Texas jury rules asbestos danger not hidden from company

AP ^ | 10/23/4

[SmithL]

ANGLETON -- A jury has ruled that Union Carbide Corp. was not fraudulent in how it sold asbestos for use in Kelly-Moore Paint Co.'s interior finishing products -- a verdict an attorney for the paint company said probably will force it into bankruptcy in the face of tens of thousands of lawsuits.

Kelly-Moore had sued Union Carbide for $1.3 billion plus punitive damages, claiming the Dow Chemical Co. subsidiary had hidden from it the dangers of asbestos.

The jury ruled in favor of Union Carbide on Friday, The Facts, Brazoria County's daily newspaper, reported Saturday.

San Carlos, Calif.-based Kelly-Moore is facing more than 40,000 lawsuits from people claiming to have been injured by asbestos, which causes lung diseases. The company was counting on winning the lawsuit because it doesn't have enough money to pay the victims, said Mark Lanier, its Houston-based attorney.

"Unfortunately this will most likely put Kelly-Moore into bankruptcy and thousands of victims will be unpaid because of this," Lanier said.

Testimony centered on what Danbury, Conn.-based Union Carbide knew about the dangers of asbestos and what it told Kelly-Moore.

Asbestos was used to create insulation and construction materials such as jointing and ceiling tiles. Use of asbestos peaked from World War II through the mid-1970s.

[hoosierham]

And I still believe asbestos was NOT the horrible,terrible threat to the public that TRIALLAWYERS are !!!!!!
Same with lead paint,

Just don't chew on the walls or ceiling or let your kids do it either.

[lawdude]

"Just don't chew on the walls or ceiling or let your kids do it either."

Don' you know that black kids jus' gosta chew on that paint 'cuz dey ain't gots no other kinds 'a food to eats.

Dey be so po'!

S**t

BTW, millions of times more asbestos was released into free air by taking it out of buildings than would have been by allowing it to stay.

I am getting damn tired of the victim caucus!

[CedarDave]

Lead paint is bad and can do bad things to young kids. Dangers from asbestos, however, are greatly overrated. Exposure is from inhalation and must occur over a long period of time in situations where the fibers are airborne. Asbestos fibers in paint do not fit into that category, unless airborne through spraying. I expect that one day fiberglass insulation will be declared a hazard. Once the trial lawyers have put the paint company out of business, they'll be looking for other companies to sue.

[hoosierham]

"fill in the blank is "

See post reference NOT eating paint or allowing children to do the same.

A hell of a lot more kids DIE or become dependent on society due to drug dealing etc; if the trial lawyers expended as much effort fighting the criminal elements as they do attacking companies trying to provide legitimate products we would live in a paradise.

Oh yeah, paint companies,insulation contractors and the like don't shoot several people to death every day.