/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/CAR_Public/130412.mbx             C L A S S   A C T I O N   R E P O R T E R

              Friday, April 12, 2013, Vol. 15, No. 72

                             Headlines



AAR CORP: Shareholders' Class Suit Dismissed With Prejudice
ABB: Class Action Ruling May Trigger Asbestos-Like Cases
AMAG PHARMACEUTICALS: Wants Appeals Court to Reconsider Order
ANHEUSER-BUSCH: Attempts to Silence Budweiser Suit Whistleblower
APPLE INC: Judge Denies Certification of Poaching Class Action

ARTIO GLOBAL: Faces Two Suits Over Acquisition by Aberdeen
BAYER CORP: Wants N.J. Court to Centralize Mirena Lawsuits
BP PLC: Claims Administrator Balks at Bid to Halt Payments
CAL-MAINE FOODS: Discovery Ongoing in Egg Products Class Suits
CELLCOM ISRAEL: Appeal in Suit Over Call Detail Service Pending

CELLCOM ISRAEL: Awaits Approval of Calling Cards Suit Settlement
CELLCOM ISRAEL: Continues to Defend Suits Alleging Discrimination
CELLCOM ISRAEL: Continues to Defend Suits Brought by Subscribers
CELLCOM ISRAEL: Continues to Defend Suits Over Commercial Texts
CELLCOM ISRAEL: Defends Suit Over Non-Ionizing Radiation Hazard

CELLCOM ISRAEL: Defends Suits Over Customer Care Provision
CELLCOM ISRAEL: Suit Over 2010 Network Malfunction Pending
CELLCOM ISRAEL: Suit Over Phone Accessory Hazards Remains Pending
CELLCOM ISRAEL: Suits Alleging Company Misled Subscribers Pending
CENTERVILLE PIE: Recalls Clam Pies Due to Undeclared Anchovies

EI DU PONT: Imprelis Class Action May See Settlement Soon
FACTOR SALES: Cashiers' Suit Gets Conditional Class Certification
GRAIN PROCESSING: Appeal Over Dismissal of Class Action Mulled
HERTZ GLOBAL: "Sobel" Suit Parties to Engage in Mediation Again
HERTZ GLOBAL: Appeal From Approval of "Shames" Suit Deal Pending

HERTZ GLOBAL: Continues to Mediate to Settle "Davis" Class Suit
HERTZ GLOBAL: April Hearing Set on Accord in "Fun Services" Suit
HIGHER ONE: Agreement in Suits v. Visa/Mastercard Yet to Be Filed
HIGHER ONE: Defends Suits Alleging Violations of Consumer Laws
JOHNSON & JOHNSON: Tylenol MDL Approved in Pennsylvania

LI-ON BATTERY MAKERS: Lead Counsel in Price-Fixing Suit Named
NAT'L FOOTBALL: Goldberg Discusses Possible Class Action Defenses
NATIONAL FORECLOSURE: Employees Get Partial Class Certification
NORTH CAROLINA: Class Action Challenges Medicaid Program Ruling
NOVA SCOTIA HOME: June 10 Certification Hearing Set for Abuse Suit

PACIFIC SUNWEAR: "Pfeiffer" Wage & Hour Suit in Discovery Stage
PACIFIC SUNWEAR: "Beeney" Wage & Hour Suit in Discovery Stage
PEOPLES BANCORP: Bank Unit Faces Class Suit in Lincoln County
PFIZER INC: Zoloft MDL Judge Notes on Precedential Rulings
SCBT FINANCIAL: Inks MOU to Settle Savannah Acquisition Suit

SCBT FINANCIAL: Still Awaits OK of "Arnette" Suit Settlement
SMART ONLINE: "Beauregard" Suit Adversely Affected Fund Raising
SYNOPSYS INC: Has Final OK of Accord in Magma Acquisition Suits
VITACOST.COM INC: Argument in "Miyahira" Suit Set for This Week
WAL-MART: Plaintiffs Can't Rely on Akin Gump Memo in Class Action

WAL-MART: Says Plaintiffs Can't Use Mexico Bribery Internal Emails
WYETH: Fen-Phen Doctor Gets 72 Months in Prison for Fraud Scheme

* Mayer Brown Discusses Use of Article III in Class Action


                      Asbestos Litigation

ASBESTOS UPDATE: Magnetek Inc. Continues to Defend Lawsuits
ASBESTOS UPDATE: U.S. Auto Parts Units Continue to Defend Suits
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Cyalume Technologies Owns Facility With Fibro
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Park-Ohio Industries Has 280 Exposure Cases
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Berkshire Income Realty Owns Fibro Properties

ASBESTOS UPDATE: Last Suit v. CCOM Group Unit Dismissed
ASBESTOS UPDATE: H.B. Fuller Records $1.5MM Settlement Amount
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Ameren Energy Unit Had Five Lawsuits at Dec. 31
ASBESTOS UPDATE: American Locker Had 32 Cases at March 25
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Decision on Unit's Estimation Expected by May

ASBESTOS UPDATE: $5.2MM Award to Mesothelioma Victim Affirmed
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Order Denying Administrator Appointment Affirmed
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Firm May Recover Legal Fees From Travelers
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Found in 23 Northern Ireland Hospitals
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Remains Major Threat in Europe and Beyond

ASBESTOS UPDATE: Sandwell Hospital to Spend GBP2.8MM in Clean-up
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Concerns Over Fibro in Sunderland Schools Remain
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Ex-West Australia MP Sues State Over Mesothelioma
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Sydney Police Hunts Fibro-Dumping Truck
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro-Containing Dusts Found in Calif. Bldgs.

ASBESTOS UPDATE: Hidden Risk Could Lurk in Old Furnaces
ASBESTOS UPDATE: NSW Minister Seeks Review of Dumper's Judgment
ASBESTOS UPDATE: South African Victims Suffer Lonely Battle
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Materials Found in Canberra Cycling Track
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Aussie Minister Proposes Nat'l Response Agency

ASBESTOS UPDATE: Blackdog Residents Fear Fibro in Substation
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Feds Seek to Junk Suit v. Guilty Business Owner
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Report Gives Hope to Macleay Island Residents
ASBESTOS UPDATE: NSW Leader Calls for Touger Penalties for Dumping
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Wis. Solon Introduces Claims-Transparency Bill

ASBESTOS UPDATE: Facts on Fibro Importation From Brazil Unveiled
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Britannia Hotels Fined for Exposure Risk
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Surrey to Pay Extra C$225,000 for Fibro in Pipes
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Mass. Town to Vote on $100,000 Abatement Spending
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Libby Victims' Lawyers Get $4MM in Fees

ASBESTOS UPDATE: Quebec on the Verge of Ending Fibro Industry
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Cramlington Management Experts Expand Operations
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Exposure Leads to Death of Old Catton Man
ASBESTOS UPDATE: US Surgeons Urge Citizens to Learn Fibro Hazards
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Ohio Bldg. Owner Fined for Improper Demolition

ASBESTOS UPDATE: Baron and Budd Joins ADAO in Battling Crisis
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fiji OHS Starts Probe in Secondary School
ASBESTOS UPDATE: State Funeral to be Held for Aussie Politician
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Former Student Diagnosed With Mesothelioma
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Found in Proposed Isle of Wight Project

ASBESTOS UPDATE: Town Mayor Seeks Support for "Post-Asbestos" Era
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Scottish Pupils at Risk to Cancer-Causing Fibres
ASBESTOS UPDATE: West Va. Parents Concerned Over Fibro in Schools
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Removal Questionable at NY Sugar Refinery
ASBESTOS UPDATE: MEPS Call for EU to Increase Removal Measures

ASBESTOS UPDATE: Construction May Disturb Contaminated Soil
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Bid to Unify Claims to Alter Litigation Landscape
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Ottawa Neighborhood Groups Fear Bldg. Check Gaps
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Washington Passes Labelling Bill
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Surrey Roads Repaired With Fibro-Containing Tiles

ASBESTOS UPDATE: Widow of Mesothelioma Victim Launches Legal Fight
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Libby Victims Could Receive Medicare Compensation
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Queensland Company Tests Positive in Fibro
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Trucker Exposed to Fibro Considers Suing Firm
ASBESTOS UPDATE: Newfoundland Completes Registry of Mine Workers


                             *********


AAR CORP: Shareholders' Class Suit Dismissed With Prejudice
-----------------------------------------------------------
District Judge Amy J. St. Eve dismissed in its entirety the
lawsuit captioned PAUL NOBLE, on behalf of himself and all others
similarly situated, Plaintiff, v. AAR CORP., DAVID P. STORCH,
RONALD B. WOODWARD, TIMOTHY J. ROMENSESKO, NORMAN R. BOBINS,
RONALD R. FOGELMAN, JAMES G. BROCKSMITH, JR., PETER PACE, MICHAEL
R. BOYCE, JAMES E. GOODWIN, MARC J. WALFISH, and PATRICK J. KELLY,
Defendants, Case No. 12 C 7973, (N.D. Ill.).

On October 4, 2012, AAR Corp. and AAR's Board of Directors removed
the shareholder Class Action Complaint from the Circuit Court of
DuPage County, Chancery Division, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sections
1441 and 1446.  On October 5, 2012, Paul A. Noble filed a motion
for a temporary restraining order regarding a shareholder vote on
the Board's "say on pay" proposal required by Section 951 of the
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010,
15 U.S.C. Section 78n-1.  On October 9, 2012, after conducting a
hearing, the Court denied Mr. Noble's motion. At AAR's annual
meeting held on October 10, 2012, 77% of the shares voting cast an
advisory vote in favor of the Board's "say on pay" proposal that
is at issue in this lawsuit.

The Defendants filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P.
Rule 12(b)(6). In response to Defendants' motion to dismiss, the
Plaintiff asserts that he is not seeking money damages. Instead,
he argues that a material disclosure violation typically creates
per se irreparable harm.

The Court held that the Plaintiff's argument is not supported by
the legal authority upon which he relies, especially at this
procedural posture. The Plaintiff does not articulate or
substantiate how the alleged omissions from the "say on pay"
proposal caused shareholder injury as required under Delaware law,
says the Court.

Accordingly, the Court granted the Defendants' motion to dismiss
with prejudice.

A copy of the District Court's April 3, 2013 Memorandum Opinion
and Order is available at http://is.gd/Gu5u5vfrom Leagle.com.


ABB: Class Action Ruling May Trigger Asbestos-Like Cases
--------------------------------------------------------
According to Smirkingchimp.com's Dave Lindorff, short-sellers and
the plaintiff's bar have a lot in common.  Short-sellers attack
companies they consider over-valued.  Plaintiff's attorneys file
class-action suits on contingency against firms they think are
committing fraud.  Both can win big or lose big.  Both are widely
hated by corporate America.

Enter Jerry Schlichter, a plaintiff's attorney whose St. Louis
worker injury law firm Schlichter Bogard & Denton last year won a
big judgment in federal district court against technology firm ABB
and its 401(k) provider, Fidelity Management Trust, a leading
provider of 401(k) investment plans.

In a March 2012 ruling that has roiled the retirement world, the
court awarded plan participants at ABB $36.9 million, plus court
costs and legal fees of $50 million.  It was a big victory for
Mr. Schlichter, who since 2006 has filed a raft of lawsuits over
allegedly excessive fees charged to employees for their 401(k)
plans.

Although Mr. Schlichter and other attorneys have also lost their
share of excessive fee class action suits, the ABB verdict, now on
appeal in the 8th Circuit, as well as hefty settlements with
Caterpillar and General Dynamics, is nonetheless a shot across the
bow of the 401(k) industry.

It warns plan sponsors large and small that they need to analyze
the plans they offer their employees better and to accept their
ERISA-mandated fiduciary responsibility to provide retirement
plans with reasonable recordkeeping, administrative and investment
fees.  And it alerts employees that their plans may be ripping
them off, or at least serving them poorly.

Throughout the retirement industry, people are talking about the
implications of Tussey et al v. ABB.  Some fear it will trigger a
tsunami of similar cases, creating the kind of legal disaster that
asbestos and tobacco liability cases once provided.  Others say it
is headed for the US Supreme Court.  Either way, it's widely
acknowledged that a new era of fee transparency, fee competition
and fee compression has arrived.

Why all the fuss about fees? Small differences in such fees,
compounded over a lifetime, can obviously make a huge difference
in the amount of savings a worker has at retirement.  The
Department of Labor estimates that each additional 1% in fees
reduces retirement assets by 28% over 25 years.


AMAG PHARMACEUTICALS: Wants Appeals Court to Reconsider Order
-------------------------------------------------------------
AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is asking an appellate court to
reconsider a February 4, 2013 decision, according to the Company's
March 4, 2013, Form 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission for the year ended
December 31, 2012.

A purported class action complaint was originally filed on
March 18, 2010, in the United States District Court for the
District of Massachusetts, entitled Silverstrand Investments et.
al. v. AMAG Pharm., Inc., et. al., Civil Action No. 1:10-CV-10470-
NMG, and was amended on September 15, 2010, and on
December 17, 2010.  The second amended complaint, or SAC, filed on
December 17, 2010, alleged that the Company and its former
President and Chief Executive Officer, former Executive Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer, the then members of the
Company's Board of Directors, and certain underwriters in its
January 2010 offering of common stock violated certain federal
securities laws, specifically Sections 11 and 12(a)(2) of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and that the Company's former
President and Chief Executive Officer and former Executive Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer violated Section 15 of such
Act, respectively, by making certain alleged false and misleading
statements and omissions in a registration statement filed in
January 2010.  The plaintiff sought unspecified damages on behalf
of a purported class of purchasers of the Company's common stock
pursuant to its common stock offering on or about January 21,
2010.

On August 11, 2011, the District Court issued an Opinion and Order
dismissing the SAC in its entirety for failure to state a claim
upon which relief could be granted.  A separate Order of Dismissal
was filed on August 15, 2011.  On September 14, 2011, the
plaintiffs filed a Notice of Appeal to the United States Court of
Appeals for the First Circuit, or the Court of Appeals.  After
briefing was completed by all parties, the Court of Appeals heard
oral argument on May 11, 2012, and took the matter under
advisement.

On February 4, 2013, the Court of Appeals affirmed in part and
reversed in part the District Court's Opinion and Order, and
remanded the case to the District Court.  On February 18, 2013,
the Company filed a Petition for Panel Hearing or Rehearing En
Banc, asking the Court of Appeals to reconsider its decision.

The Company is currently unable to predict the outcome or
reasonably estimate the range of potential loss associated with
this matter, if any, and have therefore not recorded any potential
estimated liability as the Company does not believe that such a
liability is probable nor does the Company believe that a range of
loss is currently estimable.

Lexington, Massachusetts-based AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. --
http://www.amagpharma.com/-- is a Delaware corporation founded in
1981.  The Company is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused
on the development and commercialization of Feraheme(R)
(ferumoxytol) Injection for Intravenous use to treat iron
deficiency anemia.


ANHEUSER-BUSCH: Attempts to Silence Budweiser Suit Whistleblower
----------------------------------------------------------------
Caroline Fairchild, writing for The Huffington Post, reports that
the maker of Budweiser is attempting to silence a former employee
for speaking out in defense of consumers, according to the ex-
worker's lawyer.

James Clark, a former director of operations and support for
Budweiser-parent Anheuser-Busch, blew the whistle on his former
employer in February by providing information for a class-action
lawsuit claiming that the company was watering down some of its
beer.

Now, Anheuser-Busch is suing Clark, claiming that he "improperly
used and misrepresented our confidential information to instigate
these lawsuits, all for his personal gain," according to a
statement provided to The Huffington Post by Peter Kraemer, vice
president of brewing and supply for Anheuser-Busch.

Mr. Clark's attorney claims that Anheuser-Busch's lawsuit should
be dismissed, saying it is nothing more than an attempt to silence
Clark and other former employees.

"[The lawsuit] is designed to silence Mr. Clark and to punish him
for standing up for consumers in this country," Mr. Clark's
attorney Robert Carichoff wrote in a March 29 court filing
obtained by HuffPost.  "To allow AB to proceed with this
vindictive litigation would empower all employers to punish former
employees like Mr. Clark for reporting misconduct . . ."

Mr. Carichoff did not respond to multiple requests for comment by
HuffPost.

The class-action suit against Anheuser-Busch is based on
information from former employees at 13 different breweries who
claim that the beer maker waters down its products as a "simple
cost-saving measure," Josh Boxer, the lead attorney for the class
action, told the Associated Press.  The water added to the beer
before it is bottled could cut the alcohol content of the product
by as much as 8 percent, according to Mr. Boxer.

Anheuser-Busch disputes these claims.

"We would never compromise the quality or the taste of any of our
beers for any reason," Mr. Kraemer wrote in a statement to
HuffPost on April 2.


APPLE INC: Judge Denies Certification of Poaching Class Action
--------------------------------------------------------------
Kevin Bostic, writing for Apple Insider, reports that former
employees of Apple, Google, and a number of other tech companies
cannot yet claim class action status in their suit accusing the
companies of illegal conspiracy not to poach each other's
employees.

U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh ruled in a decision made public
Friday that the plaintiffs in the poaching case had not yet
adequately demonstrated that they had been harmed by the anti-
poaching agreements between the companies, according to Reuters.
Along with Google and Apple, the suit -- High-Tech Employee
Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of
California, No. 11-02509 -- names Adobe, Intel, Intuit, Pixar, and
Lucasfilm.

Judge Koh did leave open the option for the plaintiffs to try
again for class certification, citing the significant amounts of
evidence produced since she initially heard oral arguments in the
case.

The plaintiffs assert that the agreements made between the seven
companies constitute a violation of the Sherman antitrust law and
California's Cartwright Act.  In April of last year, Judge Koh
rejected the defendants' motion to dismiss the case, noting that
all of the agreements between the companies had been reached in
secrecy over the span of two years, indicating collusion among the
defendants and not coincidence.

In January, Apple CEO Tim Cook was ordered to testify in the case.
Cook served as Apple's COO at the time of the agreements, and
Judge Koh was dismissive of Apple counsel arguments that he had no
say over or knowledge of such agreements. Google's Eric Schmidt
and Intel's Paul Otellini were also ordered to undergo
questioning.

In the course of the case, a good deal of information has come to
light on the cooperative efforts between the companies regarding
hiring processes.  Most notably, late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs
sent an email to Google's Schmidt in 2007, asking Google to stop
hiring Apple employees.


ARTIO GLOBAL: Faces Two Suits Over Acquisition by Aberdeen
----------------------------------------------------------
Artio Global Investors Inc. is facing class action lawsuits
arising from its proposed acquisition by Aberdeen Asset Management
PLC, according to the Company's March 4, 2013, Form 10-K filing
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the year
ended December 31, 2012.

On February 14, 2013, the Company announced that it entered into
an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the "Merger Agreement") with
Aberdeen Asset Management PLC, a public limited company organized
under the laws of the United Kingdom ("Aberdeen"), and Guardian
Acquisition Corporation, a Delaware corporation and an indirect
wholly owned subsidiary of Aberdeen ("Merger Subsidiary") pursuant
to which Aberdeen, subject to certain conditions, will acquire the
Company for $2.75 in cash per share.

The Company is aware that, since the announcement of the proposed
merger, two putative shareholder class action complaints have been
filed against the Company's board of directors, the Company, and
Aberdeen challenging the proposed merger.  The complaints are
captioned Velvart v. Artio Global Investors, Inc., Case No. 8347-
VCL (filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery on or around February
21, 2013) and Fernicola v. Artio Global Investors Inc., No.
650625/2013 (filed in the Supreme Court of New York, New York
County, filed on or around February 25, 2013).

The complaints generally allege, among other things, that the
individual members of the Company's board of directors breached
their fiduciary duties owed to its public shareholders by
approving the Company's entry into the February 14, 2013 merger
agreement (the "Merger Agreement") with Aberdeen Asset Management
PLC and Guardian Acquisition Corporation (together, "Aberdeen")
and failing to take steps to maximize the value of the Company to
its public shareholders, and that the Company and Aberdeen aided
and abetted such breaches of fiduciary duties.  In addition, the
complaints allege, among other things, that the proposed
transaction undervalues the Company, that the process leading up
to the Merger Agreement was flawed, and that certain provisions of
the Merger Agreement improperly favor Aberdeen and impede a
potential alternative transaction.  The complaints generally seek,
among other things, declaratory and injunctive relief concerning
the alleged fiduciary breaches, injunctive relief prohibiting the
defendants from consummating the proposed transaction and other
forms of equitable relief.

