http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/news.aspx Headline Emerging Toxic Torts Legal News from LexisNexis® en-us http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/images/lexismealeyslogo.gif 130 29 http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/news.aspx Copyright 2013 http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%201%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' OAKLAND, Calif. - The stipulated pretrial scheduling order amendment endorsed May 8 by Judge Claudia Wilken resets the final pretrial conference from July 10 to July 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California certified class action pursued on behalf of some 100,000 veterans exposed to biological and chemical agents during Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency experiments; the July 29 trial date is unchanged (Vietnam Veterans of America, et al. v. Central Intelligence Agency, et al., No. 09-37, N.D. Calif.; See 4/16/13, Page 39). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%202%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - Attorneys representing two of the defendants named by Chevron Corp. in a U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York lawsuit to prevent enforcement of an $18 billion personal injury and property damage judgment entered in a Lago Agrio, Ecuador, court filed motions May 6 to withdraw as counsel for nonpayment of approximately $3 million in attorney fees (Chevron Corp. v. Steven R. Donziger, et al., No. 11-691, S.D. N.Y.; See 5/7/13, Page 6). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%203%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - The judge presiding over the lawsuit filed by Chevron Corp. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to prevent enforcement of an $18 billion personal injury and property damage judgment entered in a Lago Agrio, Ecuador, court issued an order May 14 denying a motion by the defendants to intervene to prevent enforcement of a subpoena duces tecum on a nonparty law firm; Chevron needs the documents, and the defendants have not produced them, according to the judge (Chevron Corp. v. Steven R. Donziger, et al., No. 11-691, S.D. N.Y.; See 3/19/13, Page 11; See related stories in this issue). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%204%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A May 7 order denying a Chevron USA motion to quash deposition notices of its CEO, a vice president and investigators retained by Chevron in a U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York lawsuit to prevent enforcement of an $18 billion personal injury and property damage judgment entered in Lago Agrio, Ecuador, was affirmed May 14 by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan (Chevron Corp. v. Steven R. Donziger, et al., No. 11-691, S.D. N.Y.; See 5/7/13, Page 6; See related stories in this issue). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%205%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - Chevron Inc. filed a motion May 10 for leave to file counterclaims against Patton Boggs in an unjust enrichment lawsuit the firm filed in connection with Chevron's U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York lawsuit to prevent enforcement of the $18.2 billion Lago Agrio, Ecuador, judgment for personal injuries and environmental contamination (Patton Boggs v. Chevron Corp., No. 12-9176, S.D. N.Y.; See 5/7/13, Page 11; See related stories in this issue). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%206%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PHILADELPHIA - A unanimous Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on May 7 affirmed summary judgment against a plaintiff alleging that her employer failed to offer 0reasonable accommodations for chemical sensitivity and violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by firing her for being absent from work without leave (Sylvia Yovtcheva v. Philadelphia Water Department, No. 12-3089, 3rd Cir.; 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 9247). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%207%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PORTLAND, Ore - The magistrate judge presiding over the personal injury lawsuit filed by Oregon National Guard members in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon for hexavalent chromium exposure during a Restore Iraqi Oil mission issued an order May 10 awarding $81 million to the 12 veterans whose claims were tried in October 2012; Oregon was granted leave to intervene May 9 to pursue its claim of 60 percent of the $75 million punitive damages award (Rocky Bixby, et al. v. KBR, Inc., et al., No. 09-632, D. Ore.; See 5/7/13, Page 4). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%208%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - A unanimous Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel revived certain personal injury and medical monitoring claims for the two remaining plaintiffs alleging exposure to hexavalent chromium and trichloroethylene from a Willits, Calif., industrial site in an opinion issued May 16; the trial court erred when it excluded plaintiffs' causation and exposure expert opinions and granted the defendants no-evidence summary judgment, according to the panel (Harry Whitlock, et al. v. Pepsi Americas, et al., No. 11-16958, 9th Cir.; 2113 U.S. App. LEXIS 9848; See 4/3/12, Page 16). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%209%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' OXFORD, Miss. - An employer sued in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi for allegedly failing to provide a safe work environment and, as a result, exposing an employee to hexavalent chromium and manganese in welding fumes was denied a protective order May 6; the employer sought the order to avoid providing for a deposition the corporate director of environmental health and safety for its parent company (Pinnacle Trust Co. v. Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group Inc., et al., No. 11-2, N.D. Miss.