Judge Postpones Ruling on Honeywell Asbestos Claims

PITTSBURGH - A federal bankruptcy judge in Pennsylvania concluded a hearing today without indicating whether a temporary order that stayed several thousand asbestos claims against Honeywell International Inc. will be made permanent, a Honeywell spokesman said. North American Refractories Co. v. Paul T. Abernathy, et al., No. 02-2004 (W.D. Pa. Bankr.).

Honeywell Spokesman Tom Crane said Judge Judith K. Fitzgerald of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania stopped short of ruling on the temporary injunction in an effort to give Honeywell and North American Refractories Co. (NARCO) more time to work out an agreement involving claims …