Welding Fume Defendants Say District Court Lacks Personal Jurisdiction

NEW ORLEANS - Lincoln Electric Holding, which is named in several recently remanded welding fume lawsuits, has filed declinatory exceptions, saying that the plaintiffs have no basis for personal jurisdiction. Bailey, et al, v. A.O. Smith Corporation, et al. Docket No. 04-873. (La. Civ. D., Parish of Orleans).

Lincoln Electric filed the exceptions in recent months in the Louisiana Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans. The defendant claims that it is simply a holding company and that it does not have any direct contacts with Louisiana that would support the court's exercise of personal jurisdiction.

'LEH ... lacks …