Tuesday, March 09, 2004

JEREMIAH STETTLER
THE SAGINAW NEWS

A Saginaw County circuit judge must decide whether to oust more than a dozen residents along the Tittabawassee River from a dioxin-related lawsuit for not handing over court-ordered documents.

The residents are among 173 litigants accusing Dow Chemical Co. of polluting their properties with dioxin, a byproduct of chlorine manufacturing and other industrial processes.

Unlike the rest, however, they have not released records ordered by the court last June.

Dow wants the litigants thrown out. Attorneys say the residents aren't serious about the suit and don't deserve to participate.

Dow attorney Kathleen A. Lang asked the court Monday to dismiss them with prejudice, a move that would permanently bar the residents from the suit. "If they don't want to participate, they shouldn't be part of this case," she said.

Residents' attorneys said the move would unjustly deny their clients the chance to join a potentially larger class-action suit in the future -- a right enjoyed by people not involved in the lawsuit. They asked the judge to dismiss them without prejudice, if at all.

Chief Circuit Judge Leopold P. Borrello made no decision Monday. Rather, he said he would review the arguments and announce his ruling by the end of the week.

Among the outstanding questions is how many residents have not released documents. Dow attorneys claim that 18 people have produced nothing since June. Residents' attorneys count 13.

In a memorandum submitted to the court last week, residents' attorneys noted that one of the group died, another is 80 years old and found the case too stressful, and a third believed that his spouse's response was sufficient. They said a fourth plans to immediately release her records.

As for the remaining nine, attorneys said they have not responded to letters, telephone calls and personal visits.

Dow will submit a response to the memo this week. t

© 2004 Saginaw News