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2010%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - Iraq War contractors sued in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas for personal injuries allegedly caused by hexavalent chromium exposure at an oil extraction site in Iraq filed a redacted reply brief April 24 in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in support of dismissing the claims for lack of jurisdiction under the political question doctrine and the combat activities exception in the Federal Tort Claims Act (Mark McManaway, et al. v. KBR Inc., et al., No. 12-20763, 5th Cir.; See 4/16/13, Page 36). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2011%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CAMDEN, N.J. - Class counsel in the Paulsboro, N.J., derailment cases consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey was appointed May 3 following oral arguments on competing motions by the plaintiffs in the lawsuits alleging claims against CONRAIL, Norfolk Southern Railway Co. and CSX Transportation Inc. (In re: Paulsboro Derailment Cases, No. 13-784, D. N.J.; See 4/2/13, Page 38). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2012%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' RICHMOND, Va. - A unanimous Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on May 7 affirmed summary judgment for a natural gas extraction company in a mineral lease declaratory judgment lawsuit in which the plaintiffs allege that missing or late production payments terminated the lease (Martha Welmman, et vir v. Bobcat Oil & Gas Inc., No. 12-1533, 4th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2013%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - A unanimous Division II Arkansas Court of Appeals panel on May 15 affirmed no evidence summary judgment for natural gas extraction companies accused of diminishing property values by the siting of a natural gas well pad and contamination of adjacent property with drilling fluids (Odell Pollard P.A., et al. v. Seeco Inc., et al., No. 12-1026, Ark. App., Div. II; 2013 Ark. App. 331; 2013 Ark. App. LEXIS 338). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2014%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SCRANTON, Pa. - A taking lawsuit removed in July 2010 by a natural gas transmission company to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania was remanded May 13 because joining an indispensable defendant would destroy diversity jurisdiction, and dismissal, as the defendant requested, would deny the plaintiffs an adequate remedy (Fred J. Robbins Sr., et uxor v. Dominion Transmission Inc., No. 10-1381, M.D. Pa.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67497; See 1/22/13, Page 26). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2015%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LAFAYETTE, La. - Louisiana land owners seeking damages against oil and natural gas extraction companies for contaminating their real property with wastes were granted remand May 14 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana; the presiding judge affirmed the Feb. 27 recommendation to remand on the grounds nondiverse defendants were properly joined (Karl Deshotel, et al. v. ConocoPhillips Co., et al., No. 12-3133, W.D. La.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69483). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2016%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' RICHMOND, Va. - A natural gas pipeline company filed notice on April 4 to remove to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia a trespassing lawsuit filed by a landowner who objects to the company cutting trees to widen a 60-foot easement to permit aerial monitoring of the pipeline (V. Cassel Adamson III v. Columbia Gas Transmission, No. 13-214, E.D. Va.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2017%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BATON ROUGE, La. - A unanimous First Circuit Louisiana Court of Appeal panel issued an opinion on May 10 affirming a $447,000 malpractice award to plaintiffs alleging phenol-contamination property damage claims; the trial court did not err when it concluded that the claims were not timely filed, according to the panel (Joseph R. LeJeune Jr., et al. v. Reed Rubinstein, et al., No. 12-891, La. App., 1st Cir.; 2013 La. App. Unpub. LEXIS 337). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2018%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ORLANDO. Fla. - The chemical exposure personal injury lawsuit of a flight crew member against the manufacturers of the aircraft on which he worked was dismissed May 10 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida for lack of jurisdiction; the plaintiff failed to meet his burden to establish diversity, according to the presiding judge (Chad Blatchley v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., et al., No. 12-1605, M.D. Fla.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66954). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2019%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The motion filed in April by a northern Indiana couple who allege the design of a plasma torch and a work shirt caused burn injuries for a pretrial conference to set a trial date in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana was denied May 8; the presiding judge also denied a defense motion for leave to file a second summary judgment motion (Rex Hathaway, et uxor v. Cintas Corporate Services Inc., et al., No. 10-195, N.D. Ind.; See 5/7/13, Page 33). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2020%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PEORIA, Ill. - A chemical refinery owner sued in Illinois for personal injuries allegedly caused by occupational exposure to anhydrous ammonia filed notice on May 9 to remove the lawsuit to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois (Carle R. Crabb v. Koch Nitrogen Co., No. 13-1215, C.D. Ill.