Mesothelioma Victim Files Suit Against Talc Manufacturers and Sellers
Elsie Louise Graham’s family blames her lifetime use of asbestos-contaminated talcum powder products for her malignant mesothelioma death. They filed a personal injury lawsuit listing numerous talcum powder products as defendants, as well as the owner of a local Oregon grocery store where she’d purchased the products. The defendants filed suit to have the case moved to federal court, claiming that the local market’s inclusion was a fraudulent legal strategy, but the justices of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon denied their motion and allowed the case to remain in the state’s court.
Mesothelioma Claim Filed in Oregon Courts to Remain in State
Many defendants named in mesothelioma claims prefer to have their claims heard in federal court, which they believe will be more friendly to big business. But because Elsie Louise Graham’s family members wanted to hold the company that sold her the contaminated powder responsible for her death, they filed in state courts. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, and other defendants in the case objected to this and argued that it was inappropriate for the family to the Woodvillage Market and Deli to the case.
To support their argument that the local store should be removed from the mesothelioma claim (thus allowing the case to be moved to federal court), the companies named as defendants asserted that the market had been served inappropriately. Their basis for this argument was that the summons and complaint had been delivered to owner Young Suk Chang’s wife instead of directly to him.
Judges Deny Bid to Remove Mesothelioma Claim to Federal Court
While the corporate giants in the mesothelioma claim argued that the case belonged in federal court, the family argued that their inclusion of the local market was appropriate and that there had been nothing wrong with serving the owner’s wife in her husband’s absence. The Judges of the District Court for the District of Oregon agreed, noting that since she was the only employee in the store the service had met the standard required. They also determined that the companies’ arguments against the market’s inclusion were premature and better decided later. The case will remain in Oregon.
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