Document rexbxnVkEbKReDRBEMX0neYp7

FILE NAME Allied Signal Bendix ASB DATE 1997 DOC ASB001 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION Legal - Excerpts - Plaintiff's Responses to Interrogatories litigation claims exposure and for that reason the formulation of a full and accurate answer is not possible Further this Interrogatory is vague ambiguous overly broad unduly burdensome oppressive irrelevant time consuming and oppressive and not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence Subject to and without waiving said objections although AlliedSignal does not believe there is any health hazard associated with the proper use of its friction products since October of 1973 in recognition of OSHA regulations concerning asbestos exposure a warning label has been placed on all cartons and boxes of containing friction products shipped to customers AlliedSignal and its predecessors have complied with OSHA warning regulations even though it has never been determined that exposure to friction products results in an exposure to asbestos fibers equal to or in excess of OSHA exposure limits for asbestos fibers From October 1973 until August 1986 the warning label read as follows CAUTION CONTAINS ASBESTOS FIBERS AVOID CREATING DUST BREATHING ASBESTOS MAY CAUSE SERIOUS BODILY HARM From September 1986 until the present the warning label reads as follows DANGER CONTAINS ASBESTOS FIBERS AVOID CREATING DUST CANCER AND LUNG DISEASE HAZARD - 11 Identify by date issued patent number patent application number and product name every patent for asbestos free products held by issued to or applied for by you or by any of your employees DEFENDANT ALLIEDSIGNAL INC.'S OBJECTIONS AND RESPONSES TO PLAINTIFFS FIRST SET OF INTERROGATORIES - PAGE 16 02265 09931 LIT 207995 RESPONSE AlliedSignal objects to this Interrogatory on the grounds that it does not focus on relevant time period or product identified as a product to which the Plaintiff in this litigation claims exposure and for that reason the formulation of a full and accurate answer is not possible This Interrogatory is vague ambiguous overly broad unduly burdensome oppressive irrelevant consuming and expensive and not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of | admissible evidence Subject to and without waiving said objections see response to Interrogatory No. 2 which is fully incorporated herein by reference 65 Identify any brake service manuals which would have accompanied your friction and brake products or which would have been made available to persons or businesses using or applying your friction and brake products during the years 1930 to the present RESPONSE AlliedSignal objects to this Interrogatory on the grounds that it is overly broad not limited in time and scope unduly burdensome oppressive vague ambiguous and seeks information neither relevant nor reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence Defendant objects that this Interrogatory is beyond the scope of permissible discovery It is unreasonable to ask AlliedSignal to identify documents regarding product it ever sold at any time to anyone in the entire world Subject to and without waiving said objections in 1977 The Bendix Corporation first mailed to its distributors and rebuilder customers copies of the Friction Materials Standards c Institute's Brake Lining and Clutch Facing Automotive Data Book which contained a section rs en entitled Recommended Procedures For Reducing Asbestos Dust During Brake Servicing Since DEFENDANT ALLIEDSIGNAL INC.'S OBJECTIONS AND RESPONSES TO PLAINTIFFS FIRST SET OF INTERROGATORIES PAGE 62 Aaeet ease - 1977 subsequent editions of the FMSI data book also containing a section entitled Recommended Procedures For Reducing Asbestos Dust During Brake Servicing have been distributed to customers by The Bendix Corporation and its successors Allied Corporation's Automotive Section and AlliedSignal Inc.'s Automotive Sector In March 1979 The Bendix Corporation by means of a general bulletin mailed to its distributors and rebuilder customers a Friction Materials Standards Institute publication dated October 1978 entitled Friction Materials Work Practices Guide During 1984 and 1985 Allied Corporation's Automotive Section mailed Product Fact Sheets to all customers Beginning July 30 1986 Allied Corporation's Automotive Sector distributed a Material Safety Data Sheet to all customers Beginning March 1 1988 AlliedSignal Inc.'s Automotive Sector distributed a Material Safety Data Sheet to all customers 66 Identify any guidelines data books