Helicopter Maker May Assert Federal Officer Jurisdiction in Removal of Asbestos Claim

FORT WORTH, Texas - A federal judge in Texas has denied a motion to remand an asbestos case that had been removed by a defendant who claimed that its predecessor manufactured its allegedly injurious asbestos-containing product under the direction of the U.S. Government. Teague, et al., v. Bell Helicopter Services, Inc., et al., No. 03-004 (N.D. Texas).

According to Judge John McBryde's decision entered Feb. 12 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the evidence accompanying the claim that Bell Helicopter had no choice but to include asbestos-containing products in its helicopters was enough to establish …