N.Y. Appellate Court Allows Benzene Claims to Proceed Against Officer of Tonawanda Coke

ROCHESTER, N.Y. –– A New York appellate court has affirmed a lower court ruling that allowed benzene claims to proceed against an officer of Tonawanda Coke Corp., opining that the plaintiffs had sufficiently alleged in their complaint that he took part in the wrongful conduct.

In the March 15 opinion, the 4th Judicial Department of the Appellate Division in the New York Supreme Court said that while the officer cannot be held responsible on solely his “official relationship” with the company, he can be held responsible if he was a participant in the decisions giving rise to the alleged chemical …