December 27th, 2005

Officials from WR Grace & Co. continue their fight to have the venue of the trial be moved from Montana to another state where the trials will be less biased according to defense officials. One witness for the defense stated: "This is close to the top of having the most prejudicial impact of pretrial publicity that I've ever come across. This case was extraordinarily prejudiced."

The attorneys for the defense also compared the media coverage of the Montana trials to that of the Oklahoma bombings, where, attorneys argued, the jury was biased due to media coverage and reports. Trials are due to start in September of a number of executives and officials from the company for charges such as violation of the Clean Air Act and charges of conspiracy.

The charges are in relation to the Libby mine, which officials from the company allegedly knew about when it came to dangers, and yet, it is alleged, they kept this information from workers, exposing them to a potentially deadly substance in the form of asbestos.

An appeals court has recently ordered the chemical maker to pay for clean up costs in Libby, which will amount to around $54.5 million. The company has to reimburse the cost of clean ups in the area as well as payment for any future clean ups.