Iowa Court Declines to Revisit Order in Which it Ruled Benzene Claims Were Not Discharged in Defendants’ Bankruptcy Proceedings

DAVENPORT, Iowa –– An Iowa federal court overseeing a benzene exposure case had denied a motion to reconsider and certify a prior order for interlocutory appeal, maintaining its position that the while the companies were not required under bankruptcy rules to list the decedent’s former employers, their failure to do so violated the plaintiffs’ due process rights.

In the Jan. 11 order, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa further wrote that a unified appeal following the March 28 trial date would be the best promotion of judicial efficiency.

Plaintiff Cheri Dahlin originally filed suit in …