instructions memoranda manuals and documents that recommend procedures for reducing asbestos dust during brake and friction product application removal and servicing for the years 1930 through the present RESPONSE AlliedSignal objects to this Interrogatory on the grounds that it is overly broad not limited in time and scope and unduly burdensome harassing vague ambiguous and seeks information neither relevant nor reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence Defendant objects that this Interrogatory is beyond the scope of permissible discovery It is unreasonable to ask AlliedSignal to identify documents regarding every product it ever sold at any time to anyone in the entire world Subject to and without waiving said objections in 1977 The Bendix Corporation first mailed to its distributors and rebuilder customers copies of the Friction Materials Standards DEFENDANT ALLIEDSIGNAL INC.'S OBJECTIONS AND RESPONSES TO PLAINTIFFS FIRST SET OF INTERROGATORIES PAGE 63 AF s amma sam seeees - AlliedSignal further objects to the extent the inquiry seeks the identity of consulting experts whose opinions and expressions have not been reviewed by a testifying expert in violation of Tex Rule Civ Proc 166b Without waiving these objections AlliedSignal states that it does not have a medical department but at various times AlliedSignal and its predecessors have employed or retained physicians from the local community in which its facilities were located to perform routine physical examination and to administer medical treatment to its employees as and when necessary AlliedSignal has employed the following industrial hygienists ee en a Stanford K. Christian Charles C. Clark Sondra Johnson Jenkins Linda Parrish Thomas Rancour James Weber Ben Wong Industrial hygienists are assigned to the Automotive Sector AlliedSignal Inc. Southfield Michigan 18 Please state a The year that your company or any predecessor or subsidiary was first advised of either threshold limit values TLV or maximum allowable concentrations of asbestos dust silica dust and total dust by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists or any other organization b State the name of the employee or official of the company receiving such advice and attach copies of the instrument communicating such advice c | Were such threshold limit values or maximum allowable concentrations TOTAL dust and not just asbestos dust and DEFENDANT ALLIEDSIGNAL INC.'S OBJECTIONS AND RESPONSES TO PLAINTIFFS FIRST SET OF INTERROGATORIES - PAGE 23 02265 09931 LIT 207995 RESPONSE AlliedSignal objects to this Interrogatory on the grounds that it is overly broad unduly burdensome oppressive harassing vague ambiguous and seeks information which is not relevant to the subject matter in this litigation and is not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence Subject to and without waiving its objections AlliedSignal's predecessors have manufactured and sold both containing and asbestos friction products The development of asbestos friction products is an ongoing evolutionary process Without seriously compromising the critical safety function of brakes it is not yet possible to eliminate asbestos from all friction products for all vehicular applications This is particularly true for vehicles in the aftermarket where braking systems were designed initially with asbestoscontaining linings or pads AlliedSignal and its predecessors have conducted and continue to conduct research and development to design and produce asbestos friction products This has been accomplished by replacing the fiber reinforcement and bulk volume characteristics of processed chrysotile asbestos fiber with chopped steel wool iron powder sponge iron particles and natural or manmade fibers Asbestos brake blocks for super heavy drum brakes e.g. logging and mining trucks were introduced in 1966. Asbestos disc brake pads for service applications e.g. ambulance police cars and taxis introduced in 1969 Asbestos disc brake pads for passenger cars and light trucks were introduced in 1971 Asbestos drum brake lining segments for OEM and OES passenger cars and light trucks were introduced in 1983. Asbestos brake blocks for heavy vehicles utilizing air brake systems e.g. trailers were introduced in 1983. Asbestos motorcycle brake pads including brake pads for terrain vehicles road vehicles and touring models were DEFENDANT ALLIEDSIGNAL INC.'S OBJECTIONS AND RESPONSES TO PLAINTIFFS FIRST SET OF INTERROGATORIES PAGE 17 02265 00011 FIT 90700 introduced in 1987. Asbestos drum brake lining segments and