NEWS Halliburton wins court approval for asbestos settlements
16 July 2004
WASHINGTON, July 16 (HalliburtonWatch.org) -- A federal bankruptcy judge in Pittsburgh today approved the settlement of asbestos lawsuits filed against DII Industries and Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) -- both subsidiaries of Halliburton. The judge approved the settlements after DII and KBR asked the court for federal bankruptcy protection from more than 400,000 people who had filed lawsuits alleging injury caused by exposure to asbestos. Victims alleged the marketers and manufacturers of asbestos knew it was dangerous to human health and failed to warn the public. DII and KBR marketed asbestos during the 1970s before it was publicly disclosed that it causes life-threatening illnesses. Many of the victims were construction workers who had worked with asbestos sold by the two Halliburton firms. Most of the injuries were caused by asbestos sales from DII (or Dresser Industries), a company that Halliburton purchased in 1998 when Vice President Dick Cheney was CEO. Under the settlement, DII and KBR will pay $4.2 billion in cash, stock and insurance to the victims. The lead bankruptcy case is titled "In re Mid-Valley Inc.," Case No. 03-35592, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. |