Document e7mLB8qnGVOk5mMVkV4LneGmp

FILE NAME: WR Grace (WRG) DATE: August 15, 1997 DOC#: WRG004 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: 1997 Legal - WR Grace responses and objections to requests for production FromJ^ivid Egilman To: Barry Castleman Date: 9/10/97 Time: 2:35:40 PM Page 1 of 12 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA CLARENCE K. KINO, Executor of the ) Estate of CLARENCE O. KING, deceased, ) and NANCY A. KING, ) ) vs. ) ) ARMSTRONG WORLD INDUSTRIES, > INC. ) _________________________________ > NO. IP90-1547C ASBESTOS CASE W.R. GRACE A CO. - CONN.'S RESPONSES AND OBJECTIONS TO REQUESTS FOR PRODUCTION TO W.R- GRACE GENERAL OBJECTIONS W. R. Grace & Co.-Conn., formerly known as W. R. Grace & Co. ("GraceConn"), incorporates by reference its General Objections to its Answers and Objections to Interrogatories to W. R. Grace as if set forth in full herein. REQUESTS REQUEST 1 Please produce and provide to plaintiffs counsel any and all documents concerning the relationship between W JL Grace and/or any employee or board member of Grace including, but not limited to Peter Grace, or Dr. Graf and Dr. Otto Ambros including but not limited to: A. Any payments stubs or other documents regarding compensation paid to Dz. Ambros from Grace or Zonolite or Henry or other division of Grace from 1951 to 1990. B. Any information on life, disability or health insurance provided for Dr. Ambros by Grace or a subsidiary from 1951 to 1990. 09/10/97 14:53 TX/RX NO.0745 P.001 From Cavid Egilman To: Barry Castleman m Date: 9/10/97 Time: 2:35:40 PM Page 2 of 12 C. Any files containing information on Otto Ambros, including but not limited to: 1. Files o fPeter Grace, including but not limited to correspondence between Peter Grace and the United States Government State Department or Immigration and Naturalization Division regarding Ambros. 2. Files o fDr. Grafincluding but not limited to the files Dr. Graf mentioned in his deposition on January 20,1997, page 90, lines 3 17 in the case o f the Port Authority o fNew York v. Allied Signal, etal. D. Any and all correspondence between Grace or one of its divisions or agents and Dr. Ambros including but not limited to: 1. Any correspondence between Dr. Ambros and any European division of W.R. Grace. 2. Any correspondence to or from W.R. Grace and to or from Ambros from any United States or any other subdivision o f W.R. Grace, not limited to the Construction Products Division. E. Any and all memos, letters, and/or documents of any Grace division regarding Dr. Ambros. F. Any and all documents relating to Peter Grace's visits to Dr. Ambros in prison including but not limited to: 1. Airline receipts. 2. Hotel bills. G. Any and all records and correspondence between W.R. Grace and public relations firms regarding Dr. Ambros. H. Any names of individuals who worked for any division of W.R. Grace in any country, and who consulted with Otto Ambros. I. Any and all information regarding consultations with Ambros with respect to substitutes for Asbestos, including but not limited to, cellulose and polystyrene. 2 t 09/10/97 14:53 TX/RX NO.0745 P.002 From. David Egilman To: Barry Castleman F Date: 9/10/97 Time: 2:35:40 PM Page 3 of 12 RESPONSE I A-L Grace-Conn objects that these requests pertaining to Otto Ambros --a chemist who was one o fseveral I.G. Farben officials convicted o f war crimes after World War II and who later consulted for several companies after serving his prison term --are irrelevant to the subject matter o f this litigation and, thus, are not, in any respect, reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery o f admissible evidence. Upon information and belief, these requests are made, not in furtherance o f any legitimate purpose in this litigation, but solely to harass Grace-Conn and to further the crusade o f plaintiffs' listed expert, David S. Egilman, as a self-proclaimed expert on moral rights. In that regard, these requests presume "facts" that plaintiffs have no good faith basis to dunk are true. (For example, request IF presumes that Peter Grace visited Otto Ambros in prison --a feet Dr. Egilman has testified he has no evidence to support other than his own speculation that such visits "probably occurred.") The harassing nature o f the request is also reflected in their overbreadth and die undue burden and expense a response would require. For example, the requests are not limited to any asbestos-related consulting. They seek all documents pertaining to Ambros from all divisions of the company without any subject matter or time limitations (1C, D, and E); they seek documents containing the most minute and cumulative details o f compensation (1A, B) and travel arrangements (IF1-2). Request IH, in addition to being overly broad, is not a proper request under Rule 34. Without waiving or in any limiting these objections or the General Objections interposed above, Grace-Conn will produce, relevant, non* privileged documents to plaintiffs' counscT'uTBosrton^ Massachusetts at a mutually agieeable~5me. J REQUEST 2 ( f ' Any and all documents, records, invoices or other paper concerning sales or ; indicating that W JL Grace sold any product to any division ofI.G. Farben from 1930 to ,\ the present. RESPONSE 2 Grace-Conn objects to this request on die grounds that it is overly broad, unduly burdensome, irrelevant, immaterial and not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery o f admissible evidence. See farther Response 1, above. 