Texas Appellate Court Affirms Summary Judgment for Benzene Defendants

HOUSTON -- A Texas appellate court has affirmed summary judgment for several benzene defendants, ruling that one of the plaintiffs failed to prove that exposure occurred on the defendants' work sites. Lockett, et al. v. HB Zachry Co., et al., No. 01-07-01052-CV (Texas 1st Dist. Ct. App.).

In the Feb. 12 opinion, the Court of Appeals for the First District of Texas ruled that the other plaintiffs' gross negligence claim failed because the decedent was a "borrowed servant" of the defendant.

The claims were asserted on behalf of Clifford Lockett and Evelyn Jackson, who died of acute mylogenous leukemia allegedly …