Law Behind Crown Cork's Global Motion to Dismiss Is Unconstitutional, Plaintiffs Claim

PHILADELPHIA - A new state law that Crown Cork & Seal says should keep it from having to pay another cent in Pennsylvania for asbestos claims is unconstitutional and at the very least should not afford a company immunity from claims that accrued before the measure was passed, plaintiffs opposing a global motion to dismiss filed in Philadelphia recently. In Re: Asbestos Litigation, PCCP No. 001 October Term 1986 (Pa. Comm. Pls., Philadelphia Cty.).

The brief, filed March 7 in Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, attacks the asbestos defendant's global dismissal motion, noting that the statute upon which the …