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2021%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BUFFALO, N.Y. - A personal injury and property damage lawsuit filed by residents of the Niagara Falls, N.Y., neighborhood adjacent to the Love Canal remediation area was removed May 8 to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York on the grounds the duty alleged by the plaintiffs arises from federal consent decrees entered 20 years ago (Joann Abbo-Bradley, et al. v. City of Niagara Falls, et al., No. 13-487, W.D. N.Y.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2022%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LAFAYETTE, La. - A petrochemical company sued in February in Acadia Parish, La., for allegedly contaminating an 87-acre parcel of land with naturally occurring radioactive material and other contaminants from hydrocarbon production filed notice of removal on May 3 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (John Haas Weinstein, et al. v. ConocoPhillips Co., No. 13-919, W.D. La.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2023%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' TOLEDO - Whirlpool Inc. wants the putative class action it removed in April to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio dismissed for failing to state a claim for property damage, personal injury or wrongful death alleged by neighbors of the company's Clyde, Ohio, factory and visitors to a recreational facility the company created in 1953 (Tim Lagrou, et al. v. Whirlpool Corp., No. 13-947, N.D. Ohio). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-4%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2024%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' TOLEDO, Ohio - Twenty-nine plaintiffs filed a putative class action lawsuit May 14 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio alleging wrongful death, personal injury and property damage claims against Whirlpool Corp. arising from the disposal of toxic waste from the company's appliance factory in Clyde, Ohio (Warren Brown, et al. v. Whirlpool Corp., No. 13-1092, N.D. Ohio). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-3%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%201%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PORTLAND, Ore. - The magistrate judge presiding over the personal injury lawsuit filed by Oregon National Guard members for hexavalent chromium exposure during a Restore Iraqi Oil mission in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon on April 26 reduced the noneconomic compensatory damages award from $850,000 to $500,000 for each of the 12 veterans whose claims were tried in October; defense motions for judgment as a matter of law and for a new trial were denied (Rocky Bixby, et al. v. KBR, Inc., et al., No. 09-632, D. Ore.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60390; See 3/5/13, Page 23). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-3%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%202%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A magistrate judge recommended in a report issued April 15 that counterclaims filed by a plaintiffs' attorney sued by Chevron Corp. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to prevent the enforcement of an $18.2 billion personal injury and environmental contamination judgment entered in Lago Agrio, Ecuador, be dismissed for failing to state a claim (Chevron Corp. v. Steven R. Donziger, et al., No. 11-691, S.D. N.Y.; See 3/19/13, Page 11). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-3%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%203%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - Chevron Corp. and Stratus Consulting Inc., an environmental consultant retained by defendants in the lawsuit filed by Chevron in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to prevent the enforcement of an $18.2 billion personal injury and environmental contamination judgment entered in Lago Agrio, Ecuador, filed a joint stipulation on April 11 to dismiss pursuant to a settlement agreement reached in March (Chevron Corp. v. Steven R. Donziger, et al., No. 11-691, S.D. N.Y.; See 3/19/13, Page 11). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-3%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%204%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - Two of the defendants named by Chevron Corp. in a U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York lawsuit to prevent enforcement of an $18 billion personal injury and property damage judgment entered in a Lago Agrio, Ecuador, court were granted expedited consideration without reasons on April 8 in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals of a petition for mandamus relief from District Court orders that they aver violate a January 2012 appellate court order (In re Hugo Gerardo Camacho Naranjo, et al., No. 13-772, 2d Cir.; See 3/19/13, Page 15). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-3%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%205%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - Chevron Inc. encourages the judge presiding over the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to prevent enforcement of the $18.2 billion Lago Agrio, Ecuador, judgment against it to adopt the magistrate judge's recommendation to dismiss an unjust enrichment claim filed by a law firm representing the defendants; Chevron filed a response April 11 to objections by the defense law firm (Patton Boggs v. Chevron Corp., No. 12-9176, S.D. N.Y.; See 2/19/13, Page 7). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-3%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%206%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ALBANY, N.Y. - A unanimous panel of the Third Department New York Supreme Court Appellate Division issued an opinion May 2 affirming the authority of local municipalities to adopt zoning regulations that prohibit natural gas and petroleum exploration, production and storage; state regulation of the conduct of the natural gas and petroleum industry does not preempt municipal home rule authority to regulate land use, according to the panel (In the Matter of Norse Energy Corp. USA v. Town of Dryden, et al., No. 515227, N.Y. Sup., App. Div., 3rd Dept.; 2013 NY Slip Op 03145; 2013 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 3078). