Benzene Plaintiffs File Brief in Appeal of $1.76 Million Judgment, Say Court Erred in Vacating Punitive Damages

ST. LOUIS –– Benzene plaintiffs who were awarded $3.52 million by an Iowa federal jury have filed their brief in the appeal of the verdict, maintaining that their claims were not discharged in bankruptcy as the defendant has argued and, further, that the court erred when it vacated the jury’s punitive damage award.

In the Dec. 23 brief filed in the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, the plaintiffs argued that exemplary damages in Iowa are not awarded as a matter of right and, rather, that the decision to award them rests with the factfinder.

“The evidence throughout the trial …