Mesothelioma Lawyer: Supreme Court rejects Grace appeal

Supreme Court rejects Grace appeal

June 24th, 2008 by Wendi Lewis

Monday the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the appeals of W.R. Grace & Co. and six of its top executives, who are charged with violating the Clean Air Act by releasing asbestos-contaminated vermiculite from a mine in Libby, Montana, according to a story today in the Missoulian. The decision comes two years after the initial criminal filing against the company, which has been delayed pending the filing of numerous legal motions.

The court decision opens the door for a court date to be set. The criminal charges were initially filed in 2005, and alleges the chemical company knowingly endangered the lives of mine workers and other Libby residents, according to the Missoulian. Asbestos disease devastated the town of Libby, affecting miners who worked in the now-closed vermiculite mine. In addition, asbestos touched the lives of everyone living in Libby, as it the mineral was used extensively throughout the town in projects like ballfields, a school running track and in people’s gardens.

Hundreds of residents have died from mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases, and everyone is at risk of developing some form of asbestos disease in the future.

“We all - everyone in Libby - live under the threat of developing mesothelioma,” says Gayla Benefield, perhaps one of the best-known residents of Libby for her early outcry about the health effects of asbestos on the people in her town. She was a charter member of the board of directors of the Center for Asbestos Related Disease (CARD), a not-for-profit clinic governed by a volunteer community board and devoted to healthcare, outreach, and research to benefit all people impacted by exposure to Libby amphibole asbestos. She only recently retired from her position with that organization.

According to the Missoulian, the case will move back to U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy of Missoula, who has made it clear that he wants to bring the case to trial as soon as possible and has set firm deadlines for the attorneys on both sides.

The Missoulan states that David M. Uhlmann, former chief of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section and currently director of the Environmental Law and Policy Program at the University of Michigan, has called the Grace prosecution “one of the most significant cases ever brought under the federal environmental crimes program.”

Tags: asbestos, asbestos trial, Gayla Benefield, Libby, mesothelioma, vermiculite, W.R. Grace & Co.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 at 3:55 pm and is filed under Legal, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.