Frank Swarr
NEW ORLEANS - Defendants facing an asbestos lawsuit filed in August in the Orleans Parish District Court have removed the case to federal court.
The lawsuit is from a California man who says he was exposed to asbestos working in Louisiana in 1966. Defendants removed the case to U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on Feb. 18. A federal multidistrict litigation in Philadelphia handles federal asbestos cases.
Plaintiff Joseph Hilburn was working for Avondale, Inc. at the Avondale Shipyard in Bridge City when he handled, used or was nearby to products that contained asbestos at dangerously high levels, the suit says. Hilburn was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma in 2017.