Dispute Breaks Out Over Lawsuit Venue -- MesoLink.org -- 10-25-05

A dispute has broken out between the Maryland based WR Grace & Co, a and the New Jersey Attorney General with regards to which court will have jurisdiction over the civil suit being brought against the company by the state. The lawsuit was filed earlier this year in state Superior Court, and it alleges that the company provided misleading information to state regulators regarding the vermiculite processed at its plant in Hamilton.

The company is being sued for over one and a half billion dollars by the state, but WR Grace officials are reportedly trying to get the case moved to the Delaware US Bankruptcy Court with a view to getting the lawsuit stayed. Currently the case is scheduled to be heard at the US District Court in New Jersey.

Already a number of former employees have been made to testify before a state grand jury, and have been asked questions about the working conditions and whether they were given any warnings about the deadly material they were working with. One former employee stated: "We were asked whether there were any signs about asbestos there and how the place was cleaned."

A criminal investigation is also being conducted into the company and its Hamilton base, and former employees state that they have been interviewed by officials from the EPA and the FBI.