disc brake pads for most passenger car and light truck aftermarket applications were introduced in 1988. A full line of asbestos brake blocks for heavy vehicles was introduced in 1988 12 Has the answering defendant been sued under its correct name and in the correct capacity If not please state why it has been sued in the wrong capacity and state the correct legal name of the defendant and provide the following information a Principal place of business b State of incorporation c Date of incorporation or date the division was formed and d The years defendant or any subsidiary or predecessor was authorized to transact business in Texas RESPONSE AlliedSignal does not contest service in this matter 13. Considering the contents of asbestos containing products mined manufactured distributed relabeled supplied sold assembled marketed or advertised by you the method of manufacturing and the method of application can your products be generally installed or applied without liberating respirable asbestos fibers If there is a different answer concerning different products manufactured sold distributed or mined by your company then answer this interrogatory for each product and identify it by exact manufacturer's name and popular name If there is a difference in your answer depending on the year or years in which a particular product was used then specify in specific detail what year or years you are referring to and the to as to eachyear- e products you are referring . RESPONSE Yes 14 Was it a foreseeable use of your containing products that they may have to be removed stripped cut sawed ground or replaced at any time after installation DEFENDANT ALLIEDSIGNAL INC.'S OBJECTIONS AND RESPONSES TO PLAINTIFFS FIRST SET OF INTERROGATORIES PAGE 18 02265 09931 LIT 207995 x - NO 95G0712 WELDON BOULDIN ET AL VS. ABEX CORPORATION ET AL cos IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF cos cos BRAZORIA COUNTY TEXAS cos 239TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT DEFENDANT ALLIEDSIGNAL INC.'S OBJECTIONS AND RESPONSES TO PLAINTIFFS FIRST SET OF INTERROGATORIES TO Plaintiffs by and through their attorney of record George E. Cire Jr. Taylor & Cire 3400 One Allen Center Houston Texas 77002 COMES NOW AlliedSignal Inc. AlliedSignal one of the Defendants in the aboveentitled and numbered cause and pursuant to Rule 168 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure files this its Objections and Answers to Plaintiffs First Set of Interrogatories as follows GENERAL OBJECTIONS 1 AlliedSignal objects to Plaintiffs First Set of Interrogatories on the grounds and to the extent that they are beyond the scope of permissible discovery Plaintiffs should be required to focus their First Set of Interrogatories on 1 the places of employment in which Weldon Bouldin worked and at which they believe Weldon Bouldin was exposed to asbestos- containing products and 2 the relevant dates during which Weldon Bouldin worked at such places Only then could AlliedSignal attempt to make a reasonable investigation to determine if it sold any containing products to such employer at such time when Weldon Bouldin was employed 2. AlliedSignal objects to Plaintiffs First Set of Interrogatories pursuant to Rule 168 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure which provides that the number of questions including subsections in a set of interrogatories shall be limited so as not to require more than DEFENDANT ALLIEDSIGNAL INC.'S OBJECTIONS AND RESPONSES TO PI AINTibco riST SET An T nn mae VERIFICATION STATE OF MICHIGAN COUNTY OF OAKLAND SS cos J. KENNETH WAINWRIGHT JR being first duly sworn upon his oath at law deposes and says 1 I am Associate General Counsel for Defendant AlliedSignal Inc. I am authorized to sign the foregoing evidence supporting AlliedSignal's Answers and Objections to Plaintiff's First Set of Interrogatories 2 The answers and objections were prepared with the assistance and advice of counsel and other representatives of AlliedSignal Inc. The information contained in the answers and objections was furnished by various employees of and departments within AlliedSignal Inc. and has been derived from business records maintained by AlliedSignal Inc. 3. While I do not have personal knowledge of the facts recited in the answers and objections they are true to the best of my knowledge information and belief Mutt Many~- 7 J. Kenneth Wainwright Jr. February Subscribed and 25th day of me this 1997 February February Shookust Shookust Notary Public ; Oakland County Michigan ' My Commission Expires 4 5-99 5-99 5 |