UM Grace Case

Unlike much of the witness testimony that has occurred during the Government’s case-in-chief, today, both the Government and the defendants quickly moved from one witness to the next. This afternoon McLean quickly wrapped up the direct examination of former W.R. Grace employee Randy Geiger. Geiger was in charge of setting up a sampling plant and program to check for tremolite fiber releases. Geiger conducted tests on the high school and junior high running tracks in Libby to check for such releases.

After the termination of McLean’s direct examination, W.R. Grace defense attorney, Walter Lancaster, conducted a brief cross-examination of Geiger. Lancaster primarily questioned Geiger on what the Government told him in regard to evidentiary issues and the witness testimony of Paul Peronard. Judge Molloy brought Lancaster’s line of questioning to a close indicating that a Rule 615 Motion had been granted which allows the exclusion of witnesses so that they may not hear the testimony of other witnesses. As a result of this motion the Government had no obligation to provide Geiger with Peronard’s testimony and Lancaster should move on from the issue.

William Coates, defense attorney for William McCaig, continued the cross examination of Geiger but only asked him whether the wetness of the track would affect the amount of fiber release. Geiger indicated that he assumed the fiber release would be lessened if the track was wet. David Krakoff, defense attorney for Henry Eschenbach, briefly questioned Geiger about whether W.R. Grace conducted health surveys and chest exams of their employees to track their overall health. Geiger indicated that Grace did in fact take such measures.

Carolyn Kubota, defense attorney for Jack Wolter, finished the cross-examination of Geiger by asking about Wolter’s aggressive goals of lowering fiber exposure. Geiger affirmatively answered that Wolter did make lower fiber exposure a priority, approved funding for lowering fiber exposure and ultimately drove fiber exposure levels down. McLean’s re-direct was short and to the point merely asking Geiger how many times he recalled Henry Eschenbach visiting the Libby plant site during his 14 years of employment. Geiger indicated he only recalled a few visits during his initial years of employment.

The two witnesses that were scheduled to follow Geiger were skipped due to stipulation between the parties. Judge Donald Molloy requested McLean instruct the jury on the meaning of this stipulation. McLean told the jury that both parties were stipulating that Grace donated mill tailings to Libby High School and Junior High for the surfacing of their tracks. As a result of this stipulation, the testimony the two scheduled witnesses would have provided is now unnecessary.

The Government then called Leroy Thom to the stand. Thom is a small business owner in Libby who worked for Grace from 1974-1992. The Government’s attorney, Kevin Cassidy, questioned Thom about his duties at Grace during 1991 and 1992, considering the mine was shut down in 1990. Thom explained that he was involved in the tearing down of the mill. Cassidy asked Thom if he recalled seeing vermiculate and Thom replied, “Yes, lots.” Cassidy then requested Thom describe what he saw, but the defense quickly objected citing relevance and cumulative. Judge Molloy sustained the objection. Cassidy proceeded to question Thom about whether vermiculite was available for the people of Libby to take home and put in their gardens and whether he observed other Grace workers covered in dust. Defense counsel objected to both lines of questioning once again citing relevance and cumulative, but Judge Molloy overruled both objections and Thom answered both series of questions in the affirmative. The only cross-examination that was conducted on Thom was when Coates asked him if Bill McCaig ever took vermiculite home to put in his garden. Thom said he did not know and was released from the stand.

The Government then called Francis Landis, a retired Grace employee, as their next witness. Landis was a member of the crew in charge of tearing down the screening plant. On direct examination Landis was asked about his observations of wind blowing dust around. The defense attempted to strike this portion of the testimony but Judge Molloy overruled. On cross-examination Walter Lancaster inquired as to whether Landis recalled wearing any sort of fiber monitor during the demolition. Initially Landis expressed that he did not recall wearing one, but after the defense provided a document suggesting otherwise Landis said that although he doesn’t remember, it is possible that he did wear such a monitor at some point during demolition.

Landis and the jury were dismissed for the day and Judge Molloy called for a brief recess. Before leaving the courtroom, Judge Molloy suggested that McLean and David Bernick, attorney for W.R. Grace, discuss and resolve their witness issues. According to Judge Molloy, if the parties fail to resolve their issues then he will, however, this is not an invitation to not resolve things.

-Shannon Foley (5:00 p.m.)