Document KeL8z9KJ4yb9nJNBnvGwmB26

From the desk of E. V. JOHN Mr. 6/27/74 - A3SA FYI E. V. John r. | The Knoxville News-Sentinel ' ! KNOXVILLE, TENN. ' n 108,750 SUN. 162,255 , !` . : JUN 81974 - [TBeny Blame in i^ ! Chemical Spill \ *' t Defendants in a Federal: ` - Court suit over the spilling of ' MOO gallons of transformer oil off Highway 58 in Roane Coun- ; ty March 5, 1973, have dis-: claimed any responsibility in ; , the alleged damages. ; ' The defendants are General , ' Electric Co., New York; - . Montsanto (chemical^ Co., -Delaware and St. Louis, MoT; 5 and Moss Trucking Co., Char- ) lotte, N.C. ! It is charged by plaintiffs , F*'""1 --E isie^^jgUur_ - nhrevs. Roane Countians, that 'Moss truck driver Larry . Pressley opened the valve on : a transformer, letting the oil : run out, polluting the earth and water at the site. Montsanto's answer is that , although it does manufacture the fluid, its responsibility - ends with its sale to another ; party. 'i OF. also denies responsibil- , ity for the spill. ; ' Moss answers that its driver was faced with a sudden . emergency, not of the compa- 1 ny's creation and that his ac- * ` tion -- on instructions from a j dispatcher -- was reasonable | under the circumstances and j that the incident was unavoid-' , able anyway. 'I . .There are other cases I pending, brought by other I residents of the area, and it is 1 expected that the defendants I will. file similar answers to) j those complaints also. Ij DSW 325267 STLCOPCB4075447