2 Louisiana Defendants File 3rd-Party Complaints, Seek Defense Costs

BATON ROUGE, La. –– Two defendants in a Louisiana benzene action have filed separate third-party complaints, each contending that they are owed defense and indemnification costs from other parties named in the complaint.

In third-party complaints filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana on July 27 and Aug. 2, The Dow Chemical Company and Turner Industries each claim that contracts signed between the parties contained language requiring the other to contribute to any litigation-related costs.

The suit, filed by Betty Ventress, says her late husband Ernest's work as a contract laborer for National …