The defendants to these lawsuits believe that the lawsuits are
meritless and intend to defend them (and any similar lawsuits that
may be filed) vigorously.  The Company notes that the ultimate
outcome of the litigation is uncertain and unknown, and that
relief delaying or enjoining the proposed transaction may have
adverse consequences to the Company.

New York-based Artio Global Investors Inc. and subsidiaries are an
asset management company that provides active investment
management services to institutional and mutual fund clients.  The
Company offers a select group of investment strategies, including
High Grade Fixed Income, High Yield, International Equity and
Global Equity.


BAYER CORP: Wants N.J. Court to Centralize Mirena Lawsuits
----------------------------------------------------------
Ronald V. Miller, Jr., writing for Accident and Injury Lawyer
Blog, reports that the New Jersey Supreme Court has been asked to
reconsider last year's decision to deny centralization of all
cases before one judge as part of a multi-county litigation (MCL).

Mirena is a birth control device manufactured by Bayer
Corporation.  The problem with Mirena is that the device can
puncture the uterus, causing bleeding, inflammation, and
infection, which can all cause serious consequences to a woman and
her reproductive organs.  In some women, a surgery known as
laparoscopy is required to remove the IUD, which can become
embedded in the uterine wall.  It can also lead to Pelvic
Inflammatory Disease (PID), which is a specific infection of the
reproductive organs.  It can cause infertility, ectopic pregnancy,
abscesses, and permanent pelvic pain.

In August 2012, a request was filed by Bayer to centralize the
Mirena litigation in New Jersey state court.  At that time, there
were at least 16 lawsuits already pending.  Now, as the number of
Mirena IUD lawsuits continues to grow, the state's Supreme Court
is being asked to reconsider their decision to deny centralization
of the cases.

This renewed request comes at the same time as the U.S. Judicial
Panel on Multidistrict Litigation is currently considering whether
to order similar consolidated proceedings at the federal court
level, as dozens of federal lawsuits have been filed as well.
Consolidation is more common in complex pharmaceutical litigation
in the federal court where they see a large number of claims
brought involving the same or similar products.

Mirena lawyers have suggested that hundreds, if not thousands of
suits are likely to be filed against Bayer in courts throughout
the country.  Oral arguments on the centralization in federal
court were heard on March 21st.  While Bayer supports
centralization of the New Jersey state court litigation, they are
opposed to the formation of a federal Mirena MDL, as they claim it
would prejudice their ability to defend several lawsuits that are
already close to trial.  A decision was expected last week at the
federal level.

The next month or so will be interesting to watch.  It will be
interesting to see if the cases are consolidated and interesting
to see if Bayer is willing to start settling some of these cases
in the months to come.


BP PLC: Claims Administrator Balks at Bid to Halt Payments
----------------------------------------------------------
Amanda Bronstad, writing for The National Law Journal, reports
that the administrator doling out the $7.8 billion settlement to
individuals and businesses harmed by the Deepwater Horizon oil
spill has responded sharply to BP PLC's effort to block him from
awarding what the company insists could amount to billions of
dollars in "absurd windfalls."

BP Exploration & Production Inc. and BP America Production Co.,
U.S. subsidiaries of BP PLC, moved on March 15 for a preliminary
injunction that would halt payment on some business claims for
allegedly "fictitious losses."

In response, Patrick Juneau, the claims administrator for the
fund, insisted that he enjoys partial judicial immunity from BP's
allegations and that, even if he didn't, he has no authority to
alter the calculations outlined in the settlement and subject to a
March 5 court order, according to documents filed on April 1.

"The Claims Administrator was not the author of the Settlement
Agreement, did not devise the criteria to be used in deciding
whether a claimant does or does not have losses attributable to
the Oil Spill, and did not devise the compensation formula used to
determine the award amounts," wrote Mr. Juneau's attorney, Gina
Palermo of Stanley, Reuter, Ross, Thornton & Alford in New
Orleans.  "All of those determinations were negotiated by the
Parties and are recorded in the terms of the Settlement
Agreement."

Nick Gagliano, a spokesman for the Deepwater Horizon Claims
Administration, declined to comment.  Mr. Juneau previously issued
a statement defending the claims process as "consistent and
transparent."  All claims "have been processed consistent with the
federal court order dated March 5, 2013," he added.  "We will
continue to process all claims until further instructed otherwise
by the court."

Lawyers for the plaintiffs have backed Juneau, arguing that BP in
effect is asking the claims administrator to violate the terms of
the settlement.

"It is extremely disingenuous and misleading for BP to contend
that claims for compensation that BP agreed would be due as a
result of the Spill are somehow 'fictitious' based on nothing more
than cold accounting records," Stephen Herman --
sherman@hhklawfirm.com -- of Herman Herman Katz & Cotlar, and
James Roy -- jimr@wrightroy.com -- of Domengeaux, Wright, Roy &
Edwards, co-lead counsel on the plaintiffs' steering committee,
wrote in court documents.  "The uncapped nature of the potential
payments was a seminal feature of the Settlement Agreement.  No
value was placed on the settlement for good reason, namely, the
exceeding difficulty in determining the damage caused by the oil
spill on a macro level."

BP spokesman Scott Dean, in an emailed statement to The National
Law Journal, wrote: "As noted in our court filings, the Claims
Administrator's misinterpretation of the Settlement Agreement
inappropriately and unfairly compensates numerous businesses for
wholly non-existent losses. Such a result is completely at odds
with the parties' stated intent in reaching a settlement."

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans plans to take up
the issue during a hearing on April 5.

The dispute centers on BP's settlement with individuals and
businesses claiming economic losses caused by the April 20, 2010,
spill.  Mr. Juneau began distributing money on June 4, according
to court documents.

Judge Barbier approved the deal on December 20, but BP already had
begun to question how payments to certain businesses were being
calculated.  BP has asserted that Mr. Juneau, with the support of
the plaintiffs' steering committee, has calculated lost profits
using a formula that violates the terms of the settlement
agreement and approved payments to businesses with "non-existent
losses."

On January 15, adopting the interpretation of and responding to a
request by the plaintiffs' steering committee, Mr. Juneau issued
decisions addressing the calculation of lost business profits.
Under the settlement, a business must designate three months in
2010 after the spill occurred and compare those financials to a
comparable "benchmark" period.

On March 5, Judge Barbier affirmed the administrator's decision.

"The Court adopts Class Counsel's interpretation as it is most in
line with the rest of the Settlement Agreement," he wrote.  He
acknowledged that some of the claims might not equate to actual
losses, the consequences of which "BP accepted when it decided to
buy peace through a global, class-wide resolution."

Mr. Juneau, whom the BP entities personally sued over the same
allegations, argued he is entitled to judicial immunity as a
claims administrator and settlement trustee.  He is, he said,
following court orders; to do otherwise would place him in
contempt of the March 5 ruling.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs, intervening in the matter, argued that
BP's latest move represents its third attempt to alter the
calculation of business claims.  Just before the settlement was
approved, BP argued for a revised calculation but was rebuffed by
Juneau on January 15.  BP appealed that decision to Judge Barbier,
who on January 30 sided with the claims administrator.  BP moved
for reconsideration, which Judge Barbier rejected in his March 5
order.

"BP's Motions are little more than a thinly-veiled challenge to
the Court's March 5th Order," wrote Messrs. Herman and Roy.  "By
losing on the merits twice before, BP cannot show that it is
likely to succeed on the merits."

BP's injunction, if approved, would apply only to claims that use
the administrator's decisions in calculating losses, or to those
in certain industries, but would not affect the distribution of
claims to seafood businesses, individuals with economic or
property damages, subsistence farmers, or boat owners who assisted
in the cleanup.

Lawyers for businesses potentially affected by BP's injunction
immediately lashed out at the oil giant.

Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange issued a formal statement
on March 21: "This challenge is not surprising; it is consistent
with BP's past behavior.  At the same time BP lauds its efforts
for restoring the Gulf in the media, it blames others in court for
its own mistakes to avoid responsibility for its conduct.  As
usual, BP is wrong.  If BP underestimated how much it would owe
under the terms of its agreement, that is BP's problem -- not the
citizens'.  BP cannot undo a settlement it negotiated and signed,
just to avoid its consequences.  The courts should not allow it."

Michael Ziegler of The Law Office of Michael A. Ziegler in
Clearwater, Fla., who represents local businesses with claims
against BP, doubted any injunction would be granted.  But he
acknowledged that the existing method for calculating losses could
lead to larger payments for BP, which so far has paid a fraction
of the $20 billion it set aside soon after the oil spill.

"Yeah, there probably is a certain degree of over-inclusion, but I
feel that at that price BP has gotten the benefit of saving
themselves a tremendous amount of litigation costs," Mr. Ziegler
said.  "The system is really intended to be a little bit over-
inclusive, and that's a good thing.  It's better to ensure that
everyone that was affected, and maybe a little bit more, are
protected or reimbursed through the claims process than to not
cover enough claimants."


CAL-MAINE FOODS: Discovery Ongoing in Egg Products Class Suits
--------------------------------------------------------------
Discovery is ongoing in the Direct Purchaser Putative Class Action
and Indirect Purchaser Putative Class Action, according to Cal-
Maine Foods, Inc.'s Form 10-Q report for the quarterly period
ended March 2, 2013, filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission on April 5.

Since September 25, 2008, the Company has been named as one of
several defendants in numerous antitrust cases involving the
United States shell egg industry.  In some of these cases, the
named plaintiffs allege they purchased eggs or egg products
directly from a defendant and have sued on behalf of themselves
and a putative class of others who claim to be similarly situated.
In other cases, the named plaintiffs allege they purchased shell
eggs and egg products directly from one or more of the defendants
but sue only for their own alleged damages and not on behalf of a
putative class.  In the remaining cases, the named plaintiffs are
individuals or companies who allege that they purchased shell eggs
and egg products indirectly from one or more of the defendants --
that is, they purchased from retailers that had previously
purchased from defendants or other parties -- and have sued on
behalf of themselves and a putative class of others who claim to
be similarly situated.

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated all of
the putative class actions (as well as certain other cases in
which the Company was not a named defendant) for pretrial
proceedings in the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Pennsylvania.  The Pennsylvania court has organized
the putative class actions around two groups (direct purchasers
and indirect purchasers) and has named interim lead counsel for
the named plaintiffs in each group.

There are now seven non-class suits pending.  Six of the non-class
suits are pending in the United States District Court for the
Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The other non-class suit is
pending in District Court of Wyandotte County, Kansas. The
plaintiffs in two other non-class suits originally filed in the
Eastern District of Pennsylvania voluntarily dismissed their suits
without prejudice.

              Direct Purchaser Putative Class Action

The direct purchaser cases were consolidated into In re: Processed
Egg Products Antitrust Litigation, No. 2:08-md-02002-GP, in the
United States District Court for the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania. The court granted the defendants' motion to dismiss
direct purchaser class plaintiffs' claims for damages outside the
four-year statute of limitations but did so without prejudice to
the plaintiffs' right to seek leave to further amend their
complaint if they, in good faith, believe they can address the
deficiencies noted by the court.  The direct purchasers filed an
amended complaint, and the Company will file a renewed motion to
dismiss the claims in the new complaint that are barred by the
four-year statute of limitations. The court has granted final
approval to two settlements.  In one settlement, the settling
party will not pay any money to the putative class. Instead, the
settling defendant, while denying all liability and while
remaining a defendant in certain non-class cases, will provide
cooperation in the form of documents and witness interviews to the
direct class plaintiffs' attorneys. In the other settlement, the
settling defendant will pay a total of $25 million and would
provide other consideration in the form of documents, witness
interviews, and declarations. This settling defendant denied all
liability in its agreement with the direct purchaser class
plaintiffs and stated publicly that it settled merely to avoid the
cost and uncertainty of continued litigation. Discovery is ongoing
in this case.

             Indirect Purchaser Putative Class Action

The indirect purchaser cases were consolidated into In re:
Processed Egg Products Antitrust Litigation, No. 2:08-md-02002-GP,
in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania. The court granted with prejudice the defendants'
renewed motion to dismiss claims arising outside the limitations
period applicable most causes of action. Discovery is ongoing in
this case.

                         Non-Class Cases

Six of the cases in which plaintiffs do not seek to certify a
class have been consolidated with the putative class actions into
In re: Processed Egg Products Antitrust Litigation, No. 2:08-md-
02002-GP, in the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Pennsylvania.  The court granted the defendants'
motion to dismiss the direct plaintiffs' claims for damages
outside the four-year statute of limitations but did so without
prejudice to the plaintiffs' right to seek leave to further amend
their complaint if they, in good faith, believe they can address
the deficiencies noted by the court. The direct plaintiffs have
filed further amended complaints, and the Company will file a
renewed motion to dismiss the claims in the new complaint that are
barred by the four-year statute of limitations. Discovery is
ongoing in this case.

On January 27, 2012, the Company filed its answer and affirmative
defenses in the non-class case pending in Kansas state court
styled as Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc., et al., v. United
Egg Producers, et al., No. 10-CV-2171, and the Company joined
other defendants in the Kansas case in moving to dismiss all
claims for damages arising outside the three-year statute of
limitations period and all claims for damages arising from
purchases of eggs and egg products outside the state of Kansas.
The court took under advisement the limitations motion, pending a
ruling in another case that will determine whether the limitations
period in the Kansas case will be three or five years. The court
reserved judgment on the motion to dismiss claims for damages
arising from purchases of eggs and egg products outside the state
of Kansas until discovery reveals which sales occurred within
Kansas. In reserving judgment, the court stated that only sales
within Kansas would be relevant to any calculation of alleged
damages. Discovery is ongoing in this case.

In all of the antitrust cases, the plaintiffs allege the Company
and certain other large domestic egg producers conspired to reduce
the domestic supply of eggs in a concerted effort to raise the
price of eggs to artificially high levels. In each case,
plaintiffs allege all defendants agreed to reduce the domestic
supply of eggs by (a) manipulating egg exports and (b)
implementing industry-wide animal welfare guidelines that reduced
the number of hens and eggs.

Both groups of named plaintiffs in the putative class actions seek
treble damages and injunctive relief on behalf of themselves and
all other putative class members in the United States. Both groups
of named plaintiffs in the putative class actions allege a class
period starting on January 1, 2000 and running "through the
present."  The direct purchaser putative class action case alleges
two separate sub-classes -- one for direct purchasers of shell
eggs and one for direct purchasers of egg products. The direct
purchaser putative class action case seeks relief under the
Sherman Act. The indirect purchaser putative class action case
seeks injunctive relief under the Sherman Act and damages under
the statutes and common-law of various states and the District of
Columbia.

Seven non-class cases remain pending.  In five of the remaining
non-class cases, the plaintiffs seek damages and injunctive relief
under the Sherman Act. In one of the remaining non-class cases,
the plaintiff seeks damages and injunctive relief under the
Sherman Act and the Ohio antitrust act (known as the Valentine
Act). In the other remaining non-class case, the plaintiffs seek
damages and injunctive relief under the Kansas Restraint of Trade
Act.

The Pennsylvania court has entered a series of orders related to
case management, discovery, class certification, and scheduling.
The Pennsylvania court has not set a trial date for any of the
consolidated cases. The Kansas state court has entered a schedule
for discovery and dispositive motions. The Kansas state court case
is set for trial starting February 3, 2014.

The Company intends to continue to defend these cases as
vigorously as possible based on defenses which the Company
believes are meritorious and provable.

Jackson, Mississippi-based Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., is primarily
engaged in the production, grading, packaging, marketing, and
distribution of fresh shell eggs.


CELLCOM ISRAEL: Appeal in Suit Over Call Detail Service Pending
---------------------------------------------------------------
Cellcom Israel Ltd.'s appeal from an adverse judgment in the class
action lawsuit over charges for a call detail service remains
pending, according to the Company's March 4, 2013, Form 20-F
filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the
year ended December 31, 2012.

In August 2009, the District Court of Central Region approved a
request to certify a lawsuit as a class action, relating to an
allegation that the Company breached the agreements with its
subscribers by charging them for a call detail service the Company
previously provided free of charge, without obtaining their
consent.  The total amount claimed was estimated by the plaintiffs
to be approximately NIS 440 million.  In December 2011, the Court
decided against the Company, accepted the allegation and ordered
the Company to repay its customers the sum charged for the service
in the amount of approximately NIS 22 million plus interest and
linkage differences from the date of each payment made by the
subscribers, an amount of NIS 200,000 to be paid to the plaintiffs
and a fee for the plaintiffs' attorney equal to 10% of the sum to
be repaid plus VAT.  In January 2012, the Company appealed the
judgment with the Supreme Court and the execution of the judgment
was stayed until the appeal is decided.  The Company says it has
recorded a provision for the entire sum in its financial
statements.

Cellcom Israel Ltd. -- http://www.cellcom.com/-- was incorporated
in 1994 in Israel and is headquartered in Netanya, Israel.  The
Company holds one of the five general licenses to provide cellular
telephone services in Israel.


CELLCOM ISRAEL: Awaits Approval of Calling Cards Suit Settlement
----------------------------------------------------------------
Cellcom Israel Ltd. is awaiting court approval of its settlement
of class action lawsuits relating to its subsidiary's long
distance prepaid calling cards, according to the Company's
March 4, 2013, Form 20-F filing with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission for the year ended December 31, 2012.

In November 2010, the District Court of Tel Aviv-Jaffa approved a
request to certify a lawsuit as a class action, relating to an
allegation that Netvision Ltd., the Company's wholly owned
subsidiary, and two other long distance providers, misled the
purchasers of certain long distance prepaid calling cards bought
between 2004 and 2008 as to the amount of minutes included in
those cards.  The total amount claimed from all the defendants was
estimated by the plaintiffs to be approximately NIS 2.2 billion,
of which approximately NIS 818 million was attributed to
Netvision.  In December 2010, the defendants filed a request for
appeal with the Supreme Court challenging the decision and in
March 2011 the district court's decision was stayed.  A similar
purported class action was filed against the defendants in
February 2012.

In May 2012, Netvision and another defendant entered a settlement
agreement in both the class action and the purported class action,
under which Netvision and the other defendant will provide certain
long distance prepaid calling cards, free of charge, for an
aggregate amount which is not material to the Company, and will
further provide certain information in relation to the usage of
the cards.  The third defendant is not a party to the settlement
agreement.  The settlement agreement is subject to the approval of
the Israeli Supreme Court.

Cellcom Israel Ltd. -- http://www.cellcom.com/-- was incorporated
in 1994 in Israel and is headquartered in Netanya, Israel.  The
Company holds one of the five general licenses to provide cellular
telephone services in Israel.


CELLCOM ISRAEL: Continues to Defend Suits Alleging Discrimination
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Cellcom Israel Ltd. is defending itself against class action
lawsuits alleging it unlawfully discriminate among its
subscribers, according to the Company's March 4, 2013, Form 20-F
filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the
year ended December 31, 2012.

Two purported class actions were filed against the Company in
connection with allegations that the Company unlawfully, in
violation of its license or agreements with its subscribers,
discriminate among its subscribers, one in an amount estimated by
the plaintiffs to be approximately NIS 150 million, if the lawsuit
is certified as class action, and the other for which no amount
claimed was estimated by the plaintiff.

Cellcom Israel Ltd. -- http://www.cellcom.com/-- was incorporated
in 1994 in Israel and is headquartered in Netanya, Israel.  The
Company holds one of the five general licenses to provide cellular
telephone services in Israel.


CELLCOM ISRAEL: Continues to Defend Suits Brought by Subscribers
----------------------------------------------------------------
Cellcom Israel Ltd. continues to defend itself against class
action lawsuits alleging it unlawfully charged or overcharged its
subscribers for its services, according to the Company's March 4,
2013, Form 20-F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission for the year ended December 31, 2012.

About 34 purported class actions have been filed against the
Company in connection with allegations that it unlawfully, in
violation of its license or agreements with its subscribers,
charged or overcharged its subscribers for its services, in
amounts estimated by the plaintiffs to be from approximately
NIS 1.2 million to approximately NIS 405 million or which were not
estimated by these plaintiffs, if the lawsuits are certified as
class actions.  Two purported class actions, for which no amount
claimed was estimated by the plaintiffs, were dismissed with
prejudice and the plaintiffs appealed the ruling.  In one
purported class action, for which no amount claimed was estimated
by the plaintiffs, a settlement agreement for an immaterial sum
was filed with the court and the proceedings are still pending.

Cellcom Israel Ltd. -- http://www.cellcom.com/-- was incorporated
in 1994 in Israel and is headquartered in Netanya, Israel.  The
Company holds one of the five general licenses to provide cellular
telephone services in Israel.


