Court Continues Benzene Trial; Cites Schedule Difficulties, Including Upcoming Holidays, Mardi Gras

NEW ORLEANS –– A Louisiana federal judge has pushed back a February 2013 trial date in a benzene case, agreeing with the defendants’ contention that scheduling difficulties warrant pushing the trial back within three months of the original date.

In the Nov. 29 order, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana scheduled a preliminary conference for Dec. 13 to discuss a specific date.

The defendants had requested that the trial be rescheduled, citing the complexity of the case and noting that “significant discovery remains.”

“Defendants further aver that the upcoming holidays, in particularly Mardi Gras …