Federal Judge Refuses to Remand Friction Product Claims

CHICAGO - A federal district court in Illinois has refused to remand 27 asbestos cases removed from Cook County Circuit Court by friction products defendant Honeywell Corp. In the Matter of In Re Garlock, Inc., et al., No. 02 C 1049 (N.D. Ill.).

Judge John W. Darrah of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois said in a brief order issued May 23 that he is bound by an order issued in January by Judge Alfred M. Wolin that provisionally transferred several hundred cases to the District of Delaware. As a result, the federal district court no …