CELLCOM ISRAEL: Continues to Defend Suits Over Commercial Texts
---------------------------------------------------------------
Cellcom Israel Ltd. continues to defend itself against a class
action lawsuit alleging it unlawfully sent to its subscribers and
to other parties commercial messages, according to the Company's
March 4, 2013, Form 20-F filing with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission for the year ended December 31, 2012.

One purported class action was filed against the Company in
connection with allegations that the Company unlawfully sent to
its subscribers and to other parties commercial messages, in
amounts estimated by the plaintiffs to be approximately NIS 50
million, if the lawsuit is certified as a class action.

Cellcom Israel Ltd. -- http://www.cellcom.com/-- was incorporated
in 1994 in Israel and is headquartered in Netanya, Israel.  The
Company holds one of the five general licenses to provide cellular
telephone services in Israel.


CELLCOM ISRAEL: Defends Suit Over Non-Ionizing Radiation Hazard
---------------------------------------------------------------
Cellcom Israel Ltd. is defending itself against a class action
lawsuit over non-ionizing radiation and health hazards, according
to the Company's March 4, 2013, Form 20-F filing with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission for the year ended
December 31, 2012.

In May 2010, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against
the Company (and the three other Israeli cellular operators then
operating) in the District Court of Central Region (and later
transferred to the District Court of Tel-Aviv-Jaffa), by four
plaintiffs alleging to be subscribers of the defendants.  The
plaintiffs allege that the defendants unlawfully and in violation
of their license and agreements with their subscribers fail to
construct cell sites in a sufficient quantity, scope and coverage
in order to provide cellular services in the requisite quality;
fail to test, repair and notify the subscribers that non-ionizing
radiation level for repaired handsets may exceed the
manufacturer's specifications and the maximum level allowed by
law; fail to inform and caution the subscribers of the risks
related to the manner of carrying the handset and its distance
from the subscriber's body; all of which allegedly increase the
level of non-ionizing radiation and health risks to which the
subscribers are exposed.  If the lawsuit is certified as a class
action, the total amount claimed from the Company is estimated by
the plaintiffs to be approximately NIS 3.68 billion (the total
amount claimed from the four defendants is estimated by the
plaintiffs to be approximately NIS 12 billion).

Cellcom Israel Ltd. -- http://www.cellcom.com/-- was incorporated
in 1994 in Israel and is headquartered in Netanya, Israel.  The
Company holds one of the five general licenses to provide cellular
telephone services in Israel.


CELLCOM ISRAEL: Defends Suits Over Customer Care Provision
----------------------------------------------------------
Cellcom Israel Ltd. continues to defend itself against purported
class action lawsuits alleging it failed to provide customer care,
according to the Company's March 4, 2013, Form 20-F filing with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the year ended
December 31, 2012.

Two purported class actions were filed against the Company in
connection with allegations that it failed to provide customer
care in accordance with the provisions of the Company's license
and applicable law, in amounts estimated by the plaintiffs to be
approximately NIS 107 million and approximately NIS 361 million
(which was filed against three additional operators without
specifying the amount claimed from the Company), if the lawsuits
are certified as class actions.

Cellcom Israel Ltd. -- http://www.cellcom.com/-- was incorporated
in 1994 in Israel and is headquartered in Netanya, Israel.  The
Company holds one of the five general licenses to provide cellular
telephone services in Israel.


CELLCOM ISRAEL: Suit Over 2010 Network Malfunction Pending
----------------------------------------------------------
The class action lawsuit arising from a 2010 network malfunction
remains pending, according to Cellcom Israel Ltd.'s March 4, 2013,
Form 20-F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
for the year ended December 31, 2012.

One purported class action was filed against the Company regarding
a network malfunction that occurred on December 1, 2010, in
connection with allegations that the Company misled its
subscribers and unlawfully and in violation of the Company's
license and agreements with its subscribers, failed to provide
service to its subscribers during the malfunction, in an amounts
estimated by the plaintiffs to be approximately NIS 350 per
customer in a private calling plan and NIS 700 per customer in a
business calling plan and approximately NIS 1.183 billion for non
monetary damages as well as the relative portion of the monthly
payment relating to the hours of the malfunction, if the lawsuit
is certified as a class action.

Cellcom Israel Ltd. -- http://www.cellcom.com/-- was incorporated
in 1994 in Israel and is headquartered in Netanya, Israel.  The
Company holds one of the five general licenses to provide cellular
telephone services in Israel.


CELLCOM ISRAEL: Suit Over Phone Accessory Hazards Remains Pending
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A class action lawsuit accusing Cellcom Israel Ltd. of not
disclosing relevant data concerning radiation hazards associated
with the usage of accessories for carrying cellular handsets
remains pending, according to the Company's March 4, 2013, Form
20-F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for
the year ended December 31, 2012.

In June 2011, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against
the Company and three other cellular operators in the District
Court of Tel-Aviv-Jaffa, by an Israeli citizen, in connection with
the allegation that the defendants mislead customers who buy
accessories for carrying cellular handsets or do not disclose to
them relevant data concerning radiation hazards associated with
the usage of accessories for carrying cellular handsets, allegedly
contrary to the cellular handsets manufacturers' instructions and
warnings and the Israeli Ministry of Health's recommendations.

Thereafter, the plaintiff also requested interim remedies to
prevent further sale of such accessories by the Company and two
other defendants (the forth allegedly doesn't sell such
accessories) or to require them to take necessary precautionary
measures, including by complying with alleged disclosure duties
and by ceasing alleged misleading.  The request was dismissed by
the court in October 2011.  In July 2011, at the request of the
Company, the purported class action was transferred to be heard by
the Judge hearing the purported class action filed against the
Company and three other cellular operators in May 2011, by the
same plaintiff and three other plaintiffs, raising similar
questions.

The total amount claimed from the Company, if the lawsuit is
certified as a class action, is estimated by the plaintiff to be
approximately NIS 1 billion (out of a total sum of approximately
NIS 2.7 billion against all defendants), substantially all for non
monetary damages.

In 2012, two purported class action lawsuits in the amounts of NIS
1 billion and NIS 2.1 billion, were dismissed without prejudice at
the request of the plaintiffs.

Cellcom Israel Ltd. -- http://www.cellcom.com/-- was incorporated
in 1994 in Israel and is headquartered in Netanya, Israel.  The
Company holds one of the five general licenses to provide cellular
telephone services in Israel.


CELLCOM ISRAEL: Suits Alleging Company Misled Subscribers Pending
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Class action lawsuits alleging Cellcom Israel Ltd. misled its
subscribers remain pending, according to the Company's March 4,
2013, Form 20-F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission for the year ended December 31, 2012.

Six purported class actions were filed against the Company in
connection with allegations that it misled its subscribers, in
amounts estimated by the plaintiffs to be from approximately NIS
26 million to approximately NIS 170 million, if the lawsuits are
certified as class actions.  In two purported class actions, for a
total amount claimed, if certified as class actions, of
approximately NIS 51 million, settlement agreements for immaterial
sums were filed with the court and the proceedings are still
pending.  One purported class action (for which no amount claimed
was estimated by the plaintiff) was dismissed following
plaintiff's request and appealed by the Israeli General Counsel
regarding a procedural question regarding such dismissal.

Cellcom Israel Ltd. -- http://www.cellcom.com/-- was incorporated
in 1994 in Israel and is headquartered in Netanya, Israel.  The
Company holds one of the five general licenses to provide cellular
telephone services in Israel.


CENTERVILLE PIE: Recalls Clam Pies Due to Undeclared Anchovies
--------------------------------------------------------------
Centerville Pie Company of Hyannis, Massachusetts, is voluntarily
recalling all clam pies because they contain undeclared fish
(anchovies), which is an ingredient in the Worcestershire sauce
used in the clam pie recipe.  People who have an allergy or severe
sensitivity to anchovies may run the risk of an allergic reaction
if they consume these clam pies.

Affected pies come in both one and two-pound sizes and are vacuum
sealed with a circular "Centerville Pie" label.  The clam pies
were distributed through their retail location in Centerville,
Massachusetts, and at various wholesale locations in the Cape Cod,
Massachusetts area.

Picture of the recalled products' label is available at:

         http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm346793.htm

No illnesses or allergic reactions have been reported to date.

The voluntary recall was initiated after it was discovered that
the labels on the clam pies did not reveal the presence of fish
(anchovies) as an ingredient in Worcestershire sauce used in the
clam pie recipe.  Labels have now been corrected to reflect the
allergen, fish (anchovies).

Consumers who have purchased a Centerville Pie clam pie and have
an allergy or severe sensitivity to fish are urged to return them
to the place of purchase for a full refund.  Consumers with
questions may contact the Company at (774) 470-1406 Monday through
Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.


EI DU PONT: Imprelis Class Action May See Settlement Soon
---------------------------------------------------------
Wright & Schulte has learned that the plaintiffs in a federal
class action Imprelis lawsuit filed against DuPont could hear
about a settlement in their case soon.  The plaintiffs, owners of
various golf courses throughout central Indiana, had alleged in
their Imprelis tree damage lawsuit that thousands of trees and
other plant life on their golf courses had been severely damaged,
if not killed, allegedly due to the use of Imprelis herbicide.
This Imprelis class action lawsuit, which was filed in the summer
of 2011, also contended that DuPont mislead consumers in its
Imprelis advertising and that, even after consumers reported
Imprelis damage, DuPont failed to acknowledge the dangers
associated with its herbicide.  While the plaintiffs in this case
will be hearing about the Imprelis settlement reached any day now,
they will not receive any settlement money until September, at
which time the final approval hearing for the case will occur.
Class action case is Shomo v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company
(Case Number 1:11-00633), MDL 2284 in the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania.

While a number of claims of Imprelis tree damage from individuals
and corporations alike have been consolidated into class action
lawsuits that are being litigated in a federal court in
Philadelphia, many individuals are choosing to not join class
action cases and, instead, to file individual Imprelis lawsuits
against DuPont.  In fact, Richard Schulte, a partner with Wright &
Schulte LLC, has stated that the Imprelis settlement offers DuPont
has made are insufficient.  "None of our clients are participating
in the settlements because the offers are inadequate," stated
Mr. Schulte.

            Imprelis Tree Damage & EPA Intervention

DuPont initially marketed Imprelis in October 2010 as a safe and
effective way to get rid of the roots of hard-to-kill weeds
without presenting any negative impact on surrounding trees and
plant life.  In fact, advertising for Imprelis stated that it was
the "most advanced turf herbicide in over 40 years."  However,
lawn care professionals have described Imprelis, which is four
times more powerful than Agent Orange, as the industry's
"Hurricane Katrina," with the full extent of the damage DuPont's
Imprelis has caused only just beginning to manifest itself.

As nationwide consumer reports of Imprelis tree damage began
mounting, in June 2011, the EPA started its own investigation into
the alleged dangers associated with Imprelis.  By August 2011, the
EPA had uncovered sufficient evidence that Imprelis was
responsible for seriously damaging or killing thousands of trees
and, as a result, ordered DuPont to immediately stop selling and
distributing Imprelis herbicide.  At that time, the EPA has
received more than 7,000 reports of Imprelis tree damage from
consumers nationwide.

Wright & Schulte LLC is a product liability firm.


FACTOR SALES: Cashiers' Suit Gets Conditional Class Certification
-----------------------------------------------------------------
District Judge James A. Teilborg issued a ruling on April 4, 2013,
certifying conditionally a collective action in JUVERA v. SALCIDO,
and permitting the named Plaintiffs and the proposed group of
similarly situated individuals to proceed as a collective action
pursuant to section 216(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29
U.S.C. Section 216(b).  The Court also certified a class action in
the matter and permitting the named Plaintiffs and the putative
class of similarly situated individuals to proceed as a class
action pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 23 with
respect to the state law claims.

The conditional collective action and class action are certified
with respect to the following class: All current and former
cashiers of Factor Sales, Inc. who were employed as such in the
State of Arizona at any point from January 1, 2007 through the
present date.

Factor Sales operates grocery stores under the names King Market,
Factor Warehouse, and Del Sol. At least one named Plaintiff worked
in each of these stores. The Plaintiffs were cashiers at the
stores between 2008 and 2012.  As cashiers, the Plaintiffs allege
that they were paid at or slightly above the applicable minimum
wage rates.  The Plaintiffs allege that, when the cash till for
Plaintiffs and other cashiers did not add up correctly, as a
matter of company policy, Factor Sales required the cashiers,
including the Plaintiffs, to reimburse Factor Sales for any
shortages and did not give any credit to cashiers for overages.
The Plaintiffs further allege that Factor Sales had a policy of
requiring Plaintiffs and employees of Factor Sales to pay the
Defendants for extra uniforms and replacement name or security
tags. The Plaintiffs allege that, as a result of these policies,
the Plaintiffs and other cashiers were, at times, not paid the
minimum wage.

In it April 4 ruling, the Court appointed the Plaintiffs' counsel
as class counsel under Rule 23(g).

The Court ordered the Defendants to provide the Plaintiffs with
the names and last known physical addresses of those individuals
in the potential collective action group.

The Defendants are directed to post the notice and forms at Factor
Sales stores in Arizona, in like manner and place as legally-
mandated notices are posted.

Any motion to decertify the FLSA collective and Rule 23 class
action must be filed on or before August 6, 2013.

Magistrate Judge Lawrence Anderson will oversee the procedural and
logistical aspects of settling the FLSA collective action/Federal
Rule of Civil Procedure 23 state law class action.

The case is Jose Pablo Rodriguez Juvera, et al.; and a class of
others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. Victor Salcido, et al.,
Defendants, No. CV-11-02119-PHX-JAT, (D. Ariz.).

A copy of the District Court's April 4, 2013 Order is available at
http://is.gd/CkHRkOfrom Leagle.com.


GRAIN PROCESSING: Appeal Over Dismissal of Class Action Mulled
--------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Ferguson, writing for Muscatine Journal, reports that a
district court judge handed Grain Processing Corp. a victory on
April 1 by dismissing a pending class action lawsuit that sought
economic damages for residents living within a three-mile radius
of the company's Southend plant.

Citing U.S. Supreme Court precedent, Mark J. Smith, district court
judge for Iowa's Seventh Judicial Circuit, ruled that the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency "is better equipped to make
decisions (over whether GPC's emissions are reasonable) than
district court judges or juries."

Iowa City attorney James C. Larew, who represented the
11 plaintiffs, said in a statement, "We expect to appeal the
court's decision."

Judge Smith's ruling, which was dated Wednesday, March 27, means
that no individual lawsuits remain to be litigated, according to
GPC spokeswoman Janet Sichterman.

A group of 11 residents sued Muscatine-based GPC in April 2012,
claiming their real estate and personal property have been
directly affected by the industrial methods and processes used by
GPC.  The lawsuit also claimed GPC uses outdated technologies that
are ineffective in reducing air pollution levels.

Judge Smith included in his ruling a description from an expert
hired by the plaintiffs.  The expert labeled the company's
compliance with air-quality standards "poor" because GPC hadn't
invested in modern pollution controls, failed to control spills
and leaks, bypassed pollution controls and discharged toxic
chemicals uncontrolled into the atmosphere.

"If half the expert's findings are true, there has been blatant
disregard for the environment and the community of Muscatine,"
Judge Smith wrote in his decision.  "The report also indicates
that the above deficiencies have gotten worse in 2012, which is
after the civil action was filed by the (Iowa Department of
Natural Resources)."

But questions about what harm a company may have done require a
balancing act, the judge noted.

"When an individual's rights to seek damages for economic or
physical harm conflict with the economic well-being of a large
local employer," Judge Smith wrote, "those rights must be
carefully weighed and reconciled through political compromises
achieved by the legislative and rule-making processes."

Determinations about "the complex environmental issues involved in
this case" would require a court to "make policy determinations
concerning GPC's costs and benefits to the surrounding community
of Muscatine," Judge Smith wrote.  "The Court finds that these
decisions have been entrusted by Congress to the EPA and that they
are not properly reviewed in district court."

In a statement, Ms. Sichterman said that the company's $100
million investment to improve emissions and nearly eliminate
smoke, odor and haze at the plant are still on schedule to be
operational in the spring of 2015.

"GPC is pleased to see the judge recognize that regulation of air
emissions is not the responsibility of the courts," Ms. Sichterman
wrote.  "We recognize that everyone has the right to express his
or her opinion and we respect that.  However, as the Court found,
the EPA and the DNR are the appropriate agencies that address
regulatory concerns."

As for those who've been working to improve the area's air
quality, they say they'll continue do their part to make sure
environmental rules and regulations are upheld.

"The Court's decision in the class action lawsuit strengthens our
resolve that citizens must be able to have access to our judicial
system to address harms caused to the public by air polluters,
said Sandy Stanley, board president of Clean Air Muscatine.

"CLAM's goal, as intervenor in the lawsuit filed by the Attorney
General, is to assure that our environmental laws are fully obeyed
and that those who have chosen not to follow the law will pay
sufficient penalties to deter such behavior in the future."


HERTZ GLOBAL: "Sobel" Suit Parties to Engage in Mediation Again
---------------------------------------------------------------
The U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada has stayed the
class action lawsuit filed by Janet Sobel, et al., and the parties
will again be engaging in mediation, according to Hertz Global
Holdings, Inc.'s March 4, 2013, Form 10-K filing with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission for the year ended December 31,
2012.

On October 13, 2006, Janet Sobel, Daniel Dugan, PhD. and Lydia
Lee, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated
v. The Hertz Corporation and Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company, or
"Enterprise," was filed in the United States District Court for
the District of Nevada.  The plaintiffs agreed to not pursue
claims against Enterprise initially and the case only proceeded
against The Hertz Corporation, or "Hertz."  The Sobel case
purports to be a nationwide class action on behalf of all persons
who rented cars from Hertz at airports in Nevada and were
separately charged airport concession recovery fees by Hertz as
part of their rental charges.  The plaintiffs seek an unspecified
amount of compensatory damages, restitution of any charges found
to be improper and an injunction prohibiting Hertz from quoting or
charging those airport fees that are alleged not to be allowed by
Nevada law.  The complaint also seeks attorneys' fees and costs.
Relevant documents were produced, depositions were taken and pre-
trial motions were filed.  After the court rendered a mixed ruling
on the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment and after the
Lydia Lee case was refiled against Enterprise, the parties engaged
in mediation which resulted in a proposed settlement.  Although
the court tentatively approved the settlement in November 2010,
the court denied the plaintiffs' motion for final approval of the
proposed settlement in May 2011.

Since that time, the plaintiffs filed a motion for class
certification -- which the Company opposed -- and discovery has
commenced again.  A separate action is proceeding against
Enterprise, National and Alamo.  In May 2012, all briefing was
completed on the two outstanding issues -- unjust enrichment and
damages.  The briefing included expert reports as submitted by
both sides.  In October 2012, the court held a hearing on the
plaintiffs' motion for class certification.  The court has since
entered a stay order and the parties will again be engaging in
mediation.

The Company says it intends to assert that it has meritorious
defenses in the matters and it intends to defend itself
vigorously.

The Company has established reserves for matters where it believes
that the losses are probable and reasonably estimated.  Other than
with respect to the aggregate reserves established for claims for
public liability and property damage, none of those reserves are
material.  For matters where the Company has not established a
reserve, the ultimate outcome or resolution cannot be predicted at
this time, or the amount of ultimate loss, if any, cannot be
reasonably estimated.  Litigation is subject to many uncertainties
and the outcome of the individual litigated matters is not
predictable with assurance.  It is possible that certain of the
actions, claims, inquiries or proceedings could be decided
unfavorably to the Company or any of its subsidiaries involved.
Accordingly, it is possible that an adverse outcome from such a
proceeding could exceed the amount accrued in an amount that could
be material to the Company's consolidated financial condition,
results of operations or cash flows in any particular reporting
period.

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. -- http://www.hertz.com/-- operates
its car rental business through the Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty
brands from approximately 10,270 corporate, licensee and
franchisee locations in North America, Europe, Latin America,
Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East and New Zealand.
Headquartered in Park Ridge, New Jersey, Hertz was incorporated in
Delaware in 2005 to serve as the top-level holding company for the
consolidated Hertz business.


HERTZ GLOBAL: Appeal From Approval of "Shames" Suit Deal Pending
----------------------------------------------------------------
An appeal from the approval of a settlement resolving the class
action lawsuit commenced by Michael Shames and Gary Gramkow
remains pending, according to Hertz Global Holdings, Inc.'s
March 4, 2013, Form 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission for the year ended December 31, 2012.

