Supreme Court Rejects Delay of Major Asbestos Trial

Date: September 12, 2002

Source: News Room

U.S. Chief Justice William Rehnquist of the Supreme Court has rejected two requests by companies seeking to delay the start of a major West Virginia asbestos trial while the high court considers their appeals. In one request, Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) and industrial conglomerate Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON) asked the court to stay the Sept. 23 trial in Charleston, West Virginia, pending a decision on whether it would hear the appeal. Owens-Illinois Inc. filed a second similar request with the high court. In the appeal, the companies are challenging as unfair the single mass trial, in which about 8,000 people who claim they were exposed to asbestos have sued about 250 defendants, including various groups of employers, building owners and manufacturers.

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