Mo. Court: Distributor Defendants Not Protected under Innocent Seller Statute

ST. LOUIS -- A Missouri federal court has remanded a benzene action, ruling that the plaintiffs' negligence claims against distributor defendants are not protected by the state's innocent seller statute. Platt, et al. v. PPG Industries, et al., No. 10-874 (E.D. Mo.).

As such, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri ruled on Sept. 20 that the distributor defendants were not fraudulently joined and, therefore, removal was improper.

The underlying claims were filed on behalf of Lawrence Platt, who was allegedly exposed to benzene in a number of automotive refinishing products, including paints, solvents and thinners.