The Company is currently a defendant in a proceeding that purports
to be a class action brought by Michael Shames and Gary Gramkow
against The Hertz Corporation, Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group,
Inc., Avis Budget Group, Inc., Vanguard Car Rental USA, Inc.,
Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company, Fox Rent A Car, Inc., Coast Leasing
Corp., The California Travel and Tourism Commission, and Caroline
Beteta.

Originally filed in November of 2007, the action is pending in the
United States District Court for the Southern District of
California, and plaintiffs claim to represent a class of
individuals or entities that purchased rental car services from a
defendant at airports located in California after January 1, 2007.
Plaintiffs allege that the defendants agreed to charge consumers a
2.5% tourism assessment and not to compete with respect to this
assessment, while misrepresenting that this assessment is owed by
consumers, rather than the rental car defendants, to the
California Travel and Tourism Commission, or the "CTTC."  The
Plaintiffs also allege that defendants agreed to pass through to
consumers a fee known as the Airport Concession Fee, which fee had
previously been required to be included in the rental car
defendants' individual base rates, without reducing their base
rates.  Based on these allegations, the amended complaint seeks
treble damages, disgorgement, injunctive relief, interest,
attorneys' fees and costs. Plaintiffs dropped their claims against
Caroline Beteta.  The Plaintiffs' claims against the rental car
defendants have been dismissed, except for the federal antitrust
claim.

In June 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the plaintiffs' antitrust case
against the CTTC as a state agency immune from antitrust complaint
because the California Legislature foresaw the alleged price-
fixing conspiracy that was the subject of the complaint.  The
plaintiffs subsequently filed a petition with the Ninth Circuit
seeking a rehearing and that petition was granted.  In November
2010, the Ninth Circuit withdrew its June opinion and instead held
that state action immunity was improperly invoked.  The Ninth
Circuit reinstated the plaintiffs' antitrust claims and remanded
the case to the district court for further proceedings.

In May 2012, the district court issued an order preliminarily
approving the settlement of this action; certifying a settlement
class; certifying a class representative and lead counsel; and
providing for class notice.  In October 2012, the court held a
final approval hearing.  In November 2012, the court issued an
order of final approval of the settlement of this action.  One of
the objectors to the settlement has filed a notice of appeal of
this order with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit.  The Company has accrued its best estimate of the
ultimate cost which is not material to its financial condition.

The Company has established reserves for matters where it believes
that the losses are probable and reasonably estimated.  Other than
with respect to the aggregate reserves established for claims for
public liability and property damage, none of those reserves are
material.  For matters where the Company has not established a
reserve, the ultimate outcome or resolution cannot be predicted at
this time, or the amount of ultimate loss, if any, cannot be
reasonably estimated.  Litigation is subject to many uncertainties
and the outcome of the individual litigated matters is not
predictable with assurance.  It is possible that certain of the
actions, claims, inquiries or proceedings could be decided
unfavorably to the Company or any of its subsidiaries involved.
Accordingly, it is possible that an adverse outcome from such a
proceeding could exceed the amount accrued in an amount that could
be material to the Company's consolidated financial condition,
results of operations or cash flows in any particular reporting
period.

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. -- http://www.hertz.com/-- operates
its car rental business through the Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty
brands from approximately 10,270 corporate, licensee and
franchisee locations in North America, Europe, Latin America,
Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East and New Zealand.
Headquartered in Park Ridge, New Jersey, Hertz was incorporated in
Delaware in 2005 to serve as the top-level holding company for the
consolidated Hertz business.


HERTZ GLOBAL: Continues to Mediate to Settle "Davis" Class Suit
---------------------------------------------------------------
Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. said in its March 4, 2013, Form 10-K
filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the
year ended December 31, 2012, that it has continued to work
through a mediator and in direct discussions with the plaintiffs'
counsel on an acceptable settlement of the litigation commenced by
Davis Landscape, Ltd.

On August 15, 2006, Davis Landscape, Ltd., individually and on
behalf of all others similarly situated, filed a complaint against
Hertz Equipment Rental Corporation, or "HERC," in the United
States District Court for the District of New Jersey.  In November
2006, the complaint was amended to add another plaintiff, Miguel
V. Pro, and more claims.  The Davis Landscape matter purports to
be a nationwide class action on behalf of all persons and business
entities who rented equipment from HERC and who paid a Loss Damage
Waiver, or "LDW," or an Environmental Recovery Fee, or "ERF."  The
plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment and injunction prohibiting
HERC from engaging in acts with respect to the LDW and ERF charges
that violate the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act and claim that the
charges violate the Uniform Commercial Code.  The plaintiffs also
seek an unspecified amount of compensatory damages with the return
of all LDW and ERF charges paid, attorneys' fees and costs as well
as other damages.  The court has granted class certification,
denied the Company's motion for summary judgment and the case is
in the discovery stages.  In February 2012, the Company filed
separate motions for partial summary judgment on the LDW and ERF
claims and the Company filed a motion to decertify the class.

In June 2012, the judge denied the Company's motion for partial
summary judgment on the LDW claim and, in July 2012, the judge
granted the Company's motion for partial summary judgment on the
ERF claim.  The court also entered an order referring the case to
mediation by private consent of the parties.  The Company has
continued to work through the mediator and in direct discussions
with the plaintiffs' counsel on an acceptable settlement of this
litigation and have accrued the Company's best estimate of the
ultimate cost which is not material to its financial condition.

The Company says it intends to assert that it has meritorious
defenses in the matters and it intends to defend itself
vigorously.

The Company has established reserves for matters where it believes
that the losses are probable and reasonably estimated.  Other than
with respect to the aggregate reserves established for claims for
public liability and property damage, none of those reserves are
material.  For matters where the Company has not established a
reserve, the ultimate outcome or resolution cannot be predicted at
this time, or the amount of ultimate loss, if any, cannot be
reasonably estimated.  Litigation is subject to many uncertainties
and the outcome of the individual litigated matters is not
predictable with assurance.  It is possible that certain of the
actions, claims, inquiries or proceedings could be decided
unfavorably to the Company or any of its subsidiaries involved.
Accordingly, it is possible that an adverse outcome from such a
proceeding could exceed the amount accrued in an amount that could
be material to the Company's consolidated financial condition,
results of operations or cash flows in any particular reporting
period.

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. -- http://www.hertz.com/-- operates
its car rental business through the Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty
brands from approximately 10,270 corporate, licensee and
franchisee locations in North America, Europe, Latin America,
Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East and New Zealand.
Headquartered in Park Ridge, New Jersey, Hertz was incorporated in
Delaware in 2005 to serve as the top-level holding company for the
consolidated Hertz business.


HERTZ GLOBAL: April Hearing Set on Accord in "Fun Services" Suit
----------------------------------------------------------------
The final approval hearing on Hertz Global Holdings, Inc.'s
settlement of the class action lawsuit brought by Fun Services of
Kansas City, Inc., is currently scheduled for April 2013,
according to the Company's March 4, 2013, Form 10-K filing with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the year ended
December 31, 2012.

On May 3, 2007, Fun Services of Kansas City, Inc., individually
and as the representative of a class of similarly-situated
persons, v. Hertz Equipment Rental Corporation was commenced in
the District Court of Wyandotte County, Kansas.  The case was
subsequently transferred to the District Court of Johnson County,
Kansas.  The Fun Services matter purports to be a class action on
behalf of all persons in Kansas and throughout the United States
who, on or after four years prior to the filing of the action,
were sent facsimile messages of advertising materials relating to
the availability of property, goods or services by HERC and who
did not provide express permission for sending such faxes.  The
plaintiffs seek an unspecified amount of compensatory damages,
attorney's fees and costs.  In August 2009, the court issued an
order that stayed all activity in this litigation pending a
decision by the Kansas Supreme Court in Critchfield Physical
Therapy, Inc. v. Taranto Group, Inc., another Telephone Consumer
Protection Act case.  The Kansas Supreme Court issued its decision
in September 2011.  Thereafter, the District Court of Johnson
County lifted the stay in the Fun Services case and issued a
scheduling order that addresses class certification discovery.

In February 2012, HERC filed a Notice of Removal with the U.S.
District Court for the District of Kansas seeking to remove the
case to federal court based on federal question jurisdiction.  In
March 2012, the federal magistrate entered an order requiring the
parties to engage in mediation and report back to her regarding
their progress by June 2012.  In June 2012, a mediation was held
and as a result of the mediation, the parties reached an agreement
in principle to settle this class action.  A settlement that
addresses compensation to class members, class counsel fees and
the claims process was finalized by the parties' counsel in
January 2013.  The court issued an order preliminarily approving
the settlement in January 2013 and the final approval hearing is
currently scheduled for April 2013.  The Company has accrued its
best estimate of the ultimate cost, which is not material to its
financial condition.

The Company has established reserves for matters where it believes
that the losses are probable and reasonably estimated.  Other than
with respect to the aggregate reserves established for claims for
public liability and property damage, none of those reserves are
material.  For matters where the Company has not established a
reserve, the ultimate outcome or resolution cannot be predicted at
this time, or the amount of ultimate loss, if any, cannot be
reasonably estimated.  Litigation is subject to many uncertainties
and the outcome of the individual litigated matters is not
predictable with assurance.  It is possible that certain of the
actions, claims, inquiries or proceedings could be decided
unfavorably to the Company or any of its subsidiaries involved.
Accordingly, it is possible that an adverse outcome from such a
proceeding could exceed the amount accrued in an amount that could
be material to the Company's consolidated financial condition,
results of operations or cash flows in any particular reporting
period.

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. -- http://www.hertz.com/-- operates
its car rental business through the Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty
brands from approximately 10,270 corporate, licensee and
franchisee locations in North America, Europe, Latin America,
Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East and New Zealand.
Headquartered in Park Ridge, New Jersey, Hertz was incorporated in
Delaware in 2005 to serve as the top-level holding company for the
consolidated Hertz business.


HIGHER ONE: Agreement in Suits v. Visa/Mastercard Yet to Be Filed
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The settlement of class action lawsuits involving Visa and
Mastercard is yet to be filed, according to Higher One Holdings,
Inc.'s March 4, 2013, Form 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission for the year ended December 31, 2012.

The Company generates revenue from, among other sources, the
banking services fees charged to the Company's OneAccount holders,
interchange fees related to purchases made through its debit and
ATM cards, which the Company's Bank Partners charge and remit to
the Company, convenience fees from processing tuition payments on
behalf of students, fees charged to the Company's higher education
institution clients and service fees that the Company receives
from its Bank Partners based on amounts deposited in OneAccounts
and prevailing interest rates.

In an increasingly price-conscious and competitive market, the
Company says it is possible that to maintain its competitive
position with higher education institutions, the Company may have
to decrease the fees it charges institutions for its services.
Similarly, in order to maintain the Company's competitive position
with its OneAccount holders, the Company may need to work with its
Bank Partners to reduce or otherwise alter the structure of the
banking services fees charged to the Company's OneAccount holders.

MasterCard Incorporated could reduce the interchange rates, which
it unilaterally sets and adjusts from time to time, and upon which
the Company's interchange revenue is dependent.  In addition, the
Company's OneAccount holders may modify their spending habits and
increase their use of ACH relative to their use of Higher One
debit MasterCard, as ACH payments are generally free, which could
reduce the interchange fees remitted to the Company.  Students may
also become less willing to pay convenience fees when using the
Company's payment transaction services.  If the Company's fees are
reduced, its business, results of operations and prospects for
future growth could be materially and adversely affected.

In July 2012, a memorandum of understanding was filed between a
number of class action plaintiffs and Visa, Inc., and MasterCard
Incorporated.  The memorandum of understanding provides among
other things, that all defendants in the case will pay a total of
$6.05 billion to class plaintiffs and that each network will make
certain changes to network rules regarding merchant point of sale
practices.  The class action settlement agreement to be executed
by the parties will be subject to court approval.  If MasterCard
makes changes to their network rules regarding merchant point of
sale practices, the Company's business, results of operations and
prospects for future growth could be materially and adversely
affected.

Higher One Holdings, Inc. -- http://ir.higherone.com/-- is a
Delaware corporation headquartered in New Haven, Connecticut.  The
Company is a provider of technology-based refund disbursement,
payment processing and data analytics services to higher education
institutions and students.  The Company also provides campus
communities with convenient and student-oriented banking services,
which include extensive user-friendly features, through the
Company's bank partners.


HIGHER ONE: Defends Suits Alleging Violations of Consumer Laws
--------------------------------------------------------------
Higher One Holdings, Inc. is defending class action lawsuits
alleging violations of state consumer protection statutes,
according to the Company's March 4, 2013, Form 10-K filing with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the year ended
December 31, 2012.

The Company is a defendant in a series of putative class action
lawsuits.  While the specific causes of action differ in each
lawsuit, the plaintiffs generally allege, among other things,
violations of state consumer protection statutes (predicated, in
part, on alleged violations of Department of Education rules and
violations of the federal Electronic Funds Transfer Act) and
various common law claims.  Two cases assert direct causes of
action under the federal Electronic Funds Transfer Act.  The cases
are as follows: Ashley Parker, et al. v. Higher One Holdings, Inc.
et al., filed on July 3, 2012 in the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Mississippi, Eastern Division;
Jeanette Price et al. v. Higher One Holdings, Inc. et al., filed
on July 27, 2012, in the United States District Court for the
District of Connecticut; John Brandon Kent et al. v. Higher One
Holdings, Inc. et al., filed on August 17, 2012, in the United
States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, Northern
Division; Jonathan Lanham et al. v. Higher One Holdings, Inc. et
al., filed on October 2, 2012, in the United States District Court
for the Western District of Kentucky, Louisville Division; Aisha
DeClue et al. v. Higher One, Inc., et al., filed on November 5,
2012, in the St. Louis County Circuit Court of Missouri; and Jill
Massey et al. v. Higher One Holdings, Inc. et al., filed on
November 6, 2012, in the United States District Court for the
Southern District of Illinois, East Saint Louis Division.  The
Company filed a motion with the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict
Litigation asking the Panel to transfer to a single court the
first three cases (and any additional tag-along cases) for
coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings.

On December 11, 2012, the JPML ruled in favor of the Company's
motion and the Parker, Kent and Price actions were transferred to
the District of Connecticut, and on December 21, 2012, the Lanham
and Massey actions were transferred to the same court.  This
consolidated case is captioned In re Higher One OneAccount
Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, or the MDL.  On December
21, 2012, Higher One removed the DeClue case to the United States
District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.  On December
27, the JPML issued a conditional transfer order with respect to
the DeClue action, which the DeClue plaintiffs have opposed and
for which a hearing is expected in March.  In DeClue, plaintiff
has filed a motion to remand the case to state court, but the
court has stayed any briefing on this motion until the JPML
decides whether DeClue will proceed as part of the MDL.

The Company believes the claims in each of these actions to be
without merit.  Although the Company plans to defend these matters
vigorously, there can be no assurances of the Company's success in
these matters.

Higher One Holdings, Inc. -- http://ir.higherone.com/-- is a
Delaware corporation headquartered in New Haven, Connecticut.  The
Company is a provider of technology-based refund disbursement,
payment processing and data analytics services to higher education
institutions and students.  The Company also provides campus
communities with convenient and student-oriented banking services,
which include extensive user-friendly features, through the
Company's bank partners.


JOHNSON & JOHNSON: Tylenol MDL Approved in Pennsylvania
-------------------------------------------------------
The Legal Intelligencer reports that a federal multidistrict
litigation for plaintiffs who allege that their use of over-the-
counter Tylenol caused their livers to fail or be poisoned was
approved last week.  Drug makers McNeil/Johnson & Johnson,
Novartis and L. Perrigo Co. opposed the consolidation of 27 cases,
most of which are from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.


LI-ON BATTERY MAKERS: Lead Counsel in Price-Fixing Suit Named
-------------------------------------------------------------
Andrew Longstreth, writing for Thomson Reuters, reports that a
federal judge has selected six law firms to lead the massive
consolidated U.S. price-fixing litigation against makers of
batteries used in consumer electronics, according to lawyers
involved in the case.

At a hearing on April 3, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Rogers in San
Francisco selected three firms to represent direct purchasers of
the batteries: Berman DeValerio, Saveri & Saveri, and Pearson,
Simon & Warshaw. Rogers also selected three firms to represent
indirect purchasers: Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, Lieff Cabraser
Heimann & Bernstein, and Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy.

The lead counsel positions in class actions are coveted by
plaintiffs' law firms because those selected often earn the lion's
share of any attorneys' fees awarded.  A judge in the same
district as the battery litigation awarded $310 million in fees to
the law firms that helped secure more than $1 billion in
settlements from defendants in a price-fixing lawsuit over liquid-
crystal displays.  The biggest share of those fees was allocated
to the two co-lead counsel firms.

The litigation against the battery companies is one of the largest
antitrust cases pending in the United States.  Dozens of lawsuits
have been filed across the country and consolidated in San
Francisco federal court.

The complaints allege that makers of the lithium ion batteries,
which are used in a variety of consumer electronics like cell
phones and laptop computers, conspired to fix the prices of the
batteries.

Lawsuits have been brought on behalf of both direct purchasers
such as technology companies and indirect purchasers such as
consumers who purchased products containing the batteries.

The U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation into the
alleged price-fixing of the batteries in 2011, according to some
of the complaints filed.

Before the hearing on April 3, at least 23 firms sought an
appointment as lead counsel for the indirect purchasers, according
to Steve Berman of Hagens Berman.

"It was a zoo," he said.

Before the hearing, there was disagreement over which firms should
lead the case on behalf of indirect purchasers, according to
lawyers who attended.  They said Rogers was able to help build
consensus among all the firms for the three she ultimately
selected.

Fewer firms sought lead counsel spots representing direct
purchasers, according to Todd Seaver --
tseaver@bermandevalerio.com -- of Berman DeValerio, whose firm was
among the three selected.  Before the hearing, Mr. Seaver said
that the three firms had agreed to share lead counsel
responsibility and Rogers accepted the proposal.

Generally, direct purchasers have a lower burden than indirect
purchasers to prove damages in a price-fixing case.  But the
potential class size of indirect purchasers -- and the potential
attorneys' fees -- are much bigger.

The case is In Re Lithium Batteries Antitrust Litigation, U.S.
District Court for the Northern District of California, No.
13-md-0240.

According to The Recorder, the latest round of litigation claiming
price fixing in the electronics industry -- this time by makers of
lithium ion batteries -- heated up on April 3, as lawyers from
some of the country's top plaintiffs firms vied for appointments
that would give them control over class actions against such
companies as Panasonic, Sony and Samsung.  The presiding judge
joked that the combined billings from the proceeding could top her
annual salary.


NAT'L FOOTBALL: Goldberg Discusses Possible Class Action Defenses
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Joseph Hanna, Esq. -- jhanna@goldbergsegalla.com -- at Goldberg
Segalla LLP reports that the plight of National Football League
players suffering from concussion-related injuries has long been
the subject of media coverage, scientific debate and fan interest.
Now, a massive class-action lawsuit that threatens the livelihood
of the league itself has brought the topic to the forefront of
national attention.  Further, the lawsuit is not without local
ties of the 3,000-plus ex-player litigants, at least 80 are former
Buffalo Bills.

The question on everyone's mind: Will the NFL face liability for
its arguably deficient efforts to inform players of the risks
associated with football-induced head trauma?

                       Game-Changing Science

In 2005, a series of clinical studies linked multiple NFL
concussions to problems such as depression and early-onset
dementia.  From this research, a pair of neurologists determined
that Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) triggered by multiple
NFL concussions helped cause the death of three NFL alumni.  CTE
is a neurological disorder first discovered in athletes who
sustained multiple blows to the head.  Initially, CTE presents
through symptoms such as poor concentration/memory, dizziness and
headaches.  Later, CTE may progress into dementia, causing
symptoms such as hesitancy in speech and tremors of the hands.

At first the NFL denied a link between concussions and cognitive
decline, claiming more research was needed to reach a definitive
conclusion.  Though other studies reached a similar conclusion,
the NFL continually ignored these findings.  Instead, during its
first Concussion Summit in June 2007, the league issued a warning
pamphlet to players which simply stated that "there is no magic
number for how many concussions is too many."  Dr. Ira Casson, the
former NFL Concussion Committee's co-chair, publicly discounted
current research on the subject as unreliable and inconclusive.

                        Remedial Measures

Eventually, the growing body of damning medical research attracted
the attention of Congress, which held a hearing to discuss legal
issues relating to football head injuries.  During that hearing,
Congress criticized the NFL's stance on concussions and urged it
to begin taking corrective action.  Shortly thereafter the NFL
initiated several remedial measures.