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-3%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%207%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' FORT WORTH, Texas - A Texas appeals court has dismissed on a writ of mandamus counterclaims by a natural gas company that property owners and their environmental consultant conspired to defame the company by publicizing alleged contamination of their well water by hydraulic fracture stimulation (fracking), saying April 22 that the state's law protecting participation in issues of public concern barred many of the gas company's claims (In re Steven and Shyla Lipsky and Alisa Rich, relators, No. 2-12-00348-CV, Texas App, 2nd Dist.; 2013 Tex. App. LEXIS 4975). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-3%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%208%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - Natural gas extraction companies denied lease extensions during the New York moratorium on horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing filed a brief April 5 in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals challenging the November order by a Northern District of New York judge (Douglas Aukema, et al. v. Chesapeake Appalachia, et al., No. 12-5108, 2nd Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-3%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%209%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BINGHAMTON, N.Y. - Property owners opposing an attempt by natural gas leaseholders to extend a lease beyond the primary period filed an appellant brief April 15 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York seeking enforcement of a bankruptcy court order declaring the lease expired (In re Thomas C. Hurd, et uxor, No. 13-79 (consolidated), N.D. N.Y.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-3%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2010%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - Oil extraction companies joined as defendants in a wrongful death lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana by the survivors of an oil pipe maintenance worker for alleged exposure to naturally occurring radioactive materials were denied in part dismissal for failing to state a claim in an order entered April 30 (Eula K. Pierce, et al. v. ExxonMobil Corp., et al., No. 12-2224, E.D. La.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 61526). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-3%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2011%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - Three defendants in a naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) personal injury lawsuit filed a joint motion to dismiss on March 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana because the claims against them are barred by a confidential agreement reached in a state court action arising from the same exposure and making the same liability allegations (Riley Hickman v. ExxonMobil Corp., et al., No. 13-351, E.D. La.; See 3/5/13, Page 37). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-3%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2012%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' FRANKFORT, Ky. - A unanimous Kentucky Court of Appeals panel issued an opinion May 3 affirming a defense verdict for a Hardin County, Ky., tree farmer accused of damaging his neighbor's crops by negligently applying a 2,4-D herbicide (Green Ridge Farm Inc. v. Robert Shipp, et al., No. 12-1, Ky. App.; 2013 Ky. App. Unpub. LEXIS 363). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-3%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2013%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WAUSAU, Wis. - A unanimous District III Wisconsin Court of Appeals panel on April 23 overturned summary judgment for a farmer accused of liability for herbicide drift that damaged trees on his neighbors' property because the trial judge misapplied the principal employer doctrine (Kelli Brandenburg, et vir v. Robert Luethi, et al., No. 12-2085, Wis. App., Dist. III; 2013 Wisc. App. LEXIS 352). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-3%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2014%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - A unanimous Division IV Arkansas Court of Appeals panel on April 17 dismissed on procedural grounds an appeal by property owners seeking to recover damages for pesticide drift (Jerry Wilson, et al. v. Greg Williams Farm Inc., et al., No. 12-695, Ark. App., Div. IV; 2013 Ark. App. LEXIS 270). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-3%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2015%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - The allocation of the approved $6.27 million common benefit fee in the consolidated Federal Emergency Management Agency multidistrict litigation for exposure to formaldehyde in portable trailers provided as emergency housing in response to hurricane damage in 2005 was approved April 19 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana by minute order (In re FEMA Trailer Formaldehyde Products Liability Litigation, No. 07-1873, MDL 1873, E.D. La.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-3%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2016%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' INDIANAPOLIS - In a unanimous opinion issued April 30, an Indiana Court of Appeals panel affirmed in part a trial court order granting The Dow Chemical Co. summary judgment on failure-to-warn claims in a Dursban-brand termiticide personal injury lawsuit; the panel affirmed denial of summary judgment for the applicator (John Gresser et uxor v. The Dow Chemical Co. Inc., No. 79-A-02-1111, Ind. App.; 2013 Ind. App. LEXIS 204). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-3%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2017%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' INDIANAPOLIS - A unanimous Indiana Court of Appeals panel on April 30 affirmed summary judgment for the operator of a confined animal feeding operation on the grounds that the factory farm cannot as a matter of law be held liable under the tort of nuisance for odor and personal injury damages (Glenn Parker, et al. v. Obert's Legacy Dairy, No. 26-A-05-1209, Ind. App.; 2013 Ind. App. LEXIS 203). