Louisiana Court Says Benzene Defendant Not Fraudulently Joined, Remands Case

NEW ORLEANS –– A Louisiana federal court has found that a Louisiana-based defendant was not fraudulently joined to an ongoing benzene suit, ruling that the defendants had failed to carry “their heavy burden” in showing that the plaintiff had no reasonable possibility of recovery against the company.

In the June 30 order, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana explained that “mindful that doubts about the propriety of removal must be resolved in favor of remand.”

Plaintiff Edward McPhate contends in his lawsuit that he developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma as a result of exposure to benzene-containing products he …