« Ind. Courts - "The Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications has recommended that a La Porte County judge who was indicted Thursday with a felony be suspended from her job with pay" | Main | Courts - Open meetings law may be unconstitutional, 5th Circuit rules »

Friday, May 08, 2009

Environment - W.R. Grace Acquitted in Asbestos Case

Kirk Johnson reports in the NY Times this afternoon. The story begins:

A federal court jury on Friday acquitted the big chemical products company, W.R. Grace, and three of its executives on all criminal charges that they had knowingly contaminated the small Montana mining town of Libby with asbestos, then conspired to cover up the deed.

At least 200 people have died of asbestos-related diseases, and hundreds more have been sickened, in the tiny community of Libby, which has a population of about 2,600. And there is no doubt that the Zonolite Mountain vermiculite mine, owned and operated by Grace from 1963 to 1990, was the source of the asbestos.

But the jury in Federal District Court in Missoula — deliberating less than two days after a nearly three-month trial — unanimously concluded that the disaster was not a matter of criminal culpability by the company.

The verdict marked a repudiation of the Federal government’s case, which painted Grace as a greedy mine operator, cognizant of the risks of its mining operations — and the dust plumes that once famously wafted through town — and then callously, criminally covering up the crime.

At the heart of the case were two tangled, inter-related questions: What did the company and its executives know about the dusty detritus from its mine, just outside Libby, and when did they act or not, upon that knowledge?

Another interesting quote:
As the prosecution ended its case in late April, jurors saw the star prosecution witness, Robert H. Locke, denounced in court by Judge Molloy, who also raised doubts in front of the jurors about the tactics and practices of the prosecutors from the United States Attorney’s office.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 8, 2009 03:02 PM
Posted to Environment