U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Argument over Consolidation of W.Va. Asbestos Case

WASHINGTON - For the second time in less than a month the U.S. Supreme Court has refused to weigh in on a West Virginia asbestos trial that at one time involved some 8,000 plaintiffs and more than 250 defendants. Mobil Corp., et al. v. Adkins, et al., No. 02-132 (U.S. Sup. Ct.).

The nation's highest court on Oct. 7 refused to grant certiorari to defendant ExxonMobil Corp., who had petitioned the court in July to stop the mass asbestos trial from moving forward. The trial got underway in late September, but not before the Supreme Court denied an attempt by …