La. Court Retains Jurisdiction of Secondhand Asbestos Exposure Suit

NEW ORLEANS –– A Louisiana federal court has retained jurisdiction of a secondhand asbestos exposure lawsuit, finding that there is sufficient evidence that at least some of the alleged exposure occurred on federal vessels.

In the Dec. 17 order, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana opined that even if the relative of the plaintiff did repair work on nonfederal vessels, “that does not change the fact that he was allegedly exposed to asbestos years earlier as a result of his work … on MARAD vessels.”

Marsha T. Roussell filed the underlying case, contending that she developed …