La. Federal Court Retains Jurisdiction Over Benzene Case, Says Plaintiffs Failed to Establish Negligence Claim Against Non-Diverse Defendant

NEW ORLEANS –– A Louisiana federal court has denied a motion to remand filed in a benzene case, concluding that the allegations contained in the complaint are insufficient to state a negligence claim against the lone non-diverse defendant named in the complaint.

In the Jan. 26 order, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana opined that the plaintiffs’ complaint “contains no specific factual allegations relative to [the defendant’s] knowledge of defects in the product at issue.”

The plaintiffs contended in their complaint that Travis Thomas developed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) as a result of exposure to benzene-containing …