Plaintiff Files U.S. Supreme Court Petition Challenging Statute of Limitations

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The widow of a benzene plaintiff has filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming that Alabama's interpretation of statute of limitations is "perverse" and violates due process, sources tell HarrisMartin. Cline v. Ashland Inc., et al., No. 06-1329 (U.S. Sup. Ct.).

In an April 2 petition, Martha Jane Cline asked the nation's highest court to determine whether Alabama's statute of limitations, "that gives victims no time in which to file suit," violates the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment.

According to Cline, the Alabama Supreme Court has interpreted the …