A federal district judge in New Orleans dismissed 24 individual claims against Nalco Co. stemming from the 2010 Macondo deepwater well crude oil spill cleanup.
The claims, in which the plaintiffs said they suffered personal injuries from exposure to Nalco’s Corexit spill dispersant, are preempted by the comprehensive oil spill response scheme set forth in the Clean Water Act and National Contingency Plan, Judge Carl J. Barbier, of US District Court for Louisiana’s Eastern District, said in a Nov. 28 decision.
Nalco was named as defendant in 24 cases under the spill’s multidistrict litigation, which were consolidated in MDL 2179. Latham & Watkins LLP represented the Naperville, Ill., water treatment and process improvement company in the proceedings.
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