Document 8qpaX5X10795oBp9Z2ovXpNB

w-io-ao i 4i1tiHM i bibNVbNlli bUSIbK-* 9U4 99 I 033 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OP LOUISIANA GEORGE R. DOUGLAS and. BONNIE MORALES DOUGLAS * * VERSUS * * ALLIED-SIGNAL, INC., ET * * A*L************************* * * * *** , CIVIL ACTION NO. 93-235B SECTION E MAG. DIV. 2 AMagHRfl-TOJCiraaRROflATORTBfl NOW COMES defendant, Rockwell International Corporation, who for answer to plaintiffs' interrogatories states as follows: INTERROGATORS N0,_1 Please identify any change in defendant's.name from January 1, 1970, through present (including the date of such name change). If it is defendant's position that plaintiffs have sued it under an incorrect corporate name, please identify the name under which defendant asserts it should have been sued. ANEflSR.. TO-,,.INTERROGATORY .NO. 1. . From January 1, 1970, to February 1973, asbestos-containing brake products were manufactured from time to time by North American Rockwell. That company was merged into defendant Rockwell International Corporation in February 1973. INTERROGATORS NO. 2 Please identify all insurance carriers (primary and excess) or persons from whom defendant is entitled to indemnity fox the liability asserted in plaintiffs' petition, and include the dates V IW-OO I 4i17PM ; BIENVENU, FOSTER- 504 051 65925# of coverage, policy number(s), limits of liability (including occurrence and aggregated limits), and amounts of aggregate limits exhausted, AN3WB3. TQ INTERROGATORY NO. 9 The answers to this interrogatory are contained in Rockwell's insurance policies and related documents, which will be made available for inspection at the offices of Rockwell's National Coordinating Counsel, Shea & Gardner, 1800 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W,, Washington, D.C. 20036, INTERROGATOR? NO. 3 Identify (by trade name and manufacturer) all products which contained asbestos (or components of products which contained asbestos) involved in installation or maintenance of brakes which you manufactured, distributed, or sold to any of the following from 1976 through September 25, 1992: NAPA Parts in Kenner, Louisiana; Fleet Heavy Duty Parts in Karahan, Louisiana; .Heavy Duty Truck Parts in Harahan, Louisiana; Nabors Trailers, Inc; Steego Transportation Equipment Centers, Inc,; LaPine Trucks & Trailers, Inc.; LaPine Truck Sales & Equipment Co.; Ludwig Building Systems, Inc.; or Transamerica Leasing, Inc. at any time from 1976 through September 25, 1992. State with specificity the information on which defendant relied in answering this Interrogatory. ANSWER TO INTERRQGATDR^NQ- 3 Rockwell's sales records reveal no sales of asbestoscontaining products to the listed firms during the specified period. Sales records do not exist for the period 1976 through  *' i inn i tJifcNVENU, FOSTER-* 504 651 8592 September 1577; reoorda are incomplete for the period October 1980 through September 1981, Rockwell's sales records, however, do indicate de minimis sales of brake shoes (a total of seven shoes) with asbestos-containing linings to a company known as "Heavy Duty Parts and Equipment," located in Harahan, Louisiana, during the years 1987-89, Rockwell's sales records also indicate sales of air disc brake lining kits, containing non-wearable asbestos backings, but non-asbestos linings, to "Heavy Duty Parts and Equipment" during the years 1963-88, Rockwall's sales records further indicate minimis sales of brake shoes (a total of 10 shoes) with asbestos-containing linings to a company known as "Pleat Parts and Equipment" in New Orleans, Louisiana, during the years 1978-83, IBMRftOgMP&Z.JKQ 4 For each product identified in Interrogatory 3, identify the percentage of asbestos in said product, type of asbestos fiber in said product, and from whom said asbestos fiber was obtained. ANSWER TO INTERROGATORY NO. 4 Rockwell did not manufacture any asbestos-containing brake linings or backings used in its brake shoes or kits, but purchased, than from other,manufacturers, Rockwell understands that all such .linings and baokings^wer made of chrysotile asbestos, but does not know the answer to the remainder of this interrogatory. XNEBRRQQ&gQRZ-MCh -5, Identify when and how defendant first beoams aware of any health hazard associated with asbestos exposure. AflSMBR^M. INTERROGATOR? 5 .Jtiaa be^n_^aware--a-inc-e.