First, the existing Concussion Committee was disbanded and
replaced by the newly minted NFL Head, Neck and Spine Medical
Committee, a team staffed by prominent neurologists.  Second, the
NFL partnered with the Center for the Study of Traumatic
Encephalopathy and donated $1 million to support its research.
Third, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello admitted: "It's quite obvious
from the medical research that's been done that concussions . . .
lead to long-term problems."

By 2010, the NFL had finally conceded that head injuries can cause
severe cognitive health problems.  More reforms followed.  For
instance, in February 2011 the NFL announced that team medical
personnel would begin implementing a standardized sideline
concussion assessment protocol, consisting of a limited
neurological/cognitive examination and a balance assessment.
Around December 2011, the league issued a memo stating that third-
party athletic trainers would be placed in each stadium to help
monitor player concussions.

Still, most of these measures were taken after the class-action
suits against the NFL had been filed, and not everyone is truly
convinced of the league's newfound concern.  Former Bills
offensive guard and Hall of Famer Joe DeLamielleure issued
strongly worded statements criticizing the league's actions.  He
indicated that he was "pissed off" that both the league and the
NFLPA were "not taking care" of players.  Later, noting that the
NFL only seemed interested in "cover(ing) their butt" in the
current litigation, Mr. DeLamielleure opined, "They don't give a
damn about (us)."

For many, the remedial measures were simply too late.  Between
February 2011 and April 2012, three former players --
Dave Duerson, Ray Easterling and Junior Seau -- committed suicide
after suffering from CTE-related symptoms.  Posthumous autopsies
later confirmed the presence of CTE in all three.

                      Class-Action Lawsuit

Since at least 2005, the NFL has been on notice of medical studies
linking football head injuries with later-life cognitive decline.
Now, over 3,000 NFL alumni have filed suit against the league,
alleging in part that the league "deliberately and fraudulently
concealed from its players the link between football-related head
impacts and long-term neurological injuries."  Most of these suits
have since been collapsed into one "master complaint," in the
Eastern District of Pennsylvania.  The case is currently awaiting
a ruling on the NFL's motion to dismiss, which was filed Aug. 30,
2012.

                        Potential Defenses

The NFL has several defenses to liability here.  Initially, the
league has sought dismissal of the suit by arguing that it is pre-
empted by the NFL players' collective bargaining agreement under
Sec. 301 the Labor Management Relations Act.  Arguably, if the
league has breached its duty to minimize the risk of concussion-
related harm to NFL players, and the CBA outlines the obligations
of the NFL regarding the issuance of warnings and player safety --
i.e., the resolution of state law claims requires interpretation
of a collective bargaining agreement -- this is a labor dispute.
Therefore, because the CBA calls for arbitration in the event of a
dispute, the matter must be settled accordingly. Previously,
courts have supported this defense in similar suits against the
NFL.

Second, the NFL might argue that, absent some special
relationship, awareness of independent studies alone did not
impose a legal duty to warn players about the cognitive
consequences of concussions.  Courts have suggested that NFL
players are employees of their respective teams, not the league.
Consequently, the NFL might argue that there is no special
relationship stemming from employment that would trigger an
affirmative duty to warn NFL players about the long-term risks
associated with concussions.

Third, the NFL could assert a contributory negligence defense --
i.e., there can be no recovery for negligence if the injured
person, by his own negligence, proximately contributed to the
injury.  Essentially, the league would argue that the players
contributed to their own injury by: (1) failing to report
concussive conditions; and (2) returning to play before their
concussion symptoms completely disappeared.  The NFL instructs
players to self-report their concussion symptoms, indicating that
concussion symptoms should be immediately reported to team medical
personnel, and that players should be asymptomatic before
returning to play.

There is documented evidence that many players ignore this
instruction -- leaving the door open for the NFL to argue that the
players negligently contributed to their own cognitive injuries by
failing to do so.  Players could respond by arguing that the NFL's
contractual scheme incentivizes them to conceal their concussion
symptoms.  NFL player contracts do not guarantee player payment
beyond the season in which an injury occurs.  This structure
maximizes the risk of players incurring permanent cognitive
problems because it incentivizes players to withhold their
concussion symptoms and play through head injuries.

These are only three possible defenses: The NFL could pursue other
tactics such as apportioning blame via comparative negligence, or
arguing that the statute of limitations has run on the plaintiffs'
claims.  While the league might be inclined to settle to avoid
catastrophic jury verdicts, this case is no slam dunk for the
plaintiffs; because NFL players could have sustained head injuries
at any point in their careers (high school, college, etc.),
proving the causal chain -- i.e., that the NFL's failure to warn
resulted in injury -- will be difficult at best.

Arguably, the NFL has been aware of causal studies linking
multiple concussions to later-life cognitive decline yet failed to
issue adequate warnings to league players.  As a result, NFL
alumni have targeted the league with failure to warn claims to
recover for their cognitive injuries.  Still, the NFL has a number
of potentially exonerating defenses at its disposal.  In any
event, the next few months will determine the NFL's ultimate
liability for its actions -- and could shape the financial future
of the league.


NATIONAL FORECLOSURE: Employees Get Partial Class Certification
---------------------------------------------------------------
New Jersey Law Journal reports that a federal judge has granted
partial class certification to employees of a mortgage-rescue
company run by a lawyer, finding they met the requirements of
numerosity and commonality.  The suit alleges that the National
Foreclosure Consulting Group wrongly designated its salespeople as
independent contractors in 2009, stopped withholding taxes or
paying its share of Social Security and Medicare deductions and
failed to pay minimum wage or overtime.


NORTH CAROLINA: Class Action Challenges Medicaid Program Ruling
---------------------------------------------------------------
Emery P. Dalesio, writing for The Associated Press, reports that
North Carolina's Medicaid program can't cut in-home services for
more than 2,400 disabled adults while a class-action lawsuit
challenges the decision, according to a federal appeals court
ruling taking effect on April 2.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in
Richmond, Va., ruled last month that a 2010 state law cutting
personal care services for people who need help with things like
cooking, bathing and dressing couldn't take effect.

The decision backs a 2011 ruling by U.S. District Judge Terrence
Boyle in Raleigh that blocked the cuts because they would likely
force people into adult care institutions or risk serious physical
or mental injury.  Judge Boyle's order came as then-Gov.  Beverly
Perdue and the General Assembly sought to close a Medicaid
shortfall projected at about $140 million.

The appeals court rejected the argument of North Carolina
officials that budget concerns were a legitimate reason to stop
in-home personal care services to disabled adults.  The greater
public interest is served by blocking the cuts, the appeals court
decision said.

"Although we understand that the North Carolina legislature must
make difficult decisions in an imperfect fiscal climate, the
public interest in this case lies with safeguarding public health
rather than with assuaging North Carolina's budgetary woes," Judge
Henry Floyd wrote in the appeals court's decision.

The case now goes back to Judge Boyle for further hearings and a
final determination.

Cutting in-home services would force many disabled North Carolina
residents covered by the class-action lawsuit into adult care
homes where they become segregated from the broader community,
Disability Rights North Carolina Executive Director Vicki Smith
said.

"Providing services in our communities will be cheaper and comply
with federal law" for a double win for taxpayers, Ms. Smith said.

Under the old rules, a Medicaid patient qualified for up to 80
hours a month of help if they had trouble performing at least two
"activities of daily living," such as dressing, eating, bathing,
going to the bathroom and getting out of a chair.  The new rules
required trouble in three of those activities or extensive
problems with two.

Patients in adult care homes faced different and less stringent
eligibility requirements, a difference that discouraged
independent living and placed a bias upon moving residents to
institutional care, the lawsuit contends.

The state Medicaid office already had made personal care services
leaner after regulators argued thousands of patients were getting
more help than their conditions required, creating big cost
overruns.


NOVA SCOTIA HOME: June 10 Certification Hearing Set for Abuse Suit
------------------------------------------------------------------
Selena Ross, writing for The Chronicle Herald, reports that in the
proposed class action regarding the Nova Scotia Home for Colored
Children, everyone involved is tasked with wading through a patchy
history.  Often, it comes down to blank memories and old notes
scribbled by social workers.

"Some things you learn to block out of your mind, you know,
30-some-odd years ago," Harriet Johnson told one of the province's
lawyers on March 28.

"Other things are just in your mind permanently -- scarred."

Three people who allege childhood abuse at the home outside
Dartmouth, including Ms. Johnson, met face to face with the
province's lawyers in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.  For the first
time, the plaintiffs were asked to explain gaps and apparent
discrepancies in their recollections.  But they often said they
simply couldn't remember some details -- even whole years -- of
childhoods spent shuffled between foster homes, shelters and even
different provinces.

Ms. Johnson, June Elwin and Deanna Smith are acting as
representative plaintiffs in the proposed class action and could
therefore be cross-examined by the defendants' lawyers, within
certain limits, ahead of a certification hearing.

The certification hearing, set for the week of June 10, will
determine whether about 140 people will be permitted to argue as a
group against the province.

The Home for Colored Children is also named as a defendant in the
proposed class action, but the home is expected to finalize a
settlement within "a few weeks," Michael Dull, a lawyer for the
plaintiffs, said on April 2.

While the three women spoke, a handful of friends and former
residents of the home came in and out of the courtroom.

They comforted Ms. Johnson after she cried when asked to narrow
down how old she was when she was allegedly raped, then allegedly
prostituted, by Georgie Williams, a former staffer of the home.

Ms. Smith told Justice Department lawyer Catherine Lunn that she
can't remember where she lived or what she did for years of her
adolescence in the 1980s.

"Bits and pieces come back now and then," Ms. Smith said.  "At one
point through those years, I can remember I worked at McDonald's,
Wendy's. . . . I remember the uniforms."

But she couldn't say whether she worked those jobs in Calgary or
Saint John, N.B., having lived in both cities as a teenager.

However, like vivid scenes she described from the Home for Colored
Children, Ms. Smith came up instantly with a memory from one
household where she lived in New Brunswick as soon as Ms. Lunn
read a name to her.

"As you say the name, I know I know this person," Ms. Smith said.

"Someone had beat her up, black and blue, her face, and threw a
hammer through the window."

The province's lawyers brought documents with notes about the
women's care, including doctor's visits, foster homes and how they
became wards of the province.

In some cases, it was the first time they had seen those records
of their early lives.

Ms. Elwin, 72, never knew who her father was, but there was a note
about him in one of those papers.

Ms. Johnson had a similar moment when Peter McVey, another Justice
Department lawyer, kept asking if she recognized a certain name in
her records.

"I said that three times; I do not know this man," said
Ms. Johnson.

"Is it your evidence that he's not your father?" asked Mr. McVey.

"Excuse me?" said Ms. Johnson.

Two longtime social workers who have filed affidavits were also
questioned, including Jane Earle, once a director of the home.


PACIFIC SUNWEAR: "Pfeiffer" Wage & Hour Suit in Discovery Stage
---------------------------------------------------------------
Pacific Sunwear Of California, Inc., disclosed in its Form 10-K
Annual Report for the fiscal year ended February 2, 2013, filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 5, that the
case, Charles Pfeiffer, individually and on behalf of other
aggrieved employees vs. Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc., and
Pacific Sunwear Stores Corp., Superior Court of California, County
of Riverside, Case No. 1100527, is currently in the discovery
phase.

On January 13, 2011, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the
Company under California's private attorney general act alleging
violations of California's wage and hour, overtime, meal break and
rest break rules and regulations, among other things. The
complaint seeks an unspecified amount of damages and penalties.
The Company has filed an answer denying all allegations regarding
the plaintiff's claims and asserting various defenses.

"The Company is currently in the discovery phase of this case.  As
the ultimate outcome of this matter is uncertain no amounts have
been accrued by the Company as of the date of this report.
Depending on the actual outcome of this case, provisions could be
recorded in the future which may have a material adverse effect on
the Company's operating results," the Company said.

Anaheim, California-based Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc., is
a specialty retailer that sells branded and proprietary casual
apparel, accessories and footwear designed to appeal to teens and
young adults.


PACIFIC SUNWEAR: "Beeney" Wage & Hour Suit in Discovery Stage
-------------------------------------------------------------
Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc., disclosed in its Form 10-K
Annual Report for the fiscal year ended February 2, 2013, filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 5, that it
has filed an answer denying all allegations regarding the
plaintiff's claims and asserting various defenses in the case,
Tamara Beeney, individually and on behalf of other members of the
general public similarly situated vs. Pacific Sunwear of
California, Inc. and Pacific Sunwear Stores Corporation, Superior
Court of California, County of Orange, Case No. 30-2011-00459346-
CU-OE-CXC.

The Company also said it is currently in the discovery phase of
the case.

On March 18, 2011, the plaintiff filed a putative class action
lawsuit against the Company alleging violations of California's
wage and hour, overtime, meal break and rest break rules and
regulations, among other things. The complaint seeks class
certification, the appointment of the plaintiff as class
representative, and an unspecified amount of damages and
penalties.

"As the ultimate outcome of this matter is uncertain, no amounts
have been accrued by the Company as of the date of this report.
Depending on the actual outcome of this case, provisions could be
recorded in the future which may have a material adverse effect on
the Company's operating results," the Company said.

Anaheim, California-based Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc., is
a specialty retailer that sells branded and proprietary casual
apparel, accessories and footwear designed to appeal to teens and
young adults.


PEOPLES BANCORP: Bank Unit Faces Class Suit in Lincoln County
-------------------------------------------------------------
Peoples Bank, a subsidiary of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina,
Inc., on April 2, 2013, received notice that a lawsuit was filed
against it in the General Court of Justice, Superior Court
Division, Lincoln County, North Carolina.  The complaint alleges
(i) breach of contract and the covenants of good faith and fair
dealing by the Bank, (ii) conversion, (iii) unjust enrichment and
(iv) violations of the North Carolina Unfair and Deceptive Trade
Practices Act in its assessment and collection of overdraft fees.
It seeks the refund of overdraft fees, treble damages, attorneys'
fees and injunctive relief. The Plaintiff seeks to have the
lawsuit certified as a class action.  The Bank believes that the
allegations in the complaint are without merit and intends to
vigorously defend the lawsuit, including the request that the
lawsuit be certified as a class action.

The case is, Joseph Lee Gay, et al v. Peoples Bank, Lincoln County
Case #13 CV 00383.

Requests for further information should be directed to Mr. Bill
Cable or Mr. Joe Lampron, 828-464-5620.


PFIZER INC: Zoloft MDL Judge Notes on Precedential Rulings
----------------------------------------------------------
Amaris Elliott-Engel, writing for The Legal Intelligencer, reports
that the judge presiding over the multidistrict litigation
involving plaintiffs who allege that the use of Zoloft caused
birth defects in their children said there are now enough cases
amassed in federal court for precedential rulings to be
appropriate.


SCBT FINANCIAL: Inks MOU to Settle Savannah Acquisition Suit
------------------------------------------------------------
SCBT Financial Corporation said in its March 4, 2013, Form 10-K
filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the
year ended December 31, 2012, that it entered into a memorandum of
understanding to settle a class action lawsuit arising from its
acquisition of The Savannah Bancorp, Inc.

On October 11, 2012, a purported shareholder of The Savannah
Bancorp, Inc., a Company subsidiary, filed a lawsuit in the
Supreme Court of the State of New York captioned Rational
Strategies Fund v. Robert H. Demere, Jr. et al., No. 653566/2012
(the "Rational Lawsuit"), naming Savannah, members of Savannah's
board of directors and SCBT as defendants.  This lawsuit is
purportedly brought on behalf of a putative class of Savannah's
common shareholders and seeks a declaration that it is properly
maintainable as a class action with the Plaintiff as the proper
class representative.  The Rational Lawsuit alleges that Savannah,
Savannah's directors and SCBT breached duties and/or aided and
abetted such breaches by failing to disclose certain material
information about the proposed merger between Savannah and SCBT.
Among other relief, the Complaint seeks to enjoin the merger.
SCBT believes that the claims asserted in the Complaint are
without merit and that the proceeding will not have any material
adverse effect on the financial condition or operations of SCBT.

On November 23, 2012, SCBT, Savannah and the other named
defendants entered into a memorandum of understanding (the
"Rational MOU") with the Plaintiff regarding a settlement of the
Rational Lawsuit.  Pursuant to the Rational MOU, Savannah made
available additional information concerning the Savannah merger to
Savannah shareholders in a Current Report on Form 8-K.  The
Rational MOU provides that the parties will enter into a
stipulation of settlement, which will be subject to customary
conditions, including court approval following notice to
Savannah's shareholders.  If the settlement is finally approved by
the Court, it is anticipated that the settlement will resolve and
release all claims in the action that were or could have been
brought challenging any aspect of the Savannah merger, the
Savannah merger agreement, and any disclosure made in connection
therewith, and that the action will be dismissed with prejudice.

The Company says there can be no assurance that the parties will
ultimately enter into a stipulation of settlement or that the
court will approve the settlement even if the parties were to
enter into such stipulation.  In such event, the proposed
settlement as contemplated by the Rational MOU may be terminated.

Headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina, SCBT Financial
Corporation -- http://www.scbtonline.com-- operates as the
holding company for SCBT, N.A., that provides retail and
commercial banking services in the Carolinas.  The Company's
deposit products include checking accounts; savings and time
deposits; and certificates of deposit, as well as interest-bearing
transaction accounts, including NOW, HSA, IOLTA, and market rate
checking accounts.


SCBT FINANCIAL: Still Awaits OK of "Arnette" Suit Settlement
------------------------------------------------------------
SCBT Financial Corporation is still awaiting court approval of its
settlement of the class action lawsuit brought by F. Davis Arnette
and Mary F. Arnette, according to the Company's March 4, 2013,
Form 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
for the year ended December 31, 2012.

On January 18, 2012, two purported shareholders of Peoples
Bancorporation, Inc., a Company subsidiary, filed a class action
lawsuit in the Court of Common Pleas for the Thirteenth Judicial
District, State of South Carolina, County of Pickens, captioned F.
Davis Arnette and Mary F. Arnette v. Peoples Bancorporation, Inc.,
Case No. 2012-CP-39-0064 (the "Arnette Lawsuit").  The Complaint
names as defendants Peoples, the members of Peoples' board of
directors immediately prior to the completion of the merger
between SCBT and Peoples (the "Director Defendants") and SCBT.
The Complaint is brought on behalf of a putative class of
shareholders of Peoples common stock and seeks a declaration that
it is properly maintainable as a class action.  The Complaint
alleges that Peoples' directors breached their fiduciary duties by
failing to maximize shareholder value in connection with the
merger between SCBT and Peoples, and also alleges that SCBT aided
and abetted those breaches of fiduciary duty.  The Complaint seeks
declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent the completion of the
merger, an accounting to determine damages sustained by the
putative class, and costs including plaintiffs' attorneys' and
experts' fees.  SCBT believes that the claims asserted in the
Complaint are without merit and that the proceeding will not have
any material adverse effect on the financial condition or
operations of SCBT.

On April 17, 2012, SCBT entered into a memorandum of understanding
(the "Peoples MOU") with plaintiffs and other named defendants
regarding the settlement of the Complaint.  Under the terms of the
Peoples MOU, SCBT, Peoples, the Director Defendants and the
plaintiffs have agreed to settle the Arnette Lawsuit and release
the defendants from all claims relating to the Peoples merger,
subject to approval by the Court.  If the Court approves the
settlement contemplated by the Peoples MOU, the Arnette Lawsuit
will be dismissed with prejudice.  Pursuant to the terms of the
Peoples MOU, SCBT and Peoples have made available additional
information to Peoples shareholders in the Current Report on Form
8-K filed April 18, 2012.  In return, the plaintiffs have agreed
to the dismissal of the Arnette Lawsuit with prejudice and to
withdraw all motions filed in connection with the Arnette Lawsuit.
If the Peoples MOU is finally approved by the Court, it is
anticipated that the Peoples MOU will resolve and release all
claims in all actions that were or could have been brought
challenging any aspect of the Peoples merger, the Peoples merger
agreement and any disclosures made in connection therewith.

The Company says there can be no assurance that the parties will
ultimately enter into a stipulation of settlement or that the
Court will approve the settlement, even if the parties were to
enter into such stipulation.  In such event, the proposed
settlement as contemplated by the Peoples MOU may be terminated.

Headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina, SCBT Financial
Corporation -- http://www.scbtonline.com-- operates as the
holding company for SCBT, N.A., that provides retail and
commercial banking services in the Carolinas.  The Company's
deposit products include checking accounts; savings and time
deposits; and certificates of deposit, as well as interest-bearing
transaction accounts, including NOW, HSA, IOLTA, and market rate
checking accounts.


SMART ONLINE: "Beauregard" Suit Adversely Affected Fund Raising
---------------------------------------------------------------
Smart Online Inc. disclosed in its Form 10-K report for the fiscal
year ended December 31, 2012, filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission on April 5, that an SEC lawsuit and criminal
actions filed against a former officer and a former employee, and
the class action lawsuit filed against the Company and certain
current and former officers, directors, and employees -- Mary Jane
Beauregard v. Smart Online, Inc., et al., filed in the United
States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina --
have harmed the Company's business in many ways and may cause
further harm in the future.

According to the Company, "Since the initiation of these actions,
our ability to raise financing from new investors on favorable
terms has suffered due to the lack of liquidity of our stock, the
questions raised by these actions, and the resulting drop in the
price of our common stock. As a result, we may not raise
sufficient financing, if necessary, in the future."

Dennis Michael Nouri, Reza Eric Nouri, former officer and a former
employee of the Company were found guilty in July 2009.  On June
18, 2010, the Company entered into a Settlement Agreement with
Dennis Michael Nouri, Reza Eric Nouri, Henry Nouri and Ronna
Loprete Nouri, collectively, the Nouri Parties, in settlement of
claims filed by the Nouri Parties against the Company in the Court
of Chancery of the State of Delaware for advancement of legal
expenses and indemnification.  The Settlement Agreement provided
for the payment by the Company of up to $1,400,000 for the benefit
of the Parties.  These funds have all been paid.

The Company added: "We are required to issue 1,475,000 shares of
our common stock to the Class Action class in connection with the
Company's Class Action lawsuit settlement approved by the District
Court on July 1, 2011.  These shares have not been issued as of
March 21, 2013."

Durham, North Carolina-based Smart Online Inc. --
http://www.MobileSmith.com/-- develops and markets a full range
of mobile application software products and services that are
delivered via a Software-as-a-Service, or SaaS, model.  It also
provides Web site and mobile consulting services to businesses and
not-for-profit organizations.


SYNOPSYS INC: Has Final OK of Accord in Magma Acquisition Suits
---------------------------------------------------------------
Synopsys Inc. received in January final approval of its settlement
of class action lawsuits arising from its acquisition of Magma
Design Automation, Inc., according to the Company's March 4, 2013,
Form 10-Q filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
for the quarter ended January 31, 2013.

Shortly after the announcement of the Company's definitive merger
agreement to acquire Magma Design Automation, Inc. (Magma), and
before the proxy statement detailing the transaction was filed
with the SEC, four putative stockholder class actions were filed
by plaintiffs' attorneys against Magma, Magma's board of
directors, Synopsys and the Synopsys merger subsidiary on December
5, 2011, December 9, 2011, December 13, 2011, and December 19,
2011, in state court in California and Delaware, and the cases
were consolidated in California state court (collectively, the
Magma Lawsuits).

On January 25, 2013, the court granted final approval of the
settlement of the Magma Lawsuits, which included the dismissal
with prejudice of all claims against all of the defendants.  Magma
and Magma's insurance carrier paid certain legal fees and expenses
of plaintiffs' counsel as part of the settlement.

Headquartered in Mountain View, California, Synopsys, Inc., is a
supplier of electronic design automation software that engineers
use to design, create prototypes for and test integrated circuits,
also known as chips.  The Company also provides software and
hardware used to develop the systems that incorporate integrated
circuits and the software that runs on those integrated circuits.


VITACOST.COM INC: Argument in "Miyahira" Suit Set for This Week
---------------------------------------------------------------
Oral argument in the securities class action lawsuit styled
Miyahira v. Vitacost.com, Inc., et al., is currently scheduled for
this week, according to the Company's March 4, 2013, Form
10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for
the year ended December 31, 2012.

On May 24, 2010, a punitive class action complaint was filed in
the United States District Court for the Southern District of
Florida against the Company and certain current and former
officers and directors by a stockholder on behalf of herself and
other stockholders who purchased Vitacost common stock between
September 24, 2009, and April 20, 2010, captioned Miyahira v.
Vitacost.com, Inc., Ira P. Kerker, Richard P. Smith, Stewart
Gitler, Allen S. Josephs, David N. Ilfeld, Lawrence A. Pabst, Eran
Ezra, and Robert G. Trapp, Case 9:10-cv-80644-KLR.  After being
appointed to represent the purported class of shareholders, the
lead plaintiffs filed an amended complaint asserting claims under
Sections 11, 12(a)(2), and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
as amended, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder against
Vitacost, its current and former officers and directors, and the
underwriters of its initial public offering ("IPO").  On
December 12, 2011, the Court granted defendants' motion to dismiss
the complaint, and granted plaintiffs leave to amend.

On January 11, 2012, lead plaintiff filed its second amended
complaint asserting claims under Sections 11, 12(a)(2), and 15 of
the Securities Act of 1933 against Vitacost, its current and
former officers and directors, and its underwriters.  Lead
plaintiff purports to bring its action on behalf of investors who
purchased stock in connection with or traceable to the Company's
IPO between September 24, 2009, and April 20, 2010.  The complaint
alleges that the defendants violated the federal securities laws
during the period by, among other things, disseminating false and
misleading statements and/or concealing material facts concerning
the Company's current and prospective business and financial
results.  The complaint also alleges that as a result of these
actions the Company's stock price was artificially inflated during
the class period.  The complaint seeks unspecified compensatory
damages, costs, and expenses.

On June 25, 2012, the Southern District of Florida entered its
order granting defendants' motion to dismiss in full and
dismissing the second amended complaint with prejudice.  On
July 23, 2012, lead plaintiff filed a notice of appeal to the
Eleventh Circuit of the order granting defendants' motion to
dismiss.  Plaintiff-Appellant filed its opening appellate brief on
September 17, 2012, Defendant-Appellees filed their responding
brief on October 29, 2012, and Plaintiff Appellant filed its reply
in support of its opening brief on December 3, 2012.

Oral argument before the Eleventh Circuit is scheduled for the
week of April 8, 2013.

The Company says it records provisions in its consolidated
financial statements for pending litigation when it determines
that an unfavorable outcome is probable and the amount of loss can
be reasonably estimated.  As of December 31, 2012, the Company has
concluded that it is not probable that a loss has been incurred
and is unable to estimate the possible loss or range of loss that
could result from an unfavorable verdict.  Therefore, the Company
has not provided any amounts in the consolidated financial
statements for an unfavorable outcome.  The Company believes that
it has meritorious arguments for affirmation of the Southern
District of Florida's order that it will raise in the appeal.  It
is possible that the Company's consolidated financial statements
could be materially adversely affected by an unfavorable outcome.

Vitacost.com, Inc. -- http://www.vitacost.com/-- is an online
retailer of health and wellness products, including dietary
supplements like vitamins, minerals, herbs and other botanicals,
as well as cosmetics, natural personal care products, pet
products, sports nutrition and health foods.  The Company was
incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.


WAL-MART: Plaintiffs Can't Rely on Akin Gump Memo in Class Action
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jan Wolfe, writing for The Litigation Daily, reports that if the
massive gender discrimination lawsuit known as Dukes v. Wal-Mart
goes to trial, the plaintiffs won't be able to rely on a notorious
legal memo in which Wal-Mart's former lawyers at Akin Gump warned
the retailer in 1995 that it had a gender discrimination problem.
A judge has concluded that the memo is shielded by attorney-client
privilege, even though a whistleblower leaked it to The New York
Times in 2010.


WAL-MART: Says Plaintiffs Can't Use Mexico Bribery Internal Emails
------------------------------------------------------------------
The Litigation Daily reports that Wal-Mart would very much like to
un-ring some bells in a securities class action related to its
still unfolding Mexican bribery scandal.  Even though internal
company emails relating to the scandal were disclosed in media
reports and are now part of the public record, Wal-Mart's lawyers
at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher are arguing that plaintiffs lawyers
shouldn't be allowed to cite them in shareholder litigation.


WYETH: Fen-Phen Doctor Gets 72 Months in Prison for Fraud Scheme
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Federal Bureau of Investigation on March 26 disclosed that
Dr. Abdur Razzak Tai, 79, of Kissimmee, Florida, was sentenced on
March 26 to six years in prison for a fraud scheme involving a
trust fund set up to compensate victims of the Fen-Phen diet drug.
Tai, who practiced cardiology under the name A. Razzak Tai M.D.
and through Tri-County Doctors Inc. and Medical Legal Consultants
Inc., was convicted in September 2011 on six counts of mail fraud
and seven counts of wire fraud.

American Home Products Corporation, later known as Wyeth, entered
into a class action settlement, which established a Trust to pay
benefits to persons injured by Fen-Phen with money contributed by
Wyeth.  Between 1997 and 2009, Tai devised a scheme to defraud the
Seventh Amendment, the Trust and Wyeth, and to obtain money and
property from them by means of false and fraudulent
representations.  He reviewed the echocardiograms of more than
1,100 patients who filed claims with the American Home Product
Settlement Trust in Philadelphia and falsely certified that the
patients' tests showed that they had sustained heart damage.  In
reality, many of those claimants had not been harmed.

For at least one lawyer, Dr. Tai was paid a set fee of $100 for
each echocardiogram that he read.  In addition, Dr. Tai was to be
compensated $1,500 for each claimant who qualified for benefits
when that patient's claim was paid.  Dr. Tai wrote reports and
signed certifications attesting that claimants had suffered heart
damage on some occasions when he knew that the tests showed that
they had not and, on other occasions, when he knew that he had not
personally reviewed the test results to determine whether they had
suffered heart damage.  By misreporting measurements from the
echocardiogram, the severity of a claimant's medical condition
could be exaggerated, thereby improperly qualifying the claimant
for hundreds of thousands of dollars more in benefits.  Dr. Tai
certified that some patients qualified for the increased
settlement benefits when he knew they did not.

At trial, Dr. Tai testified that his medical reports had been
forged by the mass-tort lawyer who had hired him and who had paid
him on a contingency fee basis.  The jury returned a verdict of
guilty on all 13 counts after deliberating for less than two
hours.

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Juan R.
Sanchez ordered Dr. Tai to pay restitution in the amount of $4.5
million, a $15,000 fine, a special assessment of $1,300, and
ordered three years of supervised release.  Dr. Tai was
immediately remanded.

The case was investigated by the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection
Service and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney
Paul Shapiro.


* Mayer Brown Discusses Use of Article III in Class Action
----------------------------------------------------------
Kevin S. Ranlett, Esq., at Mayer Brown, writes: Here's the
situation: You're facing a class action in federal court in which
the plaintiffs define the putative class so broadly as to
encompass many people who weren't injured by the alleged
wrongdoing.  For example, consider a false-advertising class
action on behalf of "all purchasers" of a product that the vast
majority of purchasers would have used without any problem
whatsoever, meaning that the alleged rarely occurring (or entirely
hypothetical) defect that the defendant failed to disclose makes
no difference to them.  What's the best way to attack this
weakness in the complaint?

One option would be to characterize the problem as a lack of
Article III standing.  Article III allows courts to hear a case
only if the plaintiff has suffered an injury in fact that is
fairly traceable to the defendant's conduct and that could be
redressed by a favorable decision from the court.  In our hypo,
the defendant could move to strike the class allegations on the
ground that virtually all of the alleged class members lack
standing.

This approach, however, has potential pitfalls.  For example, some
courts have held that Article III requires merely that the named
plaintiffs have standing, a rule that (as plaintiffs argue with
some success) allows a class action to go forward even though the
putative class includes people who themselves lack standing and
thus could not bring their own individual actions.  See, e.g.,
Stearns v. Ticketmaster Corp., 655 F.3d 1013, 1021 (9th Cir.
2011). But see, e.g., Avritt v. Reliastar Life Ins. Co., 615 F.3d
1023, 1034 (8th Cir. 2010); Denney v. Deutsche Bank AG, 443 F.3d
253, 263-64 (2d Cir. 2006).  In the wrong jurisdiction, the court
will simply deny the motion to strike as foreclosed by circuit
precedent.

To avoid this difficulty, the defendant can move to strike the
class allegations, using the fact that most class members are
uninjured to challenge commonality, typicality, adequacy, and
predominance.  Of course, because courts are divided over the
standing issue, that issue is ripe for eventual Supreme Court
review.  Defendants therefore should consider raising the standing
defect in the alternative in order to preserve the issue (though
insofar as standing is jurisdictional, it should be possible to
raise it at any time even if it has not been raised before).

But what if the named plaintiffs themselves appear to be uninjured
because they didn't experience the alleged product defect either?
The defendant could challenge their standing in a motion to
dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.  But there is a
risk to doing so.  Some federal courts believe that the proper
course when the named plaintiffs lack standing is to remand the
case to state court, where laxer concepts of standing, more
lenient class-certification standards, and antipathy toward out-
of-state businesses may hamstring the defendant's ability to
defend itself.  To make matters worse, the Tenth Circuit recently
held that a district court decision remanding a class action to
state court for lack of "standing" is non-reviewable under 28
U.S.C. Sec. 1447(d). See Hill v. Vanderbilt Capital Advisors LLC,
No. 11-2213 (10th Cir. Dec. 27, 2012).  Accordingly, unless there
is clear Circuit precedent indicating that the district court
should not remand in this situation or the state court to which
the case would be remanded is not hostile to business defendants,
companies confronted with such a dilemma may be better served
challenging the merits of the plaintiffs' claims rather than their
standing to assert them.

Mayer Brown -- http://mayerbrown.com-- is a global legal services
provider comprising legal practices that are separate entities.
The Mayer Brown Practices are: Mayer Brown LLP and Mayer Brown
Europe - Brussels LLP, both limited liability partnerships
established in Illinois USA; Mayer Brown International LLP, a
limited liability partnership incorporated in England and Wales
(authorized and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority
and registered in England and Wales number OC 303359); Mayer
Brown, a SELAS established in France; Mayer Brown JSM, a Hong Kong
partnership and its associated entities in Asia; and Tauil &
Chequer Advogados, a Brazilian law partnership with which Mayer
Brown is associated.


                        Asbestos Litigation


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Magnetek Inc. Continues to Defend Lawsuits
-----------------------------------------------------------
Magnetek, Inc., continues to defend itself against asbestos-
related lawsuits, according to the Company's Form 10-K filing with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the fiscal year
ended December 30, 2012.

The Company states: "We have been named, along with multiple other
defendants, in asbestos-related lawsuits associated with business
operations we previously acquired, but which are no longer owned.
During our ownership, none of the businesses produced or sold
asbestos-containing products. For such claims, we are either
contractually indemnified against liability, or contractually
obligated to defend and indemnify the purchaser of these former
Magnetek business operations. With respect to these claims, we are
uninsured, but we believe that we have no such liability and we
aggressively seek dismissal from these proceedings. Management
does not believe the asbestos proceedings, individually or in the
aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on its financial
position or results of operations."

Magnetek, Inc. is a global provider of digital power control
systems that are used to control motion and power primarily in
material handling, elevator, and mining applications.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: U.S. Auto Parts Units Continue to Defend Suits
---------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc.'s subsidiaries continue to defend
themselves against lawsuits involving claims for damages caused by
installation of brakes during the late 1960's and early 1970's
that contained asbestos, according to the Company's Form 10-K
filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the
fiscal year ended December 29, 2012.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, Automotive Specialty
Accessories and Parts, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary WAG,
are named defendants in several lawsuits involving claims for
damages caused by installation of brakes during the late 1960's
and early 1970's that contained asbestos. WAG marketed certain
brakes, but did not manufacture any brakes. WAG maintains
liability insurance coverage to protect its and the Company's
assets from losses arising from the litigation and coverage is
provided on an occurrence rather than a claims made basis, and the
Company is not expected to incur significant out-of-pocket costs
in connection with this matter that would be material to its
consolidated financial statements.

U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc. (U.S. Auto Parts) offers online
sources for automotive aftermarket parts and repairs information.
The Company principally sells its products, identified as stock
keeping units (SKUs), to individual consumers through its network
of Websites and online marketplaces. The Company's Websites
provide customers with a selection of approximately two million
SKUs with product descriptions and photographs. The Company has
developed a product database that maps its SKUs to product
applications based on vehicle makes, models and years. It offers a
selection of aftermarket auto parts.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Cyalume Technologies Owns Facility With Fibro
--------------------------------------------------------------
Cyalume Technologies Holdings, Inc., owns a facility that contains
asbestos but has no known damaged asbestos requiring remediation,
according to the Company's Form 10-K filing with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2012.

The Company states: "We own the West Springfield, Massachusetts
facility which houses corporate functions, research and
development and manufacturing for CTI and CTS products. The
facility is located on ten acres of land in an industrial area and
has 200,000 square feet of office, manufacturing and warehousing
space. There is adequate space available in the facility to
accommodate an increase in operations and staffing. There are no
known matters of ground contamination or air quality discharges
that exceed acceptable limits. The facility is older and contains
asbestos, which is consistent with buildings of its era, but there
is no known damaged asbestos requiring remediation. The facility
is subject to inspections by various environmental agencies from
time to time and no significant violations of any environmental
standards have been noted during the period of ownership by the
current owners. Environmental violations are not believed to
represent a material risk. The facility is subject to a mortgage."

Cyalume Technologies Holdings, Inc. focuses on providing tactical
and training solutions to the military of the United States, and
other select countries, through both products and services. The
Company manufactures chemical light, reflective and battlefield
effects simulator products while its services include planning and
implementing tactical training exercises simulating real world
experiences. It also sells products into the law enforcement,
commercial, and other markets. Its products producing chemical
light rely on a chemical reaction known as chemiluminescence. It
has one direct subsidiary Cyalume Technologies, Inc. (CTI). CTI
has one subsidiary, Cyalume Technologies, SAS. It manufactures
products in West Springfield, MA; Bound Brook, NJ; and Aix-en-
Provence, France. On August 31, 2011, through a wholly owned
subsidiary named Cyalume Specialty Chemicals, Inc., it acquired
JFC Technologies, LLC. On December 22, 2011, the Company acquired
Combat Training Solutions, Inc.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Park-Ohio Industries Has 280 Exposure Cases
------------------------------------------------------------
Park-Ohio Industries, Inc., is a co-defendant in 280 cases
asserting claims alleging personal injury as a result of exposure
to asbestos, according to the Company's Form 10-K filing with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2012.

The Company states: "In addition to routine lawsuits and asserted
claims, we were a party to the lawsuits and legal proceedings
described below as of December 31, 2012:

"We were a co-defendant in approximately 280 cases asserting
claims on behalf of approximately 600 plaintiffs alleging personal
injury as a result of exposure to asbestos. These asbestos cases
generally relate to production and sale of asbestos-containing
products and allege various theories of liability, including
negligence, gross negligence and strict liability, and seek
compensatory and, in some cases, punitive damages.

"In every asbestos case in which we are named as a party, the
complaints are filed against multiple named defendants. In
substantially all of the asbestos cases, the plaintiffs either
claim damages in excess of a specified amount, typically a minimum
amount sufficient to establish jurisdiction of the court in which
the case was filed (jurisdictional minimums generally range from
$25,000 to $75,000), or do not specify the monetary damages
sought. To the extent that any specific amount of damages is
sought, the amount applies to claims against all named defendants.

"There are only seven asbestos cases, involving 25 plaintiffs,
that plead specified damages. In each of the seven cases, the
plaintiff is seeking compensatory and punitive damages based on a
variety of potentially alternative causes of action. In three
cases, the plaintiff has alleged compensatory damages in the
amount of $3.0 million for four separate causes of action and $1.0
million for another cause of action and punitive damages in the
amount of $10.0 million. In the fourth case, the plaintiff has
alleged against each named defendant, compensatory and punitive
damages, each in the amount of $10.0 million, for seven separate
causes of action. In the fifth case, the plaintiff has alleged
compensatory damages in the amount of $20.0 million for three
separate causes of action and $5.0 million for another cause of
action and punitive damages in the amount of $20.0 million. In the
remaining two cases, the plaintiffs have each alleged against each
named defendant, compensatory and punitive damages, each in the
amount of $50.0 million, for four separate causes of action.

