Missouri Court Certifies Property Damage Class Action in Petroleum Pipeline Leak Case

ST. LOUIS –– A Missouri federal court has certified a class of plaintiffs alleging benzene-related property damage caused by a petroleum pipeline leak, saying that trying the claims separately would result in “great” repetition.

However, in the March 31 opinion, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri refused to certify a medical monitoring class, opining that the plaintiffs failed to present evidence of actual exposure to benzene and other petroleum products.

The plaintiffs allege that a nearby petroleum leak from a pipeline system caused them to be exposed to benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene. ConocoPhillips, …