Document J3rbjxZEDkdEmLbo7OMjwL5za

1 WILLIAM J. SAYERS, ESQ. (Bar No. 078038) FARAH NICOL, ESQ. (Bar No. 162293) 2 HAIGHT, BROWN & BONESTEEL 1620 26TH STREET, SUITE 4000 NORTH 3 SANTA MONICA, CA 90404-4038 (310) 449-6000 4 *5 1996 5 Attorneys for Defendants The Center for Claims Resolution Defendants, including AP 6 GREEN INDUSTRIES, INC.; ARMSTRONG WORLD INDUSTRIES, INC.; CERTAINTEED CORPORATION; 7 FLEXITALLIC, INC.; GAF CORPORATION; ASBESTOS CLAIMS MANAGEMENT CORPORATION (Formerly 8 National Gypsum Company); QUIGLEY COMPANY, INC.; T&N, PLC; UNION CARBIDE CHEMICALS AND 9 PLASTICS COMPANY, INC. (Formerly Union Carbide Corporation), and UNTIED STATES GYPSUM COMPANY 10 BRAYTOfl HARLEY CURDS N*- - - - - - - - OVEMMW IT'- V 11 IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 12 IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF ORANGE 13 14 SHIBLEY ABBISS, et al. CASE NO. 717108 15 Plaintiffs, 16 vs. 17 A.H. VOSS COMPANY, et al., DEFENDANT CERTAINTEED CORPORATION'S SUPPLEMENTAL RESPONSES TO PLAINTIFFS' STANDARD INTERROGATORIES 18 Defendants. (FIRST SET) 19 20 21 PROPOUNDING PARTY: PLAINTIFFS 22 RESPONDING PARTY: Defendant, CERTAINTEED CORPORATION 23 SET NO.: ONE 24 TO ALL PARTIES AND THEIR ATTORNEYS OF RECORD: 25 Defendant CERTAINTEED CORPORATION (hereinafter "Certainteed"), 26 pursuant to the California Code of Civil Procedure, supplements its responses to 27 Plaintiffs' Standard Interrogatories (First Set) (''the Interrogatories") subject to the 28 i VN & CCl 1 -01493/B119277.1 1 1 objections, reservations and conditions set forth in its initial responses to Plaintiffs' 2 Interrogatories, as follows: 3 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 15: 4 (h) CertainTeed's initial response was responsive to the question, 5 which asked for "The mining or milling concern from which 6 the raw asbestos fiber [incorporated into CertainTeed's 7 asbestos-bearing products] was obtained." CertainTeed's 8 initial response identified those companies to the extent 9 known, and accordingly, no supplemental response can be 10 provided. 11 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 16; 12 CertainTeed's initial response was responsive to the question (no products other 13 than asbestos-cement pipe have been so altered). Accordingly, no supplemental response 14 can be provided. 15 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 17: 16 As noted in CertainTeed's initial response to Interrogatory No. 16, the chemical 17 composition of asbestos-cement pipe "may" have been changed. Said initial response also 18 explained the nature of and reasons for the alteration. CertainTeed has no information 19 pertaining to the dates of any such alteration. 20 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 28: 21 Asbestos-cement pipe was the only asbestos-containing product made or sold by 22 CertainTeed which ever contained any warning, etc. on the product or its packaging (see 23 initial response to Interrogatory No. 28). Accordingly, no supplemental information can 24 be provided. 25 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 29: 26 See supplemental answer above to Interrogatory No. 28. 27 28 iWN & CCU-01493/B119277.1 2 1 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 31; 2 CertainTeed does not have any information in its possession pertaining to the 3 workers' compensation claim filed in December 1972 to which reference is made in the 4 initial response to Interrogatory No. 30 (CertainTeed's present records of such claims go 5 back only to 1978). 6 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 44; 7 Dr. Goodman is deceased. Dr. Mellon's address is CertainTeed Corporation, 750 8 East Swedesford Road, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania 19482-0101. 9 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 47: 10 CertainTeed reasserts its objection to this interrogatory. The burden of attempting 11 to ascertain which physicians were retained by CertainTeed for the purpose of evaluating, 12 diagnosing or treating pulmonary problems would require CertainTeed to investigate all 13 of the cases handled by all such doctors in order to determine which cases involved 14 pulmonary complaints or problems. Such a task would be overwhelming, if not 15 impossible to perform. 16 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 48: 17 CertainTeed reasserts its objection to providing "the complete and precise duties 18 and responsibilities" of the industrial hygienists. Such a request would require a time 19 consuming and burdensome effort which in turn would provide details which could not 20 possibly be relevant to this litigation. 21 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 50: 22 As noted in CertainTeed's initial response to Interrogatory No. 50, the corporate 23 library no longer exists. Accordingly, CertainTeed is unable to supplement the initial 24 response. 25 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 51: 26 CertainTeed's initial response was responsive to the question. 27 28 A/N & CC11-0M93/B119277.1 3 1 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 52: 2 With respect to those organizations cited in CertainTeed's initial response to 3 Interrogatory No. 51, CertainTeed presumes that it would have received copies of minutes 4 of some such meetings within one year of such meetings. However, as noted in its initial 5 response to Interrogatory No. 52, it has no way of confirming this presumption. 