Parties Disagree on Whether Rule of Unanimity is Satisfied in Benzene Case

LAKE CHARLES, La. -- Parties have filed briefing relating to whether the unanimity rule had been satisfied in a benzene case, with the plaintiffs contending that it hasn't and, as a result, that remand of the case is proper. Hargrove v. Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, No. 10-00318 (W.D. La.).

The parties had been asked by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana in November to file additional briefs that addressed the sole question of whether the rule of unanimity -- which dictates that all then-served defendants must consent to the removal -- had been satisfied.

The …