UM Grace Case

Kris McLean conceded what has been pounded home throughout the trial: It was no secret to the government that there was asbestos at the Libby mine or that asbestos was carcinogenic.  “The secret was in the products,” he said Wednesday.
One secret in this case, McLean said, was what only defendant W.R. Grace knew: “Despite reducing [...]

 Judge Molloy first ruled on the Government’s motion for admission of redacted exhibits.  See Motion.  These rulings are of importance to the Rule 29 motions because the government has signaled that unless the exhibits are admitted, it will drop the conspiracy charges as to defendants Walsh and McCaig.  See footnote 1, page 5 of Government’s [...]

At promptly 3:00 p.m., prosecutor Kevin Cassidy got to the main theme of his direct examination of Dr. Lemen. When Cassidy asked if he had an opinion about whether there was an imminent risk of exposure Dr. Lemen said yes. David Bernick promptly objected for lack of foundation, but the objection was overruled and Dr. [...]

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 [...]

According to government witness Richard Lemen, asbestos exposure posed an imminent risk to the residents of Libby, Mont. Because the mineral’s needle-like fibers build in a person’s lungs over time, Lemen said that the more asbestos one inhales over time, the more they are pushed toward disease, thus exposure poses an imminent threat.
“Asbestos related disease [...]