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To: maceng2 who wrote (196296)	10/8/2002 6:44:25 PM
From: maceng2	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

Asbestos plaintiffs rest case in WV involving Dow Chemical, ExxonMobil, AmChem ananova.com CHARLESTON, WV (AFX) - Plaintiffs in a major asbestos liability case in West Virginia - involving Dow Chemical, ExxonMobil and AmChem - rested their case Tuesday, a day after the US Supreme Court refused for a second time to halt the trial. Lawyers involved in the case, though that settlement negotiations were ongoing but did not know if they were likely to result in any further resolutions. Lawyers for Dow Chemical, ExxonMobil and AmChem - three major defendants in the case - began their defense after hearing two weeks of complex evidence. The companies, originally named with hundreds of others, including some of the world's largest corporations, made a final plea to the nation's high court that the justices intervene and declare the expedited trial schedule approved by state courts as unconstitutional. Last month, the Supreme Court declined a request from Dow, ExxonMobil and the other defendants that the case be stopped before it got underway. The court, as it did this week, refused to review the matter. The defendants argued in both motions that the fast-track trial plan in court here denied them due process and unfairly lumped meritless claims together with plaintiffs who may have asbestos-related illnesses. After the justices let the case go forward the pool of defendants shrank to about a dozen as companies settled their claims out of court. As the trial progressed, the number of defendants was further reduced to the three companies still involved. Dow is facing allegations that its subsidiary, Union Carbide, mined and sold asbestos despite health concerns. Dow also is being sued by contractors and plant visitors who say they were exposed to asbestos while at Union Carbide facilities. ExxonMobil and AmChem are not facing any claims for having unsafe facilities, but rather for making products, mostly industrial sealants, cements and compounds that contained the hazardous material. Some had voiced concerns that the case could end up forcing many big companies into bankruptcy if the claims - upwards of 200 billion dollars - were awarded, possibly posing a threat to the US economy.