Haynes and Boone's Newsroom
And the Defense Wins
02/24/2010
Stan Perry
Stan Perry, a partner at Haynes and Boone, LLP in Houston, Texas was among the attorneys who successfully represented Shell in a product liability case involving inadequate warnings and negligence. The plaintiffs claimed Mr. Zendejas contracted atypical chronic myeloid leukemia (aCML) and later acute myeloid leukemia (AML) while working for McNeece Brothers Oil Company in Yuma, Arizona, from 2000-2006. According to the plaintiffs, Mr. Zendejas's atypical CML/AML was caused by his exposure to gasoline that Shell sold to McNeece Brothers. Mr. Zendejas was 29 when he was diagnosed with atypical CML in 2006.
Shell defendants argued that their material safety data sheets (MSDS) for gasoline were provided to McNeece and that these warnings were state of the art. They contended that McNeece (as the employer) had the duty to train and protect Mr. Zendejas, and further argued that gasoline does not cause leukemia.
Excerpted from DRI's The Voice on February 24, 2010. For full text click on the PDF linked below.