Bankruptcy Court Orders Stay of Dresser, Halliburton Asbestos Lawsuits

PITTSBURGH - Halliburton Co. has announced that in conjunction with the Chapter 11 filing of asbestos defendant Harbison-Walker Refractories, a federal bankruptcy judge has ordered a temporary stay of nearly all personal injury claims filed against Halliburton and its Dresser Industries subsidiary. Harbison-Walker Refractories Co. v. Woodruff, et al., No. 02-2080 (W.D. Pa. Bankr.).

The ruling effectively stays a majority of claims pending against Halliburton Co. subsidiaries, company officials said in a statement released Feb. 14. About 132,000 of the more than 200,000 claims put on hold by the bankruptcy court are refractory claims that Harbison-Walker agreed to inherit when …