Mich. Court Transfers Asbestosis Action to California Court After Finding It Didn’t Have Personal Jurisdiction Over Claims

DETROIT –– A Michigan court has transferred an asbestosis case to California after finding that it does not have personal jurisdiction over the matter, given that it would be unreasonable for a company to anticipate being brought into litigation in Michigan, a state “surrounded by the Earth’s largest system of freshwater lakes,” for claims relating to a saltwater evaporator.

In an Oct. 1 order, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan did find, however, that outright dismissal of the claims would be inappropriate and, as such, transferred the case to the Central District of California, where the …