Ill. Court Says Removal Procedurally Improper, Remands Benzene Claims

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. -- After finding that removal was procedurally defective, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois opined that it had no choice but to remand a benzene case, according to a recently released opinion. Dennison, et al. v. Shell Oil Co., et al., No. 07-802 (S.D. Ill.).

In the Dec. 14 order, the court said that because the benzene plaintiffs timely objected to the failures of several defendants to consent to removal, remand to Illinois state court was proper.

In its decision, the court also noted that even a settling defendant has to consent …