W.R. Grace Trial Updates
by LibbyMT.com
February 25, 2009
Below are updates on the USA v. W.R. Grace trial. Lawyers gave opening statements on Monday. The trial is expected to last several months.
Grace seeks dismissal of charges in Libby case "Attorneys for W.R. Grace and Co. asked a federal judge Tuesday to acquit the company on three counts of knowingly endangering the community of Libby. The defense argued the applicable federal law did not exist when Grace operated a vermiculite mine at Libby and committed the alleged offenses…" (The Spokesman-Review, 2/25/09)
Prosecutors call first witness; defense counters with barrage of objections "Federal prosecutors called their first witnesses Tuesday morning in the W.R. Grace & Co. trial, but were met by a barrage of objections from defense lawyers - who argued that the government’s line of questioning was irrelevant because it strayed outside a narrow timeframe in which the company’s alleged criminal acts must have occurred…" (By Tristan Scott of the Missoulian, 2/25/09)
WR Grace succeeds in limiting what government's most knowledgeable witness can testify about "It took just minutes for W.R. Grace's top lawyer to begin denouncing the scientific qualifications of the government's chief witness and the man who led the government's efforts to protect the people of Libby from the asbestos that poisoned their small Montana town…" (By Andrew Schneider, Seattle Post Intelligencer, 2/24/09)
Grace lawyers move for dismissal of key charges "Attorneys for W.R. Grace and Co. asked a federal judge Tuesday to acquit the company on three counts of knowingly endangering the community of Libby. The defense argued the applicable federal law did not exist when Grace operated a vermiculite mine at Libby and committed the alleged offenses…" (The Spokesman-Review, 2/24/09)
Grace asbestos trial opens "A federal prosecutor told jurors Monday that W.R. Grace & Co. knew for years that its products posed serious health hazards to residents of Libby, Mont., but the company hid the risks from workers and government regulators." (The Spokesman-Review, 2/24/09)
'Secret' was deadly for Montana town saturated in asbestos, prosecutors say "That was the Maryland-based chemical company's "secret," federal prosecutors alleged Monday as W.R. Grace and five of its former executives went on trial here in a case that environmental law experts describe as the most significant criminal prosecution the U.S. has ever filed against an alleged corporate polluter." (By Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times, 2/24/09)
W.R. Grace trial: Government, defense lawyers make first statements "Jurors heard lengthy opening statements Monday in the criminal trial of W.R. Grace & Co., as lawyers sketched cases that are poles apart in their portrayal of Libby's widespread asbestos poisoning…" (By Tristan Scott of the Missoulian, 2/23/09)
W.R. Grace: The trial - Scope, price of ridding Libby of asbestos climbs each year "For continuously updated stories on the W.R. Grace trial, as well as archives, videos, slideshows, documents and timelines, go to Missoulian.com/wrgrace." (By Michael Jamison of the Missoulian)
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