Federal Judge Grants Motion to Remand Cancer Case

NEW ORLEANS - A federal judge has granted a welding fume plaintiff's motion to remand his case to Louisiana state court, ruling that defendants failed to show that federal officer jurisdiction applied. Pellegal v. Lincoln Electric Co., et al., No. 08-0030 (E.D. La.).

Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana said in a June 20 remand order that while plaintiffs Etienne Pellegal acknowledged exposure to welding fumes in a federal shipyard, defendants failed to offer a causal nexus by providing evidence that their products were used at the shipyard during Pellegal's employment. …