Court of Appeals Settles Venue Disputes, Sends Claims to Different Counties

BEAUMONT, Texas -- A Texas appellate court has reversed two trial court decisions that allowed multi-plaintiff benzene cases to proceed in the county they were filed, instructing the lower court to sever the claims and send them to several counties across the state. Shell Oil Co., et al. v. Baran, et al., No. 09-08-062 CV; Union Carbide, et al., v. Loftin, et al., (Texas Ct. App., 9th Dist.).

The separate June 12 decisions issued by the Court of Appeals for the Ninth District said that the plaintiffs failed to prove that their chosen venue was proper and, as such, waived …