-.some time in the 1960s of an association between _exposure^of certain types of workers to high levels o_ asbestos fiber,, over long periods of time, and the disease of asbeatpais. Rockwell does not know how it first became aware of this association, other than by general reputation within the manufacturing sector of industry, U.S. and Canadian government bodies, and a general, periodic review of medical and scientific literature. Rockwell is aware that a causal time-dose relationship has been statistically shown, for certain susceptible persons, between the inhalation of asbestos and bronchogenic cancer (chiefly among cigarette smokers) and, in the case of amphibole asbestos, mesothelioma. Rockwell first became aware of these associations in the 1960s from general medical, scientific, and public-press reports discussing these `associations. Rockwell is aware that certain authors havB suggested that associations may exist between exposure to asbestos and certain other types of cancBr, but it understands that the existence of those associations is the subject of dispute within the medical profession. Rockwell was `not aware, however, until the late 1970s that some authors, have -associated Jlow levels^ of asbestos dust exposure ipyoLyed.__in typical brake installation and repair work with asbestosis and cancer, and Rockwell still doubts such associations. r VVWIIW - u-io-ao . 419PM J BIENVENU, FOSTER' 504 651 6592 INTERROGATORY NO. 6 Please describe in detail the procedures used by defendant to keep up with on-going research and development of hazards associated with asbestos exposure. ANSWER _TQ_ INTERROGATORY NO. 6 Rockwell personnel responsible for OSHA compliance monitor publications relating to such compliance, and Rockwell has maintained membership in trade associations that keep up with on going research and development of potential hazards associated with the_uae- of__ asbestos ih_ brake products. Interrogatory No, 5. See also Answer to INTERROGATORY NO. 7 Please describe and identify any warnings (regarding health hazards associated with asbestos) provided with each product identified in Interrogatory No. 3. ANSWER TO_INTERROGATORY_NQ. 7 Beginning in 1976 or 1979, Rockwell sent product literature to customers of its asbestos-containing brake products that included one of the following: "IMPORTANT: All brake linings contain asbestos fibers. Avoid creating dust. Breathing asbestos dust may cause . serious bodily harm," "IMPORTANT: Brake linings contain asbestos fibers. Caution should be exercised in handling and maintenance as described in OSHA regulation (29 C.P.R, Part 1910.1001) ." . "IMPORTANT: Most brake linings contain asbestos. Be careful when you work with asbestos material. Read OSHA regulation (29 C.P.R. 1910.1001)." * *' i 3rwi ) DitNVSNUi rUblfcK-* b(J4 651 6592 In 19S6, warnings on suoh product literature were changed to read as follows: "Warning. Many brake linings contain asbestos fibers, a cancer and lung disease hazard. Sisk much greater for smokers. Avoid creating and breathing dust. Consult employer and wear respirator if necessary. See Rockwell field maintenance manual for more details." ` "IMPORTANT; Many brake linings contain asbestos fibers, a cancer and lung disease hazard. Caution should be exercised in handling and maintenance as described below." Also beginning in 1978 or 1979, Rockwell included a series of safe work practices designed to reduce exposure to asbestos during brake installation and maintenance in its "field maintenance manuals," which set forth procedures for installing, maintaining, and repairing Rockwell brakeB. . Material safety data sheets prepared by Rockwell for asbestos- containing brake linings have been shipped to Rockwell's customers since 1986. IttTSRRQgATQSX JflQ ,,J1 Identify all prior claims against defendant for asbestos- related disease and include the court and case number of said claim. Identify those claims on which judgments were rendered after.trial on the merits, ANSWER TO INTERROGATORY NO. q Rockwell objects to the first sentence of this interrogatory on the ground that the answer would neither contain nor be reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. The answer to the second sentence is "none." w g <j > V'iiUPM J BIENVENU, FOSTER-* 504 651 6592J#`i BIENVENU, FOSTER, RYAN & 0'BANNON BY: M. GLENN, JR, (#6060) fOQ Alerion Bank Building 200 Carond'elet Street New Orleans, LA 70130-7964 (604) 381-2146 SHEA & GARDNER David Booth Baers Richard A. Nagarada 1800 Massachusetts Ave., Washington, D.C. 20036 (202) 82S-2GQO N.W. Attorneys for Defendant, Rockwell International Corporation ffl&EIEXCATS I hereby certify that copy of the foregoing has been served upon counsel of record by depositing sane in the U.S, mail, postage / 1993.