Court: Expert Report Fails to Establish Causation

NEW YORK -- A New York federal court has awarded summary judgment to several defendants named in a benzene lawsuit, ruling that the plaintiffs failed to provide adequate expert testimony on which their claims can be based. Smolowitz, et al., v. The Sherwin-Williams Co., et al., No. 02-5940 (E.D. N.Y.)

In the Nov. 10 decision, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York found that the lone expert's one-page letter on the plaintiff's illness did not specify a quantification of benzene exposure and fails to state whether that level of exposure is sufficient to cause the plaintiff's …