UM Grace Case

After a three-month trial, jurors deliberated for just one full day before acquitting W.R. Grace Co. and three of its executives Friday of all criminal charges.
The company and executives were accused of knowingly exposing residents and mine workers to toxic asbestos, a byproduct of the company’s vermiculite mine in Libby, Mont.
In closing the trial, Judge [...]

Friday morning, the jury unanimously found W.R. Grace not guilty on all counts. The jury also found defendants Jack Wolter, Henry Eschenbach, and Robert Bettacchi not guilty.
– Laura Lundquist

The case against W.R. Grace and five of its former executives – now excluding William McCaig and Robert Walsh who were recently acquitted – was handed over to the jury Wednesday evening after nearly 10 hours of closing arguments from five separate attorneys. The trial, which began on Feb. 19, has been ongoing for nearly [...]

In a jury trial, the attorneys are allowed two opportunities to speak directly to the seated jury, during the opening and closing arguments. Closing arguments are generally limited to reviewing the evidence admitted at trial, go over jury instructions, or emphasize important points in the case which may have been missed or forgotten. It is [...]

Wednesday morning, the prosecution packaged its entire case into three hours for the jury, connecting specific evidence with each of the eight counts against W.R. Grace and the remaining three defendants. Government attorney Kris McLean covered the conspiracy count, followed by attorney Kevin Cassidy outlining the remaining counts of knowing endangerment and obstruction of [...]

During the past week, Judge Donald Molloy dismissed two defendants, ruled on two critical motions and revealed a deadline for his ruling on another.
The prosecution said that they didn’t have enough evidence to prove their case against Robert Walsh on April 27 and defendant William McCaig on April 30. Three defendants remain to face the [...]

The government dismissed all charges against Robert C. Walsh Monday afternoon.Walsh is a former vice president of W.R. Grace and one of seven company executives originally indicted on federal charges in 2005.
“With respect to Mr. Walsh,” McLean told Molloy in front of a jam-packed courtroom, “The government can not prove its case without a [...]

Court was called to order this morning with Dr. Daniel Teitelbaum on the stand. Judge Molloy was careful through his testimony to explain to the jury that Dr. Teitelbaum could not testify as an expert witness. Judge Molloy instructed the jury that Dr. Teitelbaum could only testify as a fact witness about the [...]

Court began this morning with the continued cross-examination of government witness and former Grace financial analyst James Becker. Several defense attorneys questioned Becker throughout the morning, quickly reviewing several documents and memos.
David Bernick, defense attorney for W.R. Grace, completed the cross-examination he suspended Monday evening, asking Becker about several memos outlining test results from [...]

Attorneys for individual defendants labored to introduce their clients to the jury as real people, some of them even Libby residents, who were concerned about worker health at W.R. Grace.
Attorneys representing Henry Eschenbach, William McCaig, Robert Walsh and Jack Wolter also worked to cast doubt on various aspects of the government’s case, citing instances of [...]