3 1 09/10/97 14:53 TX/RX NO.0745 P.003 From: Qavid Egilman To: Barry Castleman * Date: 9/10/97 Time: 2:35:40 PM Page 4 of 12 REQUEST 3 Any and all documents, records, Invoices or any papers regarding the shipment of materials on the Grace line from anywhere in South America to any LG. Faxben subsidiary in Germany, Prance, or Portland (sic), or any other country from 1930 to the {resent. RESPONSE 3 See Response 2, above. Grace-Conn further objects on the grounds that die reference to "the Grace line" is vague and ambiguous. REQUEST 4 Any and all documents, records, invoices or other papers regarding sale o f raw asbestos fiber in the United States to Europe, or any other subdivision, including but not limited to: ' A. Sales of Calidria by W.R. Grace in Germany or any other country. B. Sale o f raw asbestos fiber by CPD in the United States. RESPONSE 4 Grace-Conn objects to this request on the grounds that it is overly broad, unduly burdensome, irrelevant, immaterial and not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. Raw fiber sales are not relevant to the subject matter of this litigation. Seles o f Calidria --a special use fiber --in Germany and other countries arc r certainly not relevant. In any event, the request for "all documents, records, invoices or . other papers" regarding such sales is unduly burdensome. Grace-Conn further objects y that the reference to "in the United States to Europe, or any other subdivision---- " is incomprehensible. REQUEST 5 As to sales o f raw asbestos fiber in the United States or any other country, please produce: A. Any sale receipts or any such products. B. The nature of the products sold, including information on whether or not they contained a warning label. C. Any warning information that may have accompanied the raw asbestos fiber that was sold. 4 09/10/97 14:53 TX/RX NO.0745 P.004 From: David Egilman To: Barry Castleman Date: 9/10/97 Time: 2:35:40 PM Page 5 of 12 D. Any information on W.R. Grace's purchase o f raw asbestos fiber prior to sale. . RESPONSE 5 Grace-Conn objects to this request on the grounds that it is overly broad, unduly burdensome, irrelevant, immaterial and not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery o f admissible evidence. Plaintiff does not allege any exposure by decedent worker to any raw asbestos fiber allegedly sold by GraceConn, and such sales, especially sales in other countries, are not otherwise relevant to the subject master of this litigation. In addition, Request 5A for all sales receipts fen all fiber sales is unduly burdensome, Request 5B is not &proper request under Rule 34, and Request 5D for all information concerning GraceConn fiber purchases is unduly burdensome. REQUEST 6 . All material relating to Zonolite kept in the possession of Earl Lovick, specifically but not limited to the boxes o f photographs o f the Libby, Montana operations not placed in the document repository in Boston. RESPONSE 6 Subject to foe General Objections interposed above, relevant, non-privileged, non trade secret documents responsive to this request will be produced to plaintiffs' counsel in Boston, Massachusetts at a mutually agreeable time. REQUEST 7 Date and time a representative ofplaintiffs law firm may review foe 400 boxes of material relating to the Libby, Montana operations o f Grace located on West Thomas Street in Libby mentioned by Marrazo (sic) on March S, 1996 in a deposition in Hurlburt (sic). RESPONSE 7 Grace-Cons is unable to respond to this request because there have never been any such number o f boxes on West Thomas Street in Libby, as evidenced by Marozzo. The questioner has misread Mr. Marozzo' deposition transcript. REQUEST 8 Any information on foe location of documents o f sales, the exact distribution o f sales, and/or customer lists for purchases of asbestos fiber from W.R. Grace. 