Louisiana Court Rejects CMO Proposal from Defendants in Benzene Case

NEW ORLEANS -- A Louisiana federal court has rejected a case management order proposal from defendants in a benzene case, finding that the suggested plan would improperly limit the scope of discovery to areas the plaintiffs listed in their initial disclosures. Singleton, et al. v. Chevron USA Inc., et al., No. 11-1199 (E.D. La.).

In the Dec. 28 order, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana denied defense motions to adopt the plan, concluding that the proposal as it stands would "work an unfair result."

The plaintiffs brought the claims on behalf of William Singleton, who was …