W.R. Grace acquitted in asbestos conspiracy case

I posted a blog a few weeks ago about  the asbestos conspiracy trial against WR Grace and some of its current and former executives.  The jury returned its verdict earlier this week, and the result was an acquittal on all charges for Grace and the executives.  Besides the jury verdict, there were pre-trial dismissals of two of the executives who were facing criminal charges.

What does this say about the civil asbestos cases involving the asbestos-containing products from the Libby mine?  Not much, really.  There are a number of reasons for this:

• There is a tremendous difference between what must be proved in a civil asbestos lawsuit versus what the government was attempting to prove in the asbestos conspiracy criminal trial.  The two kinds of cases are nothing alike, and this was one of the trial judge's principal criticisms of the case the prosecution attempted to put on and of the evidence that they tried to offer.
• The criminal defendants were entitled to remain silent and could not be required to testify.  That will not be the case in a civil trial.
• The alleged victims of the conspiracy were the townspeople in Libby, Montana.  While many of them are suffering from asbestos related diseases such as cancer, asbestosis, or mesothelioma, the focus of the criminal trial was not on the many, many people who have been sickened by products contained Grace asbestos from Libby.

The bottom line on this jury verdict is that it has no impact on Grace's civil liability for thousands of asbestos lawsuits and does nothing to remove the shameful stain on this company's behavior. 

Anyone wanting to know more about the Libby asbestos story should read of any of three sources:  The University of Montana's blog on the Grace Trial, a book called An Air That Kills by David Schneider, or a book called Libby, Montana: Asbestos and the Deadly Silence of an American Corporation.  Each of these sources covers the Libby asbestos scandal in great detail and are tremendous references for further reading.