5 09/10/97 14:53 TX/RX NO.0745 P.005 From: David Egilman To: Barry Castleman Date: 9/10/97 Time: 2:35:40 PM Page 6 of 12 RESPONSE 8 Grace-Conn objects to this request on the grounds that It is overly broad, unduly burdensome, irrelevant, immaterial and not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery o f admissible evidence and such purchases are not otherwise relevant to the subject matter of this litigation. Further, tibe request for all such information is unduly burdensome. Grace-Conn further objects on die grounds that this request is not a request for documents and things pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 34. REQUEST 9 Any boxes o fmaterial that relate to tre Zoaolite Mining Company that were kept in the possession of Earl Lovick in Libby, Montana, specifically but not limited to the boxes of photograph (sic) o f the Libby operations that have nevar been produced in the Grace document repository in Boston. RESPONSE 9 See Response No. 6, above. ' REQUEST 10 Please produce any and all warnings on the toxicity of any product that Grace produced from 1930 until 1997, not limited to products that contained asbestos, vexmiculite, or other asbestos containing product curfiber. RESPONSE 10 Grace-Conn objects to this request on the grounds that it is overly broad, unduly burdensome, irrelevant, immaterial and not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery o f admissible evidence. Subject to these objections and the General Objections interposed above, Grace-Conn states that non-priviieged, non-trade secret documents relevant to asbestos litigation will be produced in Boston, Massachusetts at a mutually agreeable time. REQUEST II Please produce any and all memos, documents, oomputer tapes, computer records, data bases, and e-mail regarding the production o f warnings on any and all products made by W.R. Grace. RESPONSE 11 See Response 10, above. 6 09/10/97 14:53 TX/RX NO.0745 P.006 hrorti ,David Egilman To: Barry Castleman Date: 9/10/97 Time: 2:35:40 PM Page 7 of 12 REQUEST 12 Please produce any and all memos regarding die production o f die material safety data sheets on vemaiculitc and vcrmiculite containing products. RESPONSE 12 Grace-Conn objects to this request on the grounds that it overly broad, unduly burdensome, irrelevant, immaterial and not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery o f admissible evidence in that it requests information regarding mom products than those at issue. Subject to these objections and the General Objections interposed above, GraceConn states that non-privileged, non-trade secret documents responsive to this request, limited to the products at issue, will be produced in Boston, Massachusetts at m utually agreeable time. REQUEST 13 . Please produce ah records concerning W.R. Grace's hiring o f German employees as ticket agents or other agents for the Grace line or Panagra beginning in the 1930s through the 1990s. RESPONSE 13 Grace-Conn objects to this request on the grounds that it is overly broad, unduly burdensome, irrelevant, immaterial and not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. Grace-Conn further objects a t the reference to "the Grace line" is vague and ambiguous. Grace-Conn further objects on the grounds that any inquiry regarding the nationality o f any person who was an employee of Grace-Conn represents an outrageous invasion of privacy and is not, in any respect, reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery o f admissible evidence. Rather, this request appears to be motivated by the desire of a consultant paid by plaintiffs' attorney to cause prejudice against GraceConn in the minds o fjurors. See further Response 1, above. REQUEST 14 . List o f names of all W.R. Grace employees who were German residents or citizens at the time o f their employment from 1930-1952, RESPONSE 14 See Response 13, above. 7 f 09/10/97 14:53 TX/RX NO.0745 P.007 From; David Egilman To: Barry Castleman Date: sm vB / lime; .w .-w i-TM. REQUEST 15 Any and all records o f visits made by Once personnel to Otto Ambros while he -was in prison from 1948 to 1951. RESPONSE 15 See Response 1, above. REQUEST 16 Please produoe all telegrams and other correspondence between W.R. Grace and Otto Ambros from the time period between 1945 and 1951, prior to Ms employment as a consultant W .R. Grace (sic). RESPONSE 16 See Response 1, above. REQUEST 17 Please provide all documents concerned with Grace's consulting with any I.G. Farben subsidiary on the manufacture of MonoKote 1,2 ,3 ,4 or 5, and the same question with the respect to the manufacture of polystyrene. RESPONSE 17 Grace-Conn objects to this request on the grounds that is overly broad, unduly burdensome, irrelevant, immaterial and not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. Subject to these objections and the General Objections interposed above, Gracc-Conn states that it is unaware o f any documents responsive to tins request and unaware of any basis for believing Grace-Conn ever consulted with any I.G. Farben subsidiary. See further Response !, above. REQUEST 18 Please provide &list o f all German residents who were Grace employed who filed for work,related illnesses from 1930 to 1997. RESPONSE 18 See Response 13, above. 