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-3%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2018%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ATLANTA - The United States filed a reply brief on April 11 in 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals pressing its argument that the North Carolina statute of repose should be applied for a judgment barring the personal injury claims in the Marine Corps Camp Lejeune, N.C., water contamination litigation consolidated in the Northern District of Georgia (Camp Lejeune North Carolina Water Contamination Litigation v. United States, No. 12-15424; Erica Bryant, et al. v. United States, No. 12-16174, 11th Cir.; See 3/19/13, Page 37). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-3%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2019%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' FORT WAYNE, Ind. - A northern Indiana couple that alleges that the design of a plasma torch and a work shirt caused burn injuries on April 16 moved in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana for a pretrial conference to set a trial date (Rex Hathaway, et uxor v. Cintas Corporate Services Inc., et al., No. 10-195, N.D. Ind.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-3%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2020%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CAMDEN, N.J. - Named plaintiffs in a putative class action consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey Paulsboro Derailment Litigation were denied remand April 23 because the defendants showed to a legal certainty that the amount in controversy exceeds the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) threshold, according to the presiding judge (In re: Paulsboro Derailment Cases $(John Stephenson, No. 13-721$), No. 13-784, D. N.J.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57865; See 4/16/13, Page 40). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-3%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2021%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SIOUX CITY, Iowa - A joint stipulation of dismissal was granted April 9 in a microwave popcorn consumer diacetyl exposure lawsuit pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa; the action is set for trial in January 2014 (David Stults et uxor v. American Pop Corn Co., et al., No. 11-4077, N.D. Iowa). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-3%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2022%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' AUGUSTA, Ga. - The owners of a nuclear power plant in Waynesboro, Ga., filed notice of removal on April 17 in a personal injury lawsuit filed by a laborer who alleges radiation exposure and back injuries from a fall at the power plant (James Strayer v. Southern Nuclear Operating Co. Inc., et al., No. 13-60, S.D. Ga.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-3%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2023%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ODENSE, Denmark - Researchers in the Department of Environmental Medicine at the University of Southern Denmark recommend in an analysis of the effects of exposure to perfluorinated alkylates published April 19 in the journal Environmental Health a re-examination of current drinking water limits for exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) because the standard may be several hundred times too high (doi:10.1186/1476-069X-12-35). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%201%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' DENVER - Motions to overturn a personal injury jury verdict filed by an artificial flavoring manufacturer and a supermarket company found liable Sept. 19 for exposing a Colorado consumer to diacetyl in microwave popcorn flavoring were denied April 10; the jury awarded the plaintiff $7.2 million following a trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado (Wayne Watson, et uxor v. Dillon Companies Inc., et al., No. 08-91, D. Colo.; See 1/8/13, Page 11). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%202%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - A unanimous Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel issued an opinion April 9 affirming dismissal of the Louisiana plaintiffs' claims against the Federal Emergency Management Agency for providing portable trailers as emergency housing in response to hurricane damage in 2005 (In re FEMA Trailer Formaldehyde Products Liability Litigation (Louisiana Plaintiffs), No. 12-30635, 5th Cir.; See 7/17/12, Page 24). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%203%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN DIEGO - The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation issued a transfer and centralization order on April 8, creating a multidistrict litigation for personal injuries and wrongful death in the Southern District Ohio filed for exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid released from the DuPont Washington Works chemical refinery near Parkersburg, W.Va. (In re DuPont C8 Personal Injury Litigation, MDL 2433, JPMDL; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52569; See 3/19/13, Page 9). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%204%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel that overturned a summary judgment order for a natural gas well operator in February denied a motion by the company for a rehearing April 5; at issue is the obligation of natural gas extraction companies to send reports to unleased property owners in a natural gas production unit (Brannon Properties v. Chesapeake Operating Inc., No. 12-30306, 5th Cir.; See 3/5/13, Page 13). