When David Keiser died of malignant mesothelioma in 2021, his widow Carolyn filed a lawsuit in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas in Ohio against three companies that she blamed for exposing him to asbestos and causing his death. Of the three, only Vanderbilt Minerals, LLC was not located in Ohio. The company accused the widow of including the two Ohio-based companies fraudulently in an attempt to prevent the case from being heard in federal court.
Mesothelioma Victim’s Widow Accused of Fraudulent Joinder
Carolyn Keiser linked her late husband’s death to the forty years that he spent working for Mansfield Plumbing. She named Ohio-based Donald McKay Smith Inc. (DMS) and Red Seal Electric Company in her suit, as well as Vanderbilt Minerals, which sold industrial talc. When Vanderbilt removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, they argued that she had perpetrated what is known as fraudulent joinder. She denied this claim and filed a motion to have the claim returned to state court.
When a plaintiff in a lawsuit names defendants that are located in a state outside of where they live, the case is removed to federal court unless local defendants are also included. Fraudulent joinder occurs when an in-state defendant is named without any “reasonable basis for predicting recovery.” In accusing the mesothelioma widow of fraudulent joinder, Vanderbilt asserted that the other two companies had only been named to prevent the case from being returned to state court.
Federal Judge Rejects Accusation Against Mesothelioma Widow
In reviewing the original claims made in the mesothelioma lawsuit, as well as Vanderbilt’s assertion of fraudulent joinder, Judge James S. Gwin noted that the facts in the case lent support to the widow’s claims against both Ohio defendants as well as against Vanderbilt. He pointed out that both Ohio-based companies had acknowledged having previously sold asbestos-containing products that came into contact with Mr. Keiser at his workplace: DMS disclosed having sold raw asbestos fiber and Red Seal disclosed that it sold, marketed, and distributed asbestos-containing cement board products during the timeframe when Mr. Keiser would have been exposed.
After consideration of all of the information pertinent to the case, the judge rejected Vanderbilt’s argument and permitted the mesothelioma widow to have the case returned to the state court.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net can provide you with many of the resources you need . Contact us today at 1-800-692-8608.
