Federal Court Says Defendants Must Turn over Unpublished Studies

NEW ORLEANS -- A Louisiana federal court has found no error with a magistrate judge's decision to compel unpublished studies from defense experts, ruling that the judge's decision was not contrary to law. LeBlanc, et al. v. Chevron USA Inc., et al., No. 05-5485 (E.D. La.).

In the Feb. 25 ruling, however, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana told the parties that it was not opening the issue of general causation in the case, which has already been debated in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.

The plaintiffs contend that Malcolm LeBlanc's …