8th Circuit Vacates $1.76 Million Benzene Judgment, Says Claims Were Discharged in Bankruptcy

ST. LOUIS –– The 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has reversed a $1.76 million benzene judgment, finding that a District Court order required the defendant to give "more notice than the bankruptcy rules require.”

In the Jan. 26 opinion, the 8th Circuit found that the District Court’s order denying summary judgment to the defendant on grounds that the company did not give proper public notice of its bankruptcy exceeded “the bounds of the process due to an unknown creditor.”

Plaintiff Cheri Dahlin originally filed suit in Iowa state court on behalf of her deceased husband Dean Dahlin, who was …