| Dow says
plaintiffs' attorneys withholding documents |
|
| Kathie Marchlewski , The Midland Daily News | 12/10/2003 |
| Dow attorneys are
crying foul on plaintiffs in the Tittabawassee River flood plain lawsuit. At a hearing Monday, they plan to argue that plaintiffs’ attorneys are withholding documents in an attempt to undermine Dow’s defense. Plaintiffs’ attorneys submitted an amendment to courts last week asking that 135 names be added to the list of riverside property owners suing The Dow Chemical Co. The addition, which Dow attorneys say they do not oppose, would increase the number to 309. But in the same document, plaintiffs ask to reduce the number of people whose information will be used to determine whether the group’s complaints are similar enough that the case should be granted class-action status. Dow is opposed to the reduction. "Their request to designate only 26 of the named plaintiffs to represent a potential class continues this effort to avoid producing information to support their claims," said Dow spokesman Scot Wheeler. The company plans to request complete discovery for all plaintiffs, including the ones that would be joined by an amendment to the suit. Dow considers the move another attempt at delay. Its attorneys have received only a fraction of the information about property value, ownership, use and insurance requested from 179 plaintiffs. More than 60 percent of what has been provided comes from only six families. Attorneys believe the scope is not large enough to determine whether the entire group has potential exposure to dioxin or whether their property values have been damaged by its presence. Company attorneys believe the litigants are intentionally excluding information that could prove allegations false. For example, two plaintiffs already have withdrawn from the suit after acknowledging that they have not been damaged by alleged dioxin contamination, Dow attorneys say. In another instance, Dow attorneys claim that a vocal family in the suit recently sold their property at a price above the appraised value. Others have received significant appraisals. Happenings such as those damage plaintiffs’ claims that their property has been made "worthless," Dow attorneys say. Judge Leopold Borrello, Saginaw County Circuit Court, will hear the arguments at 1:30 p.m. at the Saginaw County Courthouse. |
|
| İMidland Daily News 2003 | |
For additional articles like this one, go to the Tittabawasse River Watch web site www.trwnews.net for complete coverage of the Tittabawassee River Dow Chemical dioxin contamination saga. . The Newspaper / Media page of our site contains an extensive archive of media articles dating back to January 2002. The source organization's web site link is listed to the right of the article, visit often for other news in our area. The Newspaper / Media page may be accessed by scrolling down to the bottom of the CONTENTS section and clicking on the Newspaper/Media link.