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A federal judge has ruled that Exxon Mobil must face claims alleging that its benzene-containing products caused the fatal cancer of a former gas station and industrial worker. The ruling allows the widow of Robert Dickerson to proceed with her lawsuit, rejecting Exxon’s motion to dismiss based on statute of limitations arguments.

U.S. District Judge Louise Wood Flanagan determined that the statute of limitations for the case started when Mr. Dickerson was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, a cancer linked to benzene exposure, rather than the date of his last exposure to Exxon products. This decision follows the precedent established by the Fourth Circuit, which exempts disease-related claims from certain North Carolina statute of repose rules.

Robert Dickerson was exposed to benzene through his work at North Carolina gas stations between 1955 and 1959 and at a lumber and paper industrial site from 1965 to 2006, as well as through consumer products. He was diagnosed with the disease on August 8, 2017, and passed away in June 2023.

The initial lawsuit, filed in Pennsylvania state court in 2019, was dismissed on forum non conveniens grounds in 2024. The current lawsuit, filed in January 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, alleges that Exxon and other companies are liable for Mr. Dickerson’s exposure to benzene and subsequent illness.

Exxon argued that the claims were time-barred under North Carolina General Statutes sections 1-50(a)(6) and 1-52(16), citing six- and three-year limits on product liability claims based on exposure dates. The court rejected this, citing the Fourth Circuit’s 2016 ruling in Stahle v. CTS, which clarified that these statutes do not apply to disease-related claims.

The case is Phyllis W. Dickerson et al. v. CRC Industries Inc. et al., Case No. 2:25-cv-00004.

Exxon Mobil is represented by Christopher J. Blake of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP. The plaintiff is represented by Mark P. Doby and William M. Graham of Wallace & Graham PA.