Defendants Say Workers’ Compensation Act Bars Benzene Claims

ST. LOUIS –– Two defendants in a benzene action have filed a second motion to dismiss a benzene case, contending that even with the plaintiffs’ recent filing of an amended complaint, the claims still can’t overcome the exclusive remedy provision of the California Workers’ Compensation Act.

The motion to dismiss, filed Sept. 17 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, comes after a court ruling that denied the defendants’ first attempts to dismiss the complaint and allowed the plaintiffs to file an amendment complaint.

“In their First Amended Petition, Plaintiffs have added an ‘Employers’ …