"Historically, we have been dismissed from asbestos cases on the
basis that the plaintiff incorrectly sued one of our subsidiaries
or because the plaintiff failed to identify any asbestos-
containing product manufactured or sold by us or our subsidiaries.
We intend to vigorously defend these asbestos cases, and believe
we will continue to be successful in being dismissed from such
cases. However, it is not possible to predict the ultimate outcome
of asbestos-related lawsuits, claims and proceedings due to the
unpredictable nature of personal injury litigation. Despite this
uncertainty, and although our results of operations and cash flows
for a particular period could be adversely affected by asbestos-
related lawsuits, claims and proceedings, management believes that
the ultimate resolution of these matters will not have a material
adverse effect on our financial condition, liquidity or results of
operations. Among the factors management considered in reaching
this conclusion were: (a) our historical success in being
dismissed from these types of lawsuits on the bases mentioned
above; (b) many cases have been improperly filed against one of
our subsidiaries; (c) in many cases the plaintiffs have been
unable to establish any causal relationship to us or our products
or premises; (d) in many cases, the plaintiffs have been unable to
demonstrate that they have suffered any identifiable injury or
compensable loss at all or that any injuries that they have
incurred did in fact result from alleged exposure to asbestos; and
(e) the complaints assert claims against multiple defendants and,
in most cases, the damages alleged are not attributed to
individual defendants. Additionally, we do not believe that the
amounts claimed in any of the asbestos cases are meaningful
indicators of our potential exposure because the amounts claimed
typically bear no relation to the extent of the plaintiff's
injury, if any.

"Our cost of defending these lawsuits has not been material to
date and, based upon available information, our management does
not expect its future costs for asbestos-related lawsuits to have
a material adverse effect on our results of operations, liquidity
or financial position."

Park-Ohio Industries, Inc., is an industrial supply chain
logistics and diversified manufacturing business operating in
three segments: Supply Technologies, Assembly Components and
Engineered Products.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Berkshire Income Realty Owns Fibro Properties
--------------------------------------------------------------
Berkshire Income Realty, Inc., has been notified of the presence
of asbestos in certain structural elements in its properties,
according to the Company's Form 10-K filing with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2012.

The Company states, "We have been notified of the presence of
asbestos in certain structural elements in our properties, which
we are addressing in accordance with various operations and
maintenance plans. The asbestos operations and maintenance plans
require that all structural elements that contain asbestos not be
disturbed. In the event the asbestos containing elements are
disturbed either through accident, such as a fire, or as a result
of planned renovations at the property, those elements would
require removal by a licensed contractor, who would provide for
containment and disposal in an authorized landfill. The property
managers of our properties have been directed to work proactively
with licensed ablation contractors whenever there is any question
regarding possible exposure.

"We are not aware of any environmental liability relating to our
properties that we believe would have a material adverse effect on
our business, assets or results of operations. Nevertheless, it is
possible that there are material environmental liabilities of
which we are unaware with respect to our properties. Moreover, we
cannot be certain that future laws, ordinances or regulations will
not impose material environmental liabilities or that the current
environmental condition of our properties will not be affected by
residents and occupants of our properties, by the uses or
condition of properties in the vicinity of our properties, such as
leaking underground storage tanks, or by third parties
unaffiliated with us."

Berkshire Income Realty, Inc. (BIR) is engaged in the business of
acquiring, owning, operating and renovating multifamily apartment
communities. The Company is also engaged primarily in the
acquisition, ownership, operations, development and rehabilitation
of Midwest areas of the United States. It conducts substantially
all of its business and own, either directly or through
multifamily apartment communities in the Baltimore/Washington,
D.C., Southeast, Southwest, Northwest and subsidiaries,
substantially all of its assets through the Operating Partnership.
Its wholly owned subsidiary, BIR GP, L.L.C., is a sole general
partner of the Operating Partnership. On January 31, 2011, the
Operating Partnership, through its subsidiary, BIR Estancia
Limited Partnership, completed the acquisition of Estancia
Townhomes, a 207-unit townhome style apartment community located
in Dallas, Texas.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Last Suit v. CCOM Group Unit Dismissed
-------------------------------------------------------
The last lawsuit alleging personal injury as a result of exposure
of asbestos-containing products manufactured by a subsidiary of
CCOM Group, Inc., has been dismissed, according to the Company's
Form 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012.

Universal Supply Group, Inc., a New York Corporation and a wholly
owned subsidiary of the CCOM Group, Inc., acquired in June 1999
substantially all of the assets of Universal Supply Group, Inc., a
New Jersey corporation, including its name.  Subsequent to the
acquisition, Universal Supply Group, Inc. (the selling
corporation) formerly known as Universal Engineering Co., Inc.,
changed its name to Hilco, Inc.  Hilco, Inc. acquired the assets
of Amber Supply Co., Inc., formerly known as Amber Oil Burner
Supply Co., Inc., in 1998, prior to Hilco's sale of assets to
Universal.

The Universal Predecessor and many other companies have been sued
in the Superior Court of New Jersey (Middlesex County) by
plaintiffs filing lawsuits alleging injury due to asbestos. As of
December 31, 2012, there existed seven plaintiffs in these
lawsuits relating to alleged sales of asbestos products, or
products containing asbestos, by the Universal Predecessor.
Subsequent to December 31, 2012, one plaintiff filed an action and
one action was dismissed, which results in seven remaining
plaintiffs in these lawsuits. The Company never sold any asbestos
related products.  Of the existing plaintiffs as of December 31,
2012, three filed actions in 2012, three filed actions in 2011 and
one filed actions in 2010. There are 211 other plaintiffs that
have had their actions dismissed and 17 other plaintiffs that have
settled as of December 31, 2012, for a total of $3,364,500 paid by
defendants other than Universal. There has been no judgment
against the Universal Predecessor.

The Company's Universal subsidiary was named by 38 plaintiffs; of
these, one filed an action in 2012, one filed an action in 2010,
11 filed actions in 2007, six filed actions in 2006, 11 filed
actions in 2005, five filed actions in 2001, one filed an action
in 2000, and two filed actions in 1999. Thirty-four plaintiffs
naming Universal have had their actions dismissed and, of the
total $3,364,500 of settled actions, three plaintiffs naming
Universal have settled for $27,500.  No money was paid by
Universal in connection with any settlement. Following these
dismissed and settled actions there exists one plaintiff that
named Universal as of December 31, 2012. Subsequent to December
31, 2012, one action that named Universal was dismissed, resulting
in zero plaintiffs naming Universal.

The Company has been indemnified against asbestos-based claims,
and insurance companies are defending the interests of the
Universal Predecessor and the Company in these cases.

Based on advice of counsel, the Company believes that none of the
litigation that was brought against the Company's Universal
subsidiary through December 31, 2012 is material, and that the
only material litigation that was brought against the Universal
Predecessor through that date was Rhodes v. A.O. Smith
Corporation, filed on April 26, 2004 in the Superior Court of New
Jersey, Law Division, Middlesex County, Docket Number MID-L-2979-
04AS. The Company was advised that the Rhodes case was settled for
$3,250,000 ("Settlement") under an agreement reached in connection
with a $10,000,000 jury verdict that was rendered on August 5,
2005. The Company was not a defendant in the Rhodes case.

The Company believes that Rhodes differed from the other lawsuits
in that plaintiff established that he contracted mesothelioma as a
result of his occupational exposure to asbestos dust and fibers
and that a predecessor of the Company was a major supplier of the
asbestos containing products that allegedly caused his disease.

CCOM Group, Inc. ("CCOM") distributes heating, ventilating and air
conditioning equipment (HVAC), parts and accessories, whole-house
generators, climate control systems, appliances and plumbing and
electrical fixtures and supplies, primarily in New Jersey, New
York, Massachusetts and portions of eastern Pennsylvania,
Connecticut and Vermont.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: H.B. Fuller Records $1.5MM Settlement Amount
-------------------------------------------------------------
H.B. Fuller Company recorded a $1.5 million settlement amount for
asbestos-related lawsuits and claims at Dec. 1, 2012, according to
the Company's Form 10-Q filing with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission for the quarterly period ended March 2, 2013.

The Company states: "We have been named as a defendant in lawsuits
in which plaintiffs have alleged injury due to products containing
asbestos manufactured more than 30 years ago. The plaintiffs
generally bring these lawsuits against multiple defendants and
seek damages (both actual and punitive) in very large amounts. In
many cases, plaintiffs are unable to demonstrate that they have
suffered any compensable injuries or that the injuries suffered
were the result of exposure to products manufactured by us. We are
typically dismissed as a defendant in such cases without payment.
If the plaintiff presents evidence indicating that compensable
injury occurred as a result of exposure to our products, the case
is generally settled for an amount that reflects the seriousness
of the injury, the length, intensity and character of exposure to
products containing asbestos, the number and solvency of other
defendants in the case, and the jurisdiction in which the case has
been brought.

"A significant portion of the defense costs and settlements in
asbestos-related litigation is paid by third parties, including
indemnification pursuant to the provisions of a 1976 agreement
under which we acquired a business from a third party. Currently,
this third party is defending and paying settlement amounts, under
a reservation of rights, in most of the asbestos cases tendered to
the third party.

"In addition to the indemnification arrangements with third
parties, we have insurance policies that generally provide
coverage for asbestos liabilities (including defense costs).
Historically, insurers have paid a significant portion of our
defense costs and settlements in asbestos-related litigation.
However, certain of our insurers are insolvent. We have entered
into cost-sharing agreements with our insurers that provide for
the allocation of defense costs and, in some cases, settlements
and judgments, in asbestos-related lawsuits. Under these
agreements, we are required in some cases to fund a share of
settlements and judgments allocable to years in which the
responsible insurer is insolvent. In addition, to delineate our
rights under certain insurance policies, in October 2009, we
commenced a declaratory judgment action against one of our
insurers in the United States District Court for the District of
Minnesota. Additional insurers have been brought into the action
to address issues related to the scope of their coverage.

"For the three years ended December 1, 2012, the settlement amount
for asbestos-related lawsuits and claims is $1.5 million.

"We do not believe that it would be meaningful to disclose the
aggregate number of asbestos-related lawsuits filed against us
because relatively few of these lawsuits are known to involve
exposure to asbestos-containing products that we manufactured.
Rather, we believe it is more meaningful to disclose the number of
lawsuits that are settled and result in a payment to the
plaintiff. To the extent we can reasonably estimate the amount of
our probable liabilities for pending asbestos-related claims, we
establish a financial provision and a corresponding receivable for
insurance recoveries.

"Based on currently available information, we have concluded that
the resolution of any pending matter, including asbestos-related
litigation, individually or in the aggregate, will not have a
material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial
condition or cash flow. However, adverse developments and/or
periodic settlements could negatively impact the results of
operations or cash flows in one or more future periods."

H.B. Fuller Company (H.B. Fuller) is a global formulator,
manufacturer and marketer of adhesives, sealants, paints and other
specialty chemical products. Industrial adhesives represent its
core product offering. Its adhesives products are used in
manufacturing common consumer goods, including food and beverage
containers, disposable diapers, windows, sportswear, footwear and
multi-wall bags. It has a range of product offerings for
residential construction markets, such as tile-setting adhesives,
grout, sealants and related products. Its Latin America Paint
operating segment manufactures and sells liquid paint and related
products in Central America. In March 2012, it acquired global
industrial adhesives business of Forbo Group. On August 6, 2012,
it completed the sale of its Central America Paints business to
Compania Global de Pinturas S.A. In September 2012, it acquired
Engent, Inc.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Ameren Energy Unit Had Five Lawsuits at Dec. 31
----------------------------------------------------------------
Five asbestos-related lawsuits were pending against a subsidiary
of Ameren Energy Generating Company, according to the Company's
Form 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012.

The Company states: "Former Central Illinois Public Service
Company (CIPS) energy centers are now owned by us. As a part of
the transfer of ownership of the CIPS energy centers, CIPS, now
Ameren Illinois, contractually agreed to indemnify us for
liabilities associated with asbestos-related claims and
environmental conditions arising or existing from activities prior
to the transfer in May 2000. The plant transfer agreement between
us and CIPS, now Ameren Illinois, will be amended as part of the
transaction agreement for Ameren to divest New AER to IPH.

As of December 31, 2012, five asbestos-related lawsuits were
pending against Electric Energy, Inc. (EEI). The general liability
insurance maintained by EEI provides coverage with respect to
liabilities arising from asbestos-related claims."

Ameren Energy Generating Company a non-rate-regulated electric
generation subsidiary of Ameren Energy Resources Company, LLC
(AER), which is a subsidiary of Ameren Corporation. Ameren,
headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, is a public utility holding
company under PUHCA 2005, administered by FERC.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: American Locker Had 32 Cases at March 25
---------------------------------------------------------
American Locker Group Incorporated had approximately 32 unresolved
asbestos-related cases as of March 25, 2013, according to the
Company's Form 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012.

Beginning in September 1998 and continuing December 31, 2012, the
Company has been named as an additional defendant in approximately
234 cases pending in state court in Massachusetts and 1 in the
state of Washington. The plaintiffs in each case assert that a
division of the Company manufactured and furnished components
containing asbestos to a shipyard during the period from 1948 to
1972 and that injury resulted from exposure to such products. The
assets of this division were sold by the Company in 1973. During
the process of discovery in certain of these actions, documents
from sources outside the Company have been produced which indicate
that the Company appears to have been included in the chain of
title for certain wall panels which contained asbestos and which
were delivered to the Massachusetts shipyards. Defense of these
cases has been assumed by the Company's insurance carrier, subject
to a reservation of rights. Settlement agreements have been
entered in approximately 35 cases with funds authorized and
provided by the Company's insurance carrier. Further, over 167
cases have been terminated as to the Company without liability to
the Company under Massachusetts procedural rules. Therefore, the
balance of unresolved cases against the Company as of March 25,
2013, the most recent date information is available, is
approximately 32 cases.

While the Company cannot estimate potential damages or predict
what the ultimate resolution of these asbestos cases may be
because the discovery proceedings on the cases are not complete,
based upon the Company's experience to date with similar cases, as
well as the assumption that insurance coverage will continue to be
provided with respect to these cases, at the present time, the
Company does not believe that the outcome of these cases will have
a significant adverse impact on the Company's operations or
financial condition.

American Locker Group Incorporated is a manufacturer of lockers,
locks and keys with a range of applications for use in numerous
industries. The Company serves customers in a range of industries
in all 50 states and in Canada, Mexico, Europe, Asia and South
America. The Company's products can be categorized as either
mailboxes or lockers. Mailboxes are used for the delivery of mail,
packages and other parcels to multi-tenant facilities. Lockers are
used for applications other than mail delivery, and its lockers
are key-controlled checking lockers.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Decision on Unit's Estimation Expected by May
--------------------------------------------------------------
A decision from a bankruptcy court on the estimation trial of a
subsidiary of RPM International Inc. is expected by May, according
to the Company's Form 10-Q filing with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission for the quarterly period ended February 28,
2013.

On May 31, 2010, Bondex International, and its parent, Specialty
Products Holding Corporation, filed voluntary petitions for relief
under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court for the District of Delaware. SPHC is also the parent
company for various operating companies that are not part of the
reorganization filing, including Chemical Specialties
Manufacturing Corp.; Day-Glo Color Corp.; Dryvit Holdings, Inc.;
Guardian Protection Products Inc.; Kop-Coat Inc.; TCI, Inc. and
RPM Wood Finishes Group, Inc. SPHC and Bondex (the "filing
entities") took this action to permanently and comprehensively
resolve all pending and future asbestos-related liability claims
associated with Bondex and SPHC-related products. As a result of
the filing, all Bondex and SPHC asbestos personal injury lawsuits
have been stayed due to the imposition of an automatic stay
applicable in bankruptcy cases, with the exception of the cases
referenced in Note 3 with respect to which the stay was lifted. In
addition, at the request of SPHC and Bondex, the bankruptcy court
has entered orders staying all claims against RPM International
Inc. and its affiliates that are derivative of the asbestos claims
against SPHC and Bondex. Through the Chapter 11 proceedings, the
filing entities are seeking to formulate a consensual plan of
reorganization pursuant to Section 524(g) of the Bankruptcy Code.
That plan of reorganization would establish a trust to compensate
present and future asbestos-related claims at appropriate values
set forth in the trust documents and approved by the bankruptcy
court, and would also provide for the imposition of a channeling
injunction that would direct all future SPHC-related and Bondex-
related asbestos claims to the trust.

In January 2013, a trial to estimate the aggregate current and
future asbestos liabilities of the filing entities was conducted
before Judge Judith K. Fitzgerald in the United States Bankruptcy
Court for the District of Delaware. Closing arguments were held on
March 4, 2013, and the judge is expected to render an opinion by
the end of May 2013. That opinion will be subject to appeal by any
of the parties. At this time, it is not possible to predict how
the judge will rule, the outcome of any appeal, how long the
Chapter 11 proceedings will last, or the form of any ultimate
resolution of the Chapter 11 proceedings.

Prior to the bankruptcy filing, the filing entities had engaged in
a strategy of litigating asbestos-related products liability
claims brought against them. Claims paid during the year ended May
31, 2010, prior to the bankruptcy filing, were $92.6 million,
which included defense-related payments during the year of $42.6
million. With the exception of the appeal bond satisfied during
our 2012 third fiscal quarter and the potential payment described
in Note 3, no claims have been paid since the bankruptcy filing
and it is not contemplated that any claims will be paid until a
plan of reorganization is confirmed and an asbestos trust is
established and operating.

The Company states: "Prior to the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, we
recorded asbestos-related contingent liabilities that included
estimations of future costs, which by nature are subject to many
uncertainties that may change over time, including (i) the
ultimate number of claims filed; (ii) the amounts required to
resolve both currently known and future unknown claims; (iii) the
amount of insurance, if any, available to cover such claims,
including the outcome of coverage litigation against the filing
entities' third-party insurers; (iv) future earnings and cash flow
of the filing entities; (v) the impact of bankruptcies of other
companies whose share of liability may be imposed on the filing
entities under certain state liability laws; (vi) the
unpredictable aspects of the litigation process including a
changing trial docket and the jurisdictions in which trials are
scheduled; (vii) the outcome of any such trials including
judgments or jury verdicts, as a result of our more aggressive
defense posture, which included taking selective cases to verdict;
(viii) the lack of specific information in many cases concerning
exposure to products for which one of our subsidiaries is
responsible and the claimants' diseases; (ix) potential changes in
applicable federal and/or state law; and (x) the potential impact
of various proposed structured settlement transactions or
subsidiary bankruptcies by other companies, some of which are the
subject of federal appellate court review, the outcome of which
could have materially affected future asbestos-related liability
estimates."

RPM International Inc. (RPM), through its subsidiaries
manufactures, markets and sells various specialty chemical product
lines, including specialty paints, protective coatings, roofing
systems, sealants and adhesives.




ASBESTOS UPDATE: $5.2MM Award to Mesothelioma Victim Affirmed
-------------------------------------------------------------
Micah Riggs, on behalf of his mother-in-law, the decedent Vickie
Warren, appeals a trial court's decision that the Comparative
Negligence Act (CNA), and therefore joint and several liability,
did not apply in this case.  Warren was diagnosed with malignant
mesothelioma and died as a result of the illness.  Shortly after
she was diagnosed, Warren filed a lawsuit on theories of strict
liability and negligence against 32 defendants who manufactured,
sold, distributed, or installed asbestos or asbestos-containing
products.  By the trial, however, only three defendants remained:
Union Carbide Corporation, Georgia-Pacific, LLP, and Hamilton
Materials.  In 2010, the jury reached its verdict, awarding Warren
$5.2 million in economic and non-economic damages.  The jury,
having been instructed to apportion fault in accordance with the
Liability Reform Act, determined that Georgia-Pacific was 5% at
fault and Union Carbide 20% at fault.

Defendant Union Carbide cross-appeals, arguing that its motion for
judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) was wrongly denied
because the raw material supplier rule shields Union Carbide from
liability under the facts of this case.  Alternatively, Union
Carbide argues in its cross-appeal that there was insufficient
evidence to support the jury's verdict that the unique type of
asbestos it supplied medically caused Warren's illness.

Defendant Georgia-Pacific also cross-appeals, challenging the
sufficiency of the evidence identifying a particular Georgia-
Pacific product at the various construction sites where Warren was
exposed to asbestos.

In an April 4, 2013 Opinion, the Court of Appeals of Utah affirmed
the trial court's decision agreeing with the trial court that the
LRA was properly applied in the case.  The Court of Appeals said
Warren, who argued that her claim accrued "long before" the LRA
became effective because her "initial injury" was the cell damage
and scarring that resulted from inhaling the Debtors' asbestos,
was wrong.

