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http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/25/business/25ASBE.html

In West Virginia, a jury found that the Dow Chemical Company's Union Carbide unit had exposed workers to asbestos poisoning from 1945 to 1980, opening the door to millions of dollars in potential damages.

But in Wilmington, Del., a bankruptcy court judge agreed to exclude the testimony of an expert witness in a case against Armstrong World Industries.

The verdict by the six-member jury in Charleston, W. Va., will allow about 1,000 plaintiffs to pursue cases that will determine whether they suffered injuries or health problems because of asbestos exposure at Union Carbide operations.

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If the plaintiffs are found to have suffered injuries, the courts will then decide on damages against Union Carbide. But the jury found Union Carbide was not part of any conspiracy to deceive or harm the public. A Union Carbide spokesman said the company would probably appeal the decision.

In another asbestos case, Randall J. Newsome, a bankruptcy judge in Wilmington, granted a motion by Armstrong to exclude evidence offered by expert witnesses called by the plaintiffs.

Armstrong World Industries is the main operating subsidiary of the floor covering maker Armstrong Holdings Inc., which has been in bankruptcy proceedings in Wilmington since December 2000 to resolve its liability for asbestos personal injury claims.

"The court has accepted Armstrong's argument that a significant group of asbestos claims are based on speculation and not sound science," Ken Jacobs, Armstrong's deputy general counsel for litigation, said in a statement.

Attempts to reach the plaintiff, the Asbestos Property Damage Committee, were unsuccessful.

Armstrong said it faced about 600 claims seeking more than $852 million in damages related to floor tiles containing asbestos.

About 50 companies facing asbestos claims have filed for Chapter 11 since the early 1980's.

Asbestos was widely used as a fire retardant and insulation, but scientists found in the 1960's and 1970's that the inhalation of its fibers could cause lung cancer and other diseases.

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