5th Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Benzene Suit; Says Plaintiff Expert ‘Made Numerous Assumptions with No Rationale’

NEW ORLEANS –– The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of a benzene case, finding that the District Court was correct in its conclusion that a plaintiff expert’s cumulative exposure analysis “had no support in the record or [was] flatly contradicted by all the available evidence.”

In the six-page Nov. 15 opinion, the 5th Circuit found that Dr. Bhaskar Kura made “a number” of assumptions that had no basis in the record.

“To be sure, reliable expert testimony often involved estimation and reasonable inferences from a sometimes incomplete record,” the 5th Circuit said. “Further, …