The Court of Appeals said "[r]egardless of whether the replication
of those damaged cells over time produced Warren's cancer, she
nonetheless did not have an actionable claim until she was
diagnosed with mesothelioma.  Until then, Warren's development of
mesothelioma was only a possibility in light of her exposure to
asbestos.  Indeed, it is the same possibility that any of her
family members, who also worked alongside Warren at the same
construction sites during the same period of time, could have
developed an asbestos-related illness.  Accordingly, because
Warren's cause of action did not accrue until her diagnosis in
July 2007, long after the repeal of the CNA and enactment of the
LRA, we affirm the trial court's application of the LRA."

Union Carbide argues on cross-appeal that its JNOV motion was
incorrectly denied because under the Third Restatement of Torts,
"a raw material supplier . . . cannot be held liable for injuries
to end users of tape joint compound."  The trial court denied the
JNOV motion without explicitly addressing this argument, noting
simply that there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's
verdict.  The Court of Appeals agreed with the trial court holding
that Union Carbide has demonstrated that the bulk supplier rule
generally applies in cases like this one but has failed to show
that the evidence before the jury requires a conclusion, as a
matter of law, that it had fulfilled whatever duty to warn it had
under the circumstances, even if that duty extended only to
Georgia-Pacific and not to Warren.

Union Carbide and Georgia-Pacific challenge on cross-appeals the
sufficiency of the evidence supporting the jury's verdict.  The
Court of Appeals pointed out that Warren presented evidence that
proved that the asbestos-containing product manufactured by Union
Carbide was a substantial factor in Warren's mesothelioma and that
Georgia-Pacific's tape joint compound was used at approximately
20% of the construction projects that Warren worked on.

The case is MICAH RIGGS, Plaintiff, Appellant, and Cross-appellee,
v. ASBESTOS CORPORATION LIMITED; GEORGIA-PACIFIC, LLP; AND UNION
CARBIDE CORPORATION, Defendants, Appellees, and Cross-appellants,
No. 20110544-CA (Utah).  A full-text copy of the Decision is
available at http://is.gd/iw4xYofrom Leagle.com.

Ms. Riggs is represented by Alan R. Brayton, Esq., Gilbert L.
Purcell, Esq., and Robert G. Gilchrist, Esq., at Brayton Purcell
LLP, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Georgia-Pacific is represented by Karra J. Porter, Esq. --
karra.porter@chrisjen.com -- and Sarah E. Spencer, Esq. --
sarah.spencer@chrisjen.com -- at Christensen & Jensen, in Salt
Lake City, Utah.

Union Carbide is represented by E. Joshua Rosenkranz, Esq. --
jrosenkranz@orrick.com -- Peter A. Bicks, Esq. --
pbicks@orrick.com -- and Morton D. Dubin, Esq. --
mdubin@orrick.com -- at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, in New
York.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Order Denying Administrator Appointment Affirmed
-----------------------------------------------------------------
William L. Ridenour and Tommy Lee Brown filed an action alleging
exposure to friable asbestos at the Chillicothe Correctional
Institution.  A magistrate judge denied the Plaintiffs' joint
motion for the appointment of an administrator ad litem.  The
Plaintiffs filed a motion for reconsideration.

The Plaintiffs asked the Court to appoint an administrator ad
litem for Defendant Leta Pritchard, who died on May 14, 2009, over
a year before the lawsuit was filed. Alternatively, they asked the
Court to order defense counsel to identify Ms. Pritchard's
executor or personal representative so that the Plaintiffs could
substitute that person as party.

Judge Peter C. Economus of the United States District Court for
the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, in a memorandum
opinion and order dated April 3, 2012, denied the Plaintiffs'
motion for reconsideration after finding that the Plaintiffs
missed the deadline under Ohio law to assert their claims against
the estate of Ms. Pritchard, and her representative no longer has
the capacity to be sued in federal court.

Judge Economus explained that while Ohio law preserves certain
claims against decedents, the Plaintiffs have not met the
requirements to assert those claims against Ms. Pritchard.  The
Ohio Revised Code provides that "[i]n addition to the causes of
action which survive at common law, causes of action for . . .
injuries to the person or property . . . also shall survive; and
such actions may be brought notwithstanding the death of the
person . . . liable thereto."  However, Ohio law requires "all
creditors having claims against an estate to present their claims
within six months after the decedent's death" and provides that "a
claim that is not presented within six months after the death of
the decedent shall be forever barred as to all parties."  The
Plaintiffs failed to present their claims against Ms. Pritchard
within six months after her death, and those claims are now
barred.

The case is WILLIAM L. RIDENOUR, et al. Plaintiffs, v. OHIO
DEPARTMENT OF REHABILITATION AND CORRECTION, et al. Defendants,
Case No. 2:10-cv-493 (S.D. Ohio).  A full-text copy of Judge
Economus' Decision is available at http://is.gd/TZr66Hfrom
Leagle.com.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Firm May Recover Legal Fees From Travelers
-----------------------------------------------------------
Judge J. Paul Oetken of the United States District Court for the
Southern District of New York in a memorandum and order dated
April 5, 2013, overruled objections raised by Travelers Indemnity
Co. and Travelers Casualty and Surety Co. in a dispute about
insurance coverage for silica-exposure and asbestos-exposure
claims.

Third-party defendant Atlas Copco North America, LLC, has moved
for partial summary judgment against defendants and third-party
plaintiffs Travelers, seeking the attorney's fees that Atlas Copco
incurred in litigating a prior motion for partial summary judgment
regarding Travelers' duty to defend Atlas Copco in certain
asbestos- and silica-related actions.  On January 31, 2013,
Magistrate Judge James C. Francis IV issued a Report and
Recommendation, advising that Atlas Copco's motion should be
granted.  More specifically, the report recommends that Atlas
Copco be awarded "the attorneys' fees it expended in procuring the
ruling that Travelers has a duty to defend."

Travelers first "objects to the Report because, at this stage of
the litigation, it would be premature for the Court to consider
Atlas Copco's application for attorney's fees."  Judge Oetken held
that Judge Francis correctly noted in his Report that "Atlas
Copco's right to attorney's fees incurred for litigating
Travelers' duty to defend is not contingent on the resolution of
any other cause of action."

Travelers next objects to the Report's determination that
Travelers, rather than Danaher, cast Atlas Copco in a defensive
position.  Judge Oetken also held that it is the rule in New York
that a recovery of attorney's fees may not be had in an
affirmative action brought by an assured to settle its rights, but
only when he has been cast in a defensive posture by the legal
steps an insurer takes in an effort to free itself from its policy
obligations.  Travelers filed a third-party complaint against
Atlas Copco seeking a declaration that Travelers was not required
to defend or indemnify in the underlying actions. Travelers,
nonetheless, argues that it should not be liable for Atlas Copco's
attorney's fees, because "Danaher, not Travelers, cast Atlas Copco
in a defensive position by commencing this declaratory action."
Judge Oetken found that Travelers' argument lacks merit as
Travelers has provided no support for the proposition that, for
the purposes of this analysis, its realignment argument trumps the
fact that it impleaded Atlas Copco as a third party.

Accordingly, Judge Oetken overruled Travelers' objections and
adopted Judge Francis' report and recommendation.

The case is DANAHER CORPORATION, Plaintiff, v. THE TRAVELERS
INDEMNITY COMPANY, et al., Defendants, No. 10 Civ. 121 (JPO)
(JCF)(S.D.N.Y.).  A full-text copy of Judge Oetken's Decision is
available at http://is.gd/5c9wpYfrom Leagle.com.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Found in 23 Northern Ireland Hospitals
-------------------------------------------------------------
Adrian Rutherford, writing for Belfast Telegraph, reported that
the potentially deadly asbestos fibres have been found in 23
Northern Ireland hospitals, including maternity units, children's
wards, labs, staff accommodation and kitchens.  The report related
that in some cases, the hospitals contain crocidolite, more
commonly referred to as blue asbestos and the most lethal form of
the material.

The scale of the problem is revealed just days after a Northern
Ireland health trust was fined GBP10,000 over asbestos-related
safety breaches, according to the report.

Belfast City Hospital was known to contain the material but the
information was not passed on to maintenance contractors working
at the site, the report related.

Details of asbestos in hospitals were released following a Freedom
of Information request by the newspaper.

The documents reveal:

   * Asbestos is present at hospitals across all five health
     trusts, including Altnagelvin, Belfast City, Craigavon, Daisy
     Hill and Antrim Area;

   * Crocidolite has been found in the Royal's maternity hospital
     and the old part of the children's hospital;

   * The fibres are also present in doctors and nurses'
     accommodation at Whiteabbey Hospital.

Last year the Belfast Telegraph reported how 876 of Northern
Ireland's schools -- around 75% -- contain asbestos.  Every year
around 4,000 people die from mesothelioma and asbestos-related
lung cancer across the UK, the newspaper said.

Each health trust said that provided the fibres are properly
managed and not disturbed or damaged, they pose little risk to
health, the newspaper related.  Campaigner Tony Whitston, who
chairs a UK-based asbestos victims' group, said it can be deadly
if great care is not taken.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Remains Major Threat in Europe and Beyond
----------------------------------------------------------------
Steph en Hughes, a British Labour Party MEP and vice-president of
the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the
European Parliament, wrote in Public Service Europe that asbestos
is still a major threat to citizens in Europe and beyond.

Mr. Hughes pointed out that there are still asbestos mines in
Canada, Russia, China and Kazakhstan -- and Europe's old ships are
being scrapped in developing countries where tonnes of asbestos
are openly treated by unprotected workers -- warns MEP.

"Since the European Union-wide asbestos ban was brought in back in
1999, it would be natural to assume that asbestos is no longer a
problem. But in Europe and around the world there are still
millions of buildings, offices, ships and pipes which contain
asbestos. And as time goes by, fewer and fewer people are being
trained in how to work with and remove asbestos from contaminated
areas.

"Most of the buildings containing asbestos date back to the 1950s
and 1960s. They are in need of renovation and training for workers
in the restructuring firms is crucial for their health and safety.
Look at the extensive renovation work which had to be carried out
on the European Commission's Berlaymont building in the 1990s. A
lot of civil servants seem to have forgotten this huge effort
towards a safer workplace for them.

"Even one of the European Parliament's buildings in Strasbourg
still contains asbestos, which caused a brief scare [] thanks to
some accidental contamination by asbestos fibres. The problem is
not yet solved and blocking asbestos up behind walls is not
enough. Accidents will continue to happen as long as the asbestos
remains.

"The European institutions should create a good example and
publish a register with all sites and buildings of EU bodies. This
could be the start of publically available registers for everybody
in the construction and restructuring sector as well as those
removing asbestos.

"I pushed for the total removal of all asbestos in Europe by 2028
-- a move supported by a large majority in the European Parliament
. . . .  This is accompanied by a roadmap to achieve that goal,
which should include a screening and registration programme for
public buildings contaminated by asbestos as well as a roadmap for
its removal. It should also address the issue of waste. People
should also be better informed about the risk of asbestos
contamination in their homes.

"I am sorry to say that the main opposition to my report came from
British MEPs. The Tories, UKIP and the British National Party were
among only 51 members -- out of a total of 754 MEPs -- who voted
against my report. The European Commission has a long track record
of being slow to respond on this issue and it was only after much
hectoring in the European Parliament that it brought in the
asbestos ban. We are now urging the commission to present a
specific directive so that workers who remove it are well-trained
and qualified.

"According to the World Health Organisation, there are between
20,000 and 30,000 cases of asbestos-related disease recorded every
year in the EU alone. My own region is a hotspot for asbestos,
where the number of cases of mesothelioma -- an incurable cancer
caused by exposure to asbestos is on the rise. In certain
industrial regions, such as Wales, there are more deaths from
asbestos-related disease than from road accidents. That is a truly
shocking statistic, especially given that this is not an
insurmountable problem -- MEPs have laid out how we believe that
all asbestos can be removed from the EU by 2028.

"There are still asbestos mines in Canada, Russia, China and
Kazakhstan. These countries will have to face opposition to their
trade agreements with the EU when they are next renegotiated. But
Europe's responsibilities do not end here. We cannot go on
pretending to be the world leaders for a clean future for the
environment if we allow our old ships to be scrapped in developing
countries where tonnes of asbestos are openly treated by
unprotected workers.

"We have to prepare the way towards an asbestos-free world. Only
with a combined effort of good legislation and political will is
there a chance to eradicate this threat to any breathing being.
The EP has taken the initiative here and shown its eagerness to
get rid of asbestos. So it is now up to the commission to act."


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Sandwell Hospital to Spend GBP2.8MM in Clean-up
----------------------------------------------------------------
Express & Star reported that the amount of dangerous asbestos on
the site of Sandwell's proposed super hospital means GBP1 million
more than budgeted will have to be spent to clear it.

According to the report, it was originally thought GBP1.8 million
would cover cost of demolition, off Grove Lane, Smethwick, but
after started the work, it emerged the amount in some of the
buildings is worse than initially feared and the cost will now be
closer to GBP2.8 million.

"We're frustrated to find things are in a worse condition than we
initially thought," Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals Trust
spokeswoman Jessamy Kinghorn, told the news agency. Demolition
work to make way for the super-hospital began in December.  Mrs.
Kinghorn said they had spent about GBP500,000 on removal so far.

The GBP370 million budgeted included money to cater for unforseen
circumstances, the report added.

The 670-bed Midland Metropolitan Hospital will replace Sandwell
Hospital, West Bromwich, and City Hospital, Winson Green, the
report said.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Concerns Over Fibro in Sunderland Schools Remain
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Sunderland Echo reported that concerns over levels of asbestos in
schools have been highlighted days before a Wearside MP meets the
Education Minister to discuss the problem.

Part of Hetton School is closed off due to asbestos, disturbed
when recent high winds disrupted tiles on the deteriorating
building, according to the report.

An education committee hearing has also looked at the issue of
asbestos in schools for the first time amid claims 75 per cent of
all schools in the UK have asbestos, the report said.

Bridget Phillipson, MP for Houghton and Sunderland South, have met
Education Minister David Laws MP to discuss delays to a
multimillion-pound rebuild of Hetton School, the report added.

The report said work on the school has been put back until 2015 at
the earliest, but Ms Phillipson is concerned the state of the
building, including asbestos in the ceiling, is affecting staff
and the education of pupils. Campaigners recently called for an
audit of the condition and extent of asbestos in all Sunderland
schools and colleges, as well as a national strategic asbestos
plan to include mandatory training for all staff.

The report said they also demanded a long-term phased removal of
asbestos in all UK schools and colleges, with priority given to
schools with asbestos in a dangerous condition.

Hetton School had been told it was entitled to a share of a
multimillion-pound cash pot under the Government's flagship
Priority School Building programme but delays, revealed in the
Echo earlier this year, mean its rebuild will not happen until
2015/16 at the earliest. Ms Phillipson told Echo: "I can't
emphasise enough how urgently the situation requires action. The
headteacher has told me the school building continues to
deteriorate.  Such clearly inadequate conditions damages the
ability of teachers to educate young people."

Councillor Pat Smith, portfolio holder for children's services,
Sunderland City Council, also told Echo: "A small number of
schools in Sunderland were built when the use of such material was
common practice. All schools in Sunderland are subject to
regularly condition monitoring as required by the Health and
Safety Executive and council policy. Any risks are immediately
identified and dealt with.  Sunderland City Council is committed
to the safety of pupils, staff and all users of our school
buildings."


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Ex-West Australia MP Sues State Over Mesothelioma
------------------------------------------------------------------
The Australian reports that former West Australian Labor MP Ernie
Bridge is suing the state government and companies owned by two of
Australia's richest women after being diagnosed with asbestos-
related diseases.

The report said Mr. Bridge has claimed he was exposed to asbestos
fibres and dust when he was the minister in charge of withdrawing
government services from Wittenoom in the late 1980s.

The 76-year-old is also suing the Shire of Ashburton, CSR Limited,
Midalco, Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting and Angela Bennett's
Wright Prospecting, according to The Australian.

Mr. Bridge -- who was the member for the Kimberley from 1980 to
2001 -- lodged a writ in the WA Supreme Court seeking damages for
contracting malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, pleural disease
and respiratory degeneration, the report related.

The father of four was WA's first Aboriginal MP and the first
indigenous cabinet minister in any Australian government, The
Australian noted.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Sydney Police Hunts Fibro-Dumping Truck
--------------------------------------------------------
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the Sydney police are
hunting a truck driver who dumped more than two tonnes of raw
asbestos outside two of the city's childcare centres.

Shocking CCTV footage of the incident shows the truck driving
through the inner-city suburb of Ultimo with its tipping tray
raised and its rear gate open, according to the report.  After the
truck passes over a speed bump, the asbestos pours onto the
street.

The vehicle's numberplate was covered with a piece of cloth in an
"apparent bid to avoid detection", said the report.

The incident, which happened last December, triggered a three-
month investigation to find the truck and its driver but
authorities have so far been unable to locate them and have now
released the CCTV footage in a bid to involve the public, the
report added.

According to the Herald, asbestos was widely used in construction
and other industries in Australia between 1945 and 1980, and the
country has had the highest number of asbestos-related deaths per
capita of any nation. Dumping asbestos carries a maximum penalty
of seven years' imprisonment and a $1 million fine for individuals
and a $5 million fine for companies.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro-Containing Dusts Found in Calif. Bldgs.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Dusts containing asbestos can be found in some older California
buildings, according to a press release issued by LA Testing and
EMSL Analytical, Inc., providers of environmental testing services
and products to professionals and the general public.

Across California, asbestos was used heavily in many building
materials up until the mid-1980s.  If these asbestos containing
materials are disturbed or become friable with age, the asbestos
may become airborne and spread throughout a property. Eventually
these asbestos fibers will settle and may contribute to dusts
found in buildings.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
"Asbestos fibers may be released into the air by the disturbance
of asbestos-containing material during product use, demolition
work, building or home maintenance, repair, and remodeling." The
EPA goes on to report, "Exposure to asbestos increases your risk
of developing lung disease. That risk is made worse by smoking. In
general, the greater the exposure to asbestos, the greater the
chance of developing harmful health effects."

In 1987, asbestos was added to California's Safe Drinking Water
and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, better known as Proposition 65.
Prop 65 lists chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or
other reproductive harm to the state of California.

"Understanding the correct way to sample for asbestos in dust
samples is important," reported Michael Chapman, Laboratory
Manager of LA Testing's Garden Grove facility, a leading asbestos
testing laboratory in the greater Los Angeles area. "To help
people sample correctly, LA Testing and its affiliate EMSL
Analytical have produced an online video showing the process. LA
Testing also offers all of the testing supplies and comprehensive
asbestos analysis to help determine if there is asbestos in not
only dust samples, but also from air, water, soil and bulk
samples."

LA Testing has sponsored an online educational video about
sampling for asbestos in dust that can be seen at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd49JZWfcME

To learn more about asbestos testing services or other
environmental issues, please visit www.LATesting.com, email
info@LATesting.com or call (800) 755-1794.

           About LA Testing and EMSL Analytical, Inc.

LA Testing and EMSL Analytical are providers of environmental
testing services and products to professionals and the general
public. The companies have an extensive list of accreditations
from leading organizations as well as state and federal regulating
bodies. LA Testing has laboratories throughout California to
service commercial clients and government agencies as well as the
general public.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Hidden Risk Could Lurk in Old Furnaces
-------------------------------------------------------
CBC News reported that Keith Tremblett got a nasty surprise when
he started renovating his family's old home in Colinet, St. Mary's
Bay.

It wasn't the usual culprits -- rotting foundations, leaky roofs,
or substandard plumbing.  It was the furnace, CBC News said.

CBC said Mr. Tremblett found a gasket, which acts as a heat shield
inside the furnace, had deteriorated until it was almost gone.
Replacing it would have been easy for Tremblett, who has worked as
a mechanic for over 20 years, but he hesitated because he wondered
what material that gasket is made of and should he be concerned
with what he's dealing with.  So he contacted the manufacturer,
Newmac Furnaces, and the Nova Scotia company told him, given the
age of the unit, the gasket likely contained asbestos and should
be replaced.

That worried Tremblett, according to CBC News.  "All I found was
remnants of it," he told the news agency.  "It's not even a full
sheet anymore. It's just remnants of the gasket and most of the
material, I would have to assume, is either within the ductwork or
throughout the house."

CBC related that Tremblett says the manufacturer simply told him
to remove the gasket.  "I think they handled it truly
unprofessionally," he told the news agency.  "Their recommendation
to me was to wet it down and remove it."

CBC News related that Health Canada banned asbestos used in
furnaces in the early 1