UM Grace Case

Judge Donald Molloy said Tuesday that the W.R. Grace case should go to the jury by the end of next week.
The atmosphere in court was relaxed Tuesday afternoon as Molloy told the jury he expects the proof phase of the case to conclude next Wednesday, after “three or four” more lay witnesses, and perhaps one [...]

 With the jury out of the room and all attention focused on the defense, attorneys David Bernick and Thomas Frongillo argued that government behavior over the course of the trial rises to the level of “outrageous prosecutorial misconduct,” and that all charges in the case should be dismissed.
“This trial is a dark bloom … a [...]

A series of increasingly testy exchanges was eventually interrupted by a rebuke from Judge Donald Molloy, as defense attorney David Bernick cross-examined government witness Dr. Richard Lemen on Monday.
Bernick began by pointing out that Lemen was receiving $350 an hour for his testimony, $50 less than his usual rate.  Bernick characterized this as a “government [...]

With the jury still out of the room, Defense attorney David Bernick continued his cross-examination of EPA agent Bert Marsden this afternoon, questioning him extensively about Robert Locke, a former Grace executive and government witness who may have perjured himself several weeks ago.  At issue were emails sent between Marsden and Locke, whether Locke was [...]

 Physician James Lockey testified Wednesday afternoon about a pair of studies examining symptoms of asbestos exposure in workers at an O.M. Scott plant in Marysville, Ohio.  The plant used Libby vermiculite in its gardening products.  Under direct examination from prosecutor Kris McLean, Lockey testified that some of the workers suffered localized plaques, diffuse thickening and [...]

With EPA chemist Mary Goldade on the stand, defense attorney David Bernick continued to question how complete various government exhibits and witness testimony was today. In response to nearly every objection from the prosecution, Bernick replied, “It goes to bias.”
Goldade, who is both a government witness and a technical expert advising the prosecution on matters [...]

Day in and day out, the court heard testimony from government witness and former Grace employee Robert Locke this week, only to see Locke accused of perjury on what was to be his last day under cross-examination.  Court is now in recess for a full week as Judge Donald Molloy considers striking all or some [...]

Continuing his cross-examination of Robert Locke, defense attorney David Bernick attempted to cast doubt on the completeness of Locke’s previous testimony, his general recollection of his own words and writings, and the relevance of various studies reviewed by Locke and prosecutor Kris McLean under direct examination.
Some of the most antagonistic exchanges seen so far in [...]

Government witness and former Grace financial analyst James Becker testified Monday about Grace’s efforts to reduce the company’s vulnerability to potential lawsuits, new government regulation, and bad publicity due to the presence of tremolite asbestos in its products.
Becker was part of an internal Grace committee charged with developing company policy to deal with tremolite-related liabilities [...]

Cross-examination of Dr. Aubrey Miller by the defense counsel, David Bernick, resumed this afternoon as Bernick sought to discredit Miller and the Environmental Protection Agency by showing statements and internal documents dating from 2000 and 2001, early in the cleanup, that appeared to contradict statements made by Miller more recently.
These included a letter from [...]