to the plaintiffs' claims and, as such, the request was overly broad.

The underlying complaint alleges that Richard Sanderson's work pumping gas and performing various mechanical duties at a …