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Most Claims Against Manufacturer Of Chemical Leaked Into West Virginia Water Supply To Proceed

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia determined earlier this month that the bulk of private plaintiffs’ claims against the manufacturer of the chemical that leaked into the Elk River and contaminated the Charleston-area water supply could continue.  The plaintiffs generally contended that the chemical manufacturer failed to warn of the dangers...

Workers’ Case Alleging Harms By Government Contractor From Coal Ash Clean-up Still Alive

Earlier this week, the Sixth Circuit joined an existing circuit split when holding that a government contractor’s immunity as a corollary of the discretionary-function exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Yearsley v. W.A. Ross Construction Co., 309 U.S. 18 (1940)), is not jurisdictional.  In the case, following a...

Excess Insurer Not Allowed To Introduce Asbestos Exclusion In Upcoming Trial In Pennsylvania

In a lingering dispute related to the insurance available to a manufacturer of asbestos-containing products, the last non-settling excess insurer sought to preclude the manufacturer from presenting “any evidence of damages at trial.”  That insurer, Insurer A, contended that the manufacturer cannot prove any insured damages because Insurer A’s policies incorporate an...

Federal Court Enjoins Manufacturing Plant From Retaliating Against OSHA Complainants

An employee working on a production line of a plant that makes foam cushions used in car seats and head rests raised concerns about exposure to the chemical toluene diisocyanate (“TDI”).  In May 2014, the employee was one of ten plant employees to provide management with a signed letter regarding TDI leaks at the plant and health concerns.  The plant promptly hired an...

Expert’s Opinion Calculating Benzene Exposure Tossed As Unreliable

Last Thursday, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana excluded the plaintiff’s proposed expert in an alleged benzene exposure case on the grounds that his methodologies used for calculating benzene exposure were unreliable.  The plaintiff was the surviving spouse of an individual who had worked as a gas station attendant from 1958 to 1971 and had died from...

Class Certification Denied In Case Involving Alleged Exposure To Refinery Leaks

Last week, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana denied a motion for class certification for all individuals living within a certain geographic area of a Louisiana refinery from June 2012 to the present.  The plaintiffs attempted to certify the class alleging that the refinery’s failure to meet regulatory standards resulted in more than 145 leaks and...

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