Date: 10-24-2024

Case Style:

Mona Ledet, et al. v. BP Products North America, et al.

Case Number: 24-CV-2122

Judge: Carl J. Barbier

Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (Orleans Parish)

Plaintiff's Attorney:

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Defendant's Attorney: Not Available

Description:

New Orleans, Louisiana personal injury lawyer represented the Plaintiff who sued the Defendant for wrongful death.

This litigation arises from the death of Clay Ledet, Sr., who succumbed to lung cancer in 2023 and who had been employed from 1994-2004 by the Hydril Company in its Westwego, Louisiana pipe yard. Decedent's wife and two children filed a wrongful death and survival action in state court against various out-of-state oil companies, an in-state non-profit lobbyist (The Delta Chapter of the American Petroleum Institute), and an in-state pipe cleaning contractor (OFS, Inc.), asserting Decedent's cancer to be caused by his exposure to naturally occurring radioactive material (“NORM”) at the pipe yard. Specifically, Plaintiffs allege Defendant Oil Companies sent their used piping to the Hydril Yard to be cleaned of NORM-contaminated scaling. (Rec. Doc. 1-1 at 7 ¶ 21). From Plaintiffs' retelling, Defendant Oil Companies retained control over the shipping, storage, handling, and cleaning of their pipes, id. at 24 ¶¶ 157-160, but the pipes were cleaned by third-party contractors such as OFS, Inc., id. at 7 ¶ 26. This cleaning process, in turn, exposed Decedent to “dangerous levels of radiation” through ground contact and dust inhalation. Id. at 7-8 ¶¶ 25, 31. Plaintiffs further allege The Delta Chapter of the American Petroleum Institute helped develop testing protocol “with the intent that it would fail to detect the overwhelming majority of NORM contamination that was present on used oil field pipe.” Id. at 15 ¶ 87 (emphasis omitted). Against Defendant Oil Companies and OFS, Plaintiffs assert strict liability for “a permanent, inherent and hazardous defect in said used oilfield pipe.” Id. at 23 ¶ 154. Plaintiffs seek punitive damages under Louisiana Civil Code Article 2315.3 (effective from September 1, 1984 to April 16, 1996) from Defendant Oil Companies and compensatory damages from all Defendants.

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Ledet v. BP Prods. N. Am., Civil Action 24-2122 (E.D. La. Oct 24, 2024)

Outcome: Remanded to the 24th Judicial District, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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