Federal Court Enters Summary Judgment, Benzene Case Closed

GREENVILLE, Miss. -- A federal court has granted summary judgment to defendants in the claims of three benzene plaintiffs, effectively closing the case. Knight, et al. v. Kirby Inland Marine, et al., No. 01-223 (N.D. Miss.).

In three separate May 20 orders, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi awarded summary judgment to Kirby Inland Marine and other defendants, who had claimed in their motions that the plaintiffs had failed to offer credible expert testimony on medical causation.

Plaintiffs Heath Knight and Thomas Ingerman claimed that they developed Hodgkin's lymphoma and bladder cancer, respectively, as a result …