Mesothelioma victims frustrated with evidence rulings in W.R. Grace trial
Prosecutors are nearing the end of their case against W.R. Grace and five of its former executives for violations of the Clean Air Act in exposing residents of Libby, Montana to dangerous asbestos fibers from its vermiculite mine. And things are not going as smoothly as hoped.
The judge excluded much of the evidence recently offered by the prosecutors—allowing the jury to see only 7 of 53 documents. The documents, many of them from W.R. Grace executives, including the five on trial now, discuss health studies of the miners and the possibility of expensive litigation if the information becomes public. The documents also warned against cooperation with the EPA investigation of the asbestos contamination in Libby. The judge determined that this evidence was cumulative and risked undue prejudice or confusion because, while it was evidence of wrongful acts, it did not clearly connect to violations of the Clean Air Act. The judge said he was concerned that the prosecutors would use the evidence to argue “misleading inferences.”
W.R. Grace has asked the Court to dismiss the case because of lack of evidence or, in the alternative, what it calls prosecutorial misconduct. The judge has expressed skepticism of the prosecutors’ case. He is hearing arguments on the request this week.
Prosecutors are expected to rest the case against W.R. Grace and its executives in the next week or so.
For more on this story, read the articles in The Missoulian, New York Times and Bloomberg.
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