The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled 19 March 2004 that Owens Corning has no claim against tobacco companies over asbestos-related lung injuries.
In an attempt to recover billions of dollars paid out …
The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled 19 March 2004 that Owens Corning has no claim against tobacco companies over asbestos-related lung injuries. In an attempt to recover billions of dollars paid out in asbestos settlement cases, Owens Corning argued that the tobacco industry shared some of the responsibility for the health problems. However, in a 5-1 decision, the justices agreed with Jefferson County Circuit Judge Lamar Pickard, who dismissed Owens Corning“s lawsuit in May 2001. Asbestos companies have argued that cigarette smoking was to blame for thousands of workers“ injuries costing them millions of dollars in damages. In his ruling, Pickard agreed with a special master appointed to oversee the case that the claim was prohibited by the “remoteness doctrine,” a legal principle under which the company“s claims would be deemed secondary, and not direct, injuries. Justice Kay Cobb, writing 18 March 2004 for the court, said Owens Corning did not prove any direct injury. Owens Corning has argued that if the Supreme Court were to order a trial on the company“s claims for reimbursement from tobacco companies, it would prove that cigarettes, and not asbestos, were the main culprit, a thesis that tobacco company lawyers flatly rejected. Owens Corning argued that if tobacco companies had been truthful about the harmful effects of tobacco, asbestos companies might have avoided paying out large settlements. The company said lung disease litigation had pushed it into bankruptcy while tobacco companies have continued to make money. Tobacco companies including R. J. Reynolds and Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. were named as defendants in the suit. Owens Corning said it faced about USD 2 billion more in asbestos payouts even though it stopped selling insulation that contained asbestos more than 25 years ago.