Defendants File Post-Trial Motions in $2 Million Benzene Verdict

RALEIGH, Miss. -- Defendants found liable in a $2 million benzene verdict have filed post-trial motions asserting that the plaintiff failed to timely file his lawsuit, that several of the plaintiff's expert witnesses did not satisfy admissibility standards and that the plaintiffs' claims were preempted by federal statutes. Watts, et al. v. Radiator Specialty, et al., No. 2002-364 (Miss. Cir. Ct., Smith Cty.).

Sources told HarrisMartin that the plaintiff's response to Radiator Specialty's and U.S. Steel's separate post-trial motions filed in the Mississippi Circuit Court for Smith County are not due until May 24.

On Nov. 18, a Smith County …