Del. Court Declines to Adopt General Causation Hearing Proposal

WILMINGTON, Del. -- The Delaware court overseeing the state's coordinated benzene docket has declined to adopt a plaintiff proposal that called for the court to oversee general causation hearings in order to establish admissibility standards in cases where the defendants claim plaintiffs were only exposed to trace amounts of benzene, sources told HarrisMartin. In re: Benzene Litigation, No. 06C-BEN-1 (Del. Super. Ct., New Castle Cty.).

After a July 26 hearing at which both Judge Joseph R. Slights III and Discovery Commissioner David White of the Delaware Superior Court for New Castle County were present, Judge Slights instead suggested that the …