As former Napoli Bern lawyers continue to grapple with fallout from the plaintiffs firm’s messy breakup, a federal judge in Rhode Island has dismissed defamation claims brought against successor firm Napoli Shkolnik by a rival asbestos attorney.

The judge kept related claims in place against two of the firm’s top lawyers, Marie Napoli and Paul Napoli, but granted their request to transfer the remaining parts of the suit to a federal court in Brooklyn for further proceedings.