HOUSTON – A wrongful death lawsuit filed earlier this year as a result of a containerboard mill blast recently went from two defendants to one.
U.S. District Court Judge Sim Lake signed an order granting Joe Gooch’s motion to dismiss Elite Specialty Welding, LLC, his late son’s former employer, from his suit late last month.
Gooch initiated legal action against ESW and Packaging Corp. of America last Apr. 25 in the Harris County 129th District Court after Jody Lynn Gooch perished in an explosion at the PCA DeRidder Containerboard Mill in Louisiana at the beginning of this year.
The complaint asserts an exploding 30-foot tall tank killed the younger Gooch.
The Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas took over the litigation in June. Joe Gooch filed the motion on Sept. 28, a day before Lake dismissed ESW.
Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas Case No. 4:17-CV-1673
Harris County 129th District Court Case No. 2017-27526