After Louisiana native Alvin Fiffie’s mesothelioma death, his daughter Monique Mohammed substituted herself as plaintiff in his lawsuit against several asbestos companies, adding her own survival and wrongful death claims. She settled her claim against Avondale Shipyards, which had previously removed the case to federal court based on its status as a government contractor. With that issue resolved, Ms. Mohammed petitioned to have the case returned to state court, but one of the remaining defendants objected. This week, District Judge Sarah S. Vance returned the case to state jurisdiction.
Asbestos Company Argues that Mesothelioma Claim Should Remain in Federal Court
Mr. Fiffie had originally filed his mesothelioma lawsuit in the Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans. He named several companies as defendants, including Avondale Shipyards. Avondale is frequently cited for having exposed workers to asbestos, and as it often does, it removed the action to federal court based on its having been a contractor for the federal government. When Mr. Fiffie died, his daughter Monique Mohammed agreed to settle the claim against the shipyard, thus eliminating any government contractors from the claim. When she moved to have the case remanded to state court, defendant IMTT-Geismar objected.
In considering IMTT-Geismar’s objection to remanding the mesothelioma lawsuit to state court, Judge Vance noted that the removal of the case to federal court had not eliminated the district court’s original jurisdiction of non-federal claims. She said that the district court had broad discretion to remand such cases, and that the decision demanded an analysis of statutory and common law factors relevant to jurisdiction. She then gave examples of those factors, including whether the case raised novel or complex issues of state law or whether the district court had already dismissed any of the claims, as well as more common-sense factors such as convenience and judicial economy.
Judge Determines that Remand to State Court is Appropriate for Mesothelioma Claim
In reviewing these factors, Judge Vance decided that the factors supported having the mesothelioma claim returned to state court. She noted that all statutory factors had been met because the state-law issues were all that remained to be decided, and that the common-law factors were neutral. She noted that both the state and federal court houses were located in Orleans Parish and that the company had identified “no reasons that litigating in state court in Orleans Parish would be less convenient than litigating in federal court.”
Finally, the judge noted that “as to fairness, IMTT-Geismar does not identify any reasons why a state court would be unlikely to fairly resolve the claims pending against it,” and that the only basis for opposition had to do with another asbestos-exposure case years earlier, which bore no resemblance to the fact in this case. As a result, Mr. Fiffie’s case will be returned to state court.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, it is important that you have experienced, knowledgeable guidance. To learn how the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net can help, contact us today at 1-800-692-8608.
