Judgment Sought on Union Carbide's Alleged Concealment

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Plaintiffs in a massive West Virginia asbestos trial have moved to preclude defendant Union Carbide from asserting a product identification defense during the trial's second phase, where it has been alleged that the defendant intentionally withheld information about the presence of asbestos-containing products on its premises. In Re: Asbestos Personal Injury Litigation Mass Litigation Panel, No. 02-C-9004 (W.Va. Cir. Ct., Kanawha Cty.).

In a motion for partial summary judgment filed Aug. 12 in Kanawha County Circuit Court, plaintiffs contend that allowing Union Carbide to argue that the plaintiffs cannot identify the asbestos-containing products to which they were …