Calif. Appellate Court Affirms Benzene Defense Verdict

LOS ANGELES -- A California appellate court has affirmed a defense verdict in a benzene case, ruling that the trial court did not err when it refused to give jury instructions that were formulated for specific toxic tort cases that involve multiple defendants. Molina, et al. v. Shell Oil Co., et al., No. B213451 (Calif. 2nd Dist. Ct. App., Div. 8).

In the Oct. 5 ruling, the California 2nd District Court of Appeal said that the jury instructions suggested for use by the plaintiff are for cases in which the defendants argued that their products did not contribute to the …