Parties in Benzene Contamination Suit Reach Settlement Agreement

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. –– The parties remaining in a benzene contamination suit involving Shell Oil Co. have reached a settlement agreement, according to recent court docket entries.

In a March 15 order, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois issued an order canceling all deadlines and denying all motions without prejudice, just one day after noting that a settlement conference had been held on March 10 and the case was settled.

In the underlying lawsuit, the Village of Roxana, Ill., asserted that one of Shell Oil Co.’s refineries leaked petroleum byproducts, including benzene, into the …