Ill. Appellate Court Reverses Dismissal of Benzene Suit on Timeliness Grounds, Says ‘Factual Issues Remain’

MT. VERNON, Ill. –– An Illinois appellate court has reversed a court order dismissing benzene claims on statute of limitations grounds, finding that the lower court failed to consider the factual circumstances surrounding the decedent’s prior actions.

In the May 18 order, the Illinois Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, opined that factual issues remained “and more than one conclusion can be drawn from the undisputed facts.”

“Furthermore, the allegations contained in the present complaint, along with the affidavits introduced by plaintiff, indicate that [the decedent] made diligent, but unsuccessful, attempts to discover whether his cancer was wrongfully caused,” the court …