6 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 57: 7 See supplemental answer above to Interrogatory No. 50. 8 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 58: 9 See supplemental answer above to Interrogatory No. 28. 10 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 60: 11 See supplemental answer above to Interrogatory No. 50. 12 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 65; 13 See supplemental answer above to Interrogatory No. 50. 14 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 66: 15 See supplemental answer above to Interrogatory No. 50. 16 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 70; 17 The information requested is unrecorded, and thus unknown, and accordingly, no 18 supplemental information can be provided. 19 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 71; 20 The source of any such information is unrecorded and thus unknown, and the only 21 manner in which to attempt to obtain information concerning this inquiry would be to 22 question every person who ever worked for this company between 1930 and 1978. Such 23 an effort would be overwhelming, if not impossible to perform. Accordingly, CertainTeed 24 reasserts its initial objection. 25 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 72; 26 The source of any such information is unrecorded and thus unknown, and the only 27 manner in which to attempt to obtain information concerning this inquiry would be to 28 question every person who ever worked for this company between 1930 and 1978. Such s Vfs & CCl 1-01493/B119277.1 4 1 an effort would be overwhelming, if not impossible to perform. Accordingly, CertainTeed 2 reasserts its initial response. 3 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 74; 4 See supplemental answer above to Interrogatory No. 71. 5 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 75: 6 The two specialty insulation products for the railway industry were the only 7 asbestos-insulation products with which CertainTeed had a nexus (see initial response to 8 Interrogatory No. 15). Accordingly, no supplemental response can be provided. 9 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 77: 10 CertainTeed does not have a copy of the testimony or a copy of the recorded 11 testimony. Accordingly, no supplemental information can be provided. 12 13 DATED: January $, 1996 HAIGHT, BROWN & BONESTEEL 14 15 William J. Sayers 16 Farah Nicol Attorneys for Defendants and Cross- 17 Complainants, A.P GREEN INDUSTRIES, INC.; ARMSTRONG 18 WORLD INDUSTRIES, INC.; CERTAINTEED CORPORATION; 19 FLEXITALUC, INC.; GAF CORPO RATION; ASBESTOS CLAIMS 20 MANAGEMENT CORPORATION (Formerly National Gypsum Company); 21 QUIGLEY COMPANY, INC.; T&N, PLC; UNION CARBIDE CHEMICALS 22 AND PLASTICS COMPANY (Formerly Union Carbide Corporation); and, 23 UNITED STATES GYPSUM COMPANY 24 25 26 27 28 [ (VN A CC11-01493/B119277.1 5 VERIFICATION CURTIS M. PONTZ, being duly swom according to law, deposes and says that he is Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of CertainTeed Corporation and is duly authorized to make this Verification on its behalf and that the facts set forth in the foregoing supplemental responses to Plaintiffs' Standard Interrogatories (First Set) are true and correct to the best of his knowledge, information and belief. - CERTAINTEED CORPORATION 1 PROOF OF SERVICE BY MAIL 2 STATE OF CALIFORNIA 3 COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES 4 ) ) ss. ) 5 I am employed in the County of Los Angeles, State of California. I am over the age of 18 and not a party to the within action; my business address is 1620 26th 6 Street, Suite 4000 North, Santa Monica, California 90406. On January /^f, 1996,1 served the within: 7 8 CERTAINTEED CORPORATION'S SUPPLEMENTAL RESPONSES TO PLAINTIFFS' STANDARD INTERROGATORIES (FIRST SET) 9 10 by placing the true copies thereof enclosed in sealed envelopes addressed as stated on the attached mailing list: 11 by placing a true copies thereof enclosed in sealed envelopes addressed as 12 follows: 13 BRAYTON HARLEY CURTIS 999 Grant Avenue 14 P.O. Box 2109 Novato, California 94948 15 Jerry Neil Paul, Esq. 16 LAW OFFICES OF JERRY NEIL PAUL 16830 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 500 17 Encino, Califonia 91346 18 I am "readily familiar" with this firm's practice of collection and processing 19 correspondence for mailing. Under that practice it would be deposited with U.S. postal service on that same day in the ordinary course of business. I am aware that on motion 20 of party served, service is presumed invalid if postal cancellation date or postage meter date is more than 1 day after date of deposit for mailing in affidavit. 21 (State) I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State 22 of California that the above is true and correct. 23 (Federal) I declare that I am employed in the office of a member of 24 the bar of this ct/irt at whose direction the service was made. Executed on the ///day of Janu 25 alifornia. 26 27 28 VN & :i CC11-01493/BU9277.1 JSfSx-