8 09/10/97 14:53 TX/RX NO.0745 P.008 From: David Egilman To: Barry Castleman Date: 9/10/97 Time: 2:35:40 PM page a orn REQUEST 19 The names of the persons most knowledgeable at W.R. Grace with respect to consultation servioes provided fey Otto Ambros. RESPONSE 19 Grace-Conn objects to this request on the grounds that is not a request tor documents and things pursuant to Fed. R Civ* P* 34. Subject to toil o b j ^ t e and the General Objections interposed above, see Response 1, above. REQUEST 20 List o f all customers to whom Grace sells asbestos m asbestos-scsstsfring products. RESPONSE 20 O riis- Conn objects to this request on the grounds that it is overly breed, unduly burdensome, irrelevant, immaterial and not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery o f admissible evidence. REQUEST21 A. List o f all products sold or distributed by Grace containing venniculite. B. Identify and list the source o f the venniculite. C. Provide any and all materials related to testing the venniculite o? asbestos fiber content. RESPONSE 21 A. Grace-Conn objects to toll subpart to the extern tost it geeks documents . pM&a&sl fe rn disck&iit* by tos iStoaasy-cSioat privilege and/or attorney work product doctrine. Grace-Conn further e je c ts tm the groups!, thi 5 evsriy cross, assslaly burdensome, irrelevant, immaterial and net reasonably calculated to lead to toe dfscivs^y &fadmlssihlt u~, EEiSSHtESi &IHS?It f^gtsrdisg products to which plaintiffs do not allege that decedent worker was saposad. Sufegoet to toto -ahjotoitMi s t ; ----- ! l l j . ,*2z=z ^ ts^ e ssd above, Grace-Conn states toat relevant, non-piivileged, asm-trade ascsst d ^ s sss * z to this request, to too otosnt they exist, will be produced in Boston, Massachusetts at a mutually sgssot?c "1 9 I 09/10/97 14:53 TX/RX NO.0745 P.009 t-rom: uavia tgiiman ia: cany uastieman U ttltS . 9 M U / V S UIHW . riv i B. Grace-Conn otyccts to this subpart on the grounds that it is not a request for document* end things pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 34. C. . Grace-Conn objects to this subpart on the groundj that it is overly broad, unduly burdensome, irrelevant; immaterial and not reasonably calculated to laad to th* discovery o f admissible evidence. Subject to this objection and flit General Objections interposed above, Grace-Conn state that responsive, non-privileged, non-trade secret documents concerning productsrelevant to this litigation will be produced to plaintfffi* counsel in Boston, Massachusetts at a mutually agreeable tim e. REQUEST 22 Please provide the names o f all consultants who evaluated asbestos content o f venniculite for WJfL Grace, including hut not limited to Arthur D. Little employees and all documents, writings, papers, minutes, reports generated by such consultations. A. List the names, address and telephone number o f each Grace consultant. RESPONSE 22 Grace-Conn objects to this request on die grounds that, in part, it is not a request for documents pursuant to Fed. R, Civ. P. 34. Subject to this objection and the General Objections interposed above, see Response 21 C, above. REQUEST 23 Copy of the death certificate for the worker who developed mesothelioma as described in the review article by Wcdler in 1943, and any and all records concerning that person such as life insurance paid, workers compensation paid, record o f workers' compensation filing, etc. RESPONSE 23 Grace-Conn objects that this request is unintelligible because no title or citation is given for "the review article by 'Wcdler** referred to in the request nor is "the worker" for 10 09/10/97 14:53 TX/RX NO.0745 P.010 From: Qavid Egilman To: Barry Castleman S' Date: 9/ 1U// Iime: z:od:"*u rivi whom information is sought identified. Grace-Conn is aware of a 1943 article by Wedler entitled Uber den Lungenkrebs bei Asbestose, but the article refers to many case histories and does not contain the word "mesothelioma." W.R. GRACE A CO. CONN., By its $ DATED: 107292 'M ark J. Dinsmore, Atty.No. 17930-49 BARNES & THORNBURG 11 South Meridian Street, Suite 1313 Indianapolis, IN 46204 (317)638-1313 11 09/10/97 14:53 TX/RX NO.0745 P.011 From: Qp/id Ejtfltnan To: Barry Cattleman Date: 9/10/97 Time: 2:35:40 v m CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE The undersigned hereby certifies that a copy o f the foregoing been served this 15th day of August, 1997, by depositing a copy o fthe same in the United States mail, first class postage prepaid and properly addressed to the following counsel o f record: William N. Riley, Esq. Mark K. Dudley, Esq. YOUNG & RILEY 277 East 12th Street Indianapolis, IN 46202 Richard S. Ewing, Esq. David A. Temple, Esq. STEWART & IRWIN 251 East Ohio Street Two Market Square Center Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN 46204 George E. Purdy, Esq. Debra L. Bums, Esq. b se m ckjnney & ev a n s 2700 First Indiana Plaza 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Indianapolis, IN 46204 Robert Paul, Esq. Alan I. Reich, Esq. Richard P. Myers, Esq. Eliot Present, Esq. PAUL REICH & MYERS, P.C. 1608 Walnut Street, Suite 500 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Robin L. Babbitt, Esq. Dennis F. Cantrell, Esq. BINGHAM SUMMER WELSH & SPILMAN 2700 Market Tower 10 West Market Street Indianapolis, IN 46204-2982 09/10/97 14:53 TX/RX NO.0745 P.012