Iowa Court Denies Motion for Summary Judgment, Says Benzene Claims Not Discharged in Defendants’ Bankruptcy Proceedings

DAVENPORT, Iowa –– An Iowa federal court has denied a motion for summary judgment filed by several benzene defendants, finding that while the companies were not required under bankruptcy rules to list the decedent’s former employers, their failure to do so violated the plaintiffs’ due process rights.

In the Sept. 29 opinion, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa said the defendants knew of the risks of harm created by benzene exposure, and “should have known that some individuals who had been exposed to benzene in the early 1990s would not suffer harm from their exposures until …