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%205%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' HARRISBURG, Pa. - A unanimous Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court panel, in an opinion issued April 9, affirmed that records created by the state Department of Environmental Protection during the investigation of a chemical release and fire at a natural gas well site are exempt from public review under the noncriminal investigation exception to the state right to know act (Christopher Heavens v. Pa. Department of Environmental Protection, No. 12-912, Pa. Cmwlth.; 2013 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 96). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%206%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Bureau of Land Management violated the National Environmental Policy Act when it failed to conduct an environmental impact review of the effects of fracking before it decided to lease 2,700 acres of federal land over the Monterey Shale formation, a California federal magistrate judge concluded in an order released March 31 (Center for Biological Diversity, et al. v. Bureau of Land Management, et al., No. 11-6174, N.D. Calif.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52432). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%207%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SHREVEPORT, La. - A lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana for disgorgement of profits from transmission of natural gas and for termination of a natural gas lease was dismissed March 28 on a defense motion for summary judgment; the plaintiffs failed to adduce evidence of bad faith on the part of the defendants, according to the judge (SGC Land v. Louisiana Midstream Gas Services, et al., No. 10-1778, W.D. La.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 46968). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%208%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WHEELING, W.Va. - A motion to dismiss filed by a natural gas storage defendant in a U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia lawsuit alleging methane contamination of a domestic water well was denied April 10, but the plaintiffs were instructed to file a more definite statement of the claims; the order confirms rulings from the bench during a Feb. 19 status conference (Jeremiah N. Magers, et uxor v. Chesapeake Appalachia, et al., No. 12-49, N.D. W.Va.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51638; See 11/6/12, Page 37). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%209%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SCRANTON, Pa. - A natural gas extraction company sued in December in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania by a Rome, Pa., couple for a declaratory judgment that the natural gas lease they signed in 2006 is in default filed a reply April 2 in support of dismissing several causes of action sounding in torts for failure to state a claims (Ronald C. Scrivener, et uxor v. Chesapeake Appalachia, et al., No. 12-2516, M.D. Pa.; See 3/19/13, Page 33). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2010%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SHREVEPORT, La. - A DeSoto Parish, La., real property owner filed notice April 5 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana that he will appeal a March order granting a natural gas extraction company summary judgment and dismissing his lawsuit in a natural gas lease dispute (Tyler Eugene Adams Jr. v. Chesapeake Operating Inc., No. 11-1504, W.D. La.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2011%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The owners and operators of wastewater injection wells in Faulkner County, Ark., used for disposal of natural gas well hydraulic fracturing fluids are accused in three lawsuits filed April 1 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas of causing earthquakes and damaging residences (Jonathan Thomas, et al. v Chesapeake Operating Inc., et al., No. 13-182, E.D. Ark.; Jimmy Waco Sutterfield, et al. v. Chesapeake Operating Inc., et al., No. 13-183, E.D. Ark.; Mark Mahan, et al. v. Chesapeake Operating Inc., et al., No. 13-184, E.D. Ark.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2012%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LAKE CHARLES, La. - Property damage claims against an oil extraction company were properly dismissed on a motion for summary judgment because the plaintiffs failed to meet their burden of proof, a unanimous Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal panel ruled in an opinion issued April 3 (Fernen Louis Andrepont v. Chevron USA Inc., et al., No. 12-1100. La. App., 3d Cir.; 2013 La. App. LEXIS 629). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2013%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A motion to disqualify pro bono counsel appointed to represent the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York judge presiding over the World Trade Center Disaster Site Litigation in an appeal before the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals was denied April 8; the appeal is scheduled for oral argument on April 11 (In re: World Trade Center Disaster Site Litigation, No. 11-4021 $(consolidated$), 2nd Cir.; See related story in this issue). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2014%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel heard oral arguments April 11 in the appeal of the July 2012 orders finding that the WTC Captive Insurance Co. breached its duty under the January 2010 settlement agreement to make a contingency payment and further holding that attorneys for the plaintiffs could not collect fees for pursuing the contingency payment (In re: World Trade Center Disaster Site Litigation, No. 11-4021 $(consolidated$), 2nd Cir.; See related story in this issue). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2015%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' JERSEY CITY, N.J. - A New Jersey jury on Feb. 7 ruled against a former transit agency employee who said he developed multiple myeloma as a result of exposure to diesel exhaust, benzene and other chemicals and solvents during a 30-year career working in the agency's tunnels (Stephan D. Petty v. Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation, No. HUD-L-1663-10, N.J. Super.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2016%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WILMINGTON, Del. - A defense motion to dismiss was denied March 27 in a New Castle County, Del., Superior Court personal injury lawsuit filed by the parents of a child with muscular dystrophy that they allege was caused by in utero exposure to chemicals in a computer manufacturing plant (Arianna Molina, et al. v. On Semiconductor Corp., et al., No. N10C-12-267, Del. Super., New Castle Co.; 2013 Del. Super. LEXIS 115). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2017%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Supreme Court entered a judgment April 10 adopting findings of fact by a three-justice panel of the court and awarded permanent workers' compensation disability benefits to a former welder who is under treatment for occupational asthma caused by exposure to welding fumes (Eric Grier v. Alstom Power Inc., No. 12-1394, Tenn. Sup.; 2013 Tenn. LEXIS 341). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2018%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BROOKLYN, N.Y. - A magistrate judge's recommendation to deny a motion by the City of New York to dismiss a declaratory judgment lawsuit seeking removal of polychlorinated biphenyls-containing fluorescent light ballasts from city schools filed by a parents group in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York was adopted by the presiding judge March 26 (New York Communities for Change v. New York City Department of Education, et al., No. 11-3494, E.D. N.Y.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47650). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2019%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Insurers have no duty to defend their insured against an underlying environmental contamination suit because the underlying suit does not allege that the contamination was the result of sudden or accidental conduct, a Tennessee federal judge said March 29 in denying the insured's motion to amend its complaint and motion to reconsider (Interstate Packaging Co. v. Century Indemnity Co., et al., No. 11-589, M.D. Tenn.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45459). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2020%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - Class action lawsuits filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California alleging violations of consumer protection statutes and seeking damages in torts were transferred April 9 to the Western District of Pennsylvania where similar class actions alleging similar claims were filed in July 2012 (Mary Emily Funke v. Del Monte Corp., No. 12-5323, N.D. Calif.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51263). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2021%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - Iraq War veterans suing contractors in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas for personal injuries allegedly caused by hexavalent chromium exposure at an oil extraction site in Iraq filed a redacted appellee brief April 5 in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals; the contractors argue in a redacted appellant brief filed Feb. 22 that the claims should be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction under the political question doctrine and the combat activities exception in the Federal Tort Claims Act (Mark McManaway, et al. v. KBR Inc., et al., No. 12-20763, 5th Cir.; See 12/18/12, Page 28). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2022%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PORTLAND, Ore - The magistrate judge presiding over the personal injury lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon by Oregon National Guard members for hexavalent chromium exposure during a Restore Iraqi Oil mission issued an order March 25 denying a motion to modify a protective order to permit the veterans to share discovery with the United States and a defense motion for the imposition of sanctions on the plaintiffs for violating a restrictive order imposed on the parties before an October 2012 trial on the claims of a dozen test plaintiffs (Rocky Bixby, et al. v. KBR, Inc., et al., No. 09-632, D. Ore.; 2012 U.S. Dist. 179494; See 3/5/13, Page 23). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2023%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' OAKLAND, Calif. - The United States and the plaintiffs representing some 100,000 veterans of Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency experiments that exposed the veterans to biological and chemical agents filed supplemental summary judgment statements March 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to answer questions posed during a March 14 hearing on class motion for summary judgment with respect to Department of Veterans Affairs medical care (Vietnam Veterans of America, et al. v. Central Intelligence Agency, et al., No. 09-37, N.D. Calif.; See 3/19/13, Page 23). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2024%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CAMDEN, N.J. - Railroad companies named as defendants in the Paulsboro, N.J., derailment cases consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey filed a reply brief March 28 in support of dismissing medical monitoring, trespass and res ipsa loquitor claims filed by the plaintiffs in one of the consolidated cases (In re: Paulsboro Derailment Cases $(Cynthia Lord, No. 12-7747$), No. 13-784, D. N.J.; See 4/2/13, Page 38). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=22-2%20Mealey%27s%20Emerg.%20Toxic%20Torts%2025%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BATON ROUGE, La. - A putative class action filed against the owner and operators of a chemical refinery for the release in March 2012 of vinyl chloride was removed April 2 to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana and consolidated with class action lawsuits arising from the same incident (Vivian Ann Goings, et al. v. Westlake Vinyls Co., et al., No. 13-209, M.D. La.).