Benzene claims erased by stroke of Maddox's pen

In an instant Madison County Circuit Judge Lola Maddox erased 408 personal injury claims from her docket.

She signed an order Sept. 22 granting a motion of SimmonsCooper law firm to dismiss 24 chemical companies from 17 suits over benzene exposure.

More than 1,000 claims remain in the pack of suits, which SimmonsCooper filed in 2004, last year and this year.

SimmonsCooper named 126 defendants in each suit, for a total of 2,142 claims.

Benzene defendants SimmonsCooper dismissed Sept. 22:

Amerada Hess
Hess Oil Virgin Islands
BASF Corporation
Chevron Phillips Chemical
Chevron USA
Huntsman Petrochemical
Texaco
Union Oil of California
Dow Chemical
El Paso Merchant Energy
El Paso Energy EST
Equistar Chemicals
Millenium Petrochemicals
Exxon Mobil
Mobil Oil
Honeywell International
Kinder Morgan Liquids Terminals
Marathon Oil
Marathon Petroleum
Occidental Chemical
Sunoco
Total Petrochemicals USA
Union Carbide
United States Steel

SimmonsCooper benzene plaintiffs:

Dan and Cindy Arnold
John Bedrin
Estate of Joe Cintron
Michael and Kelly Edwards
Alvia and Brenda Hester
Debbie Johnson
Veto and Brenda Kleinaitis
Estate of Marshall Landis
Robert and Pamela Mankowski
Robert and Lois McDonald
Arthur and Denise Noonan
Jack and Edith O'Brien
Estate of Joel O'Donnell
Roger and Patti Rose
Estate of Francis Shaw
Damon and Jennifer Sinars
Edward and Lois Young