Minn. Appellate Court Affirms Dismissal of Benzene Claims as Time-Barred; Weighs in on Latent Disease Dispute

ST. PAUL, Minn. –– A Minnesota appellate court has affirmed the dismissal of benzene claims as time-barred, opining that while there is merit to the plaintiffs’ stance that the statute of limitations expired on their claims before the cause of the injury was known, state law currently only recognizes a tolling exception for latent diseases in asbestos cases.

In the July 7 opinion, the Minnesota Court of Appeals noted that the state legislature has had decades to change the expand the tolling period for latent diseases beyond asbestos-related claims, but has not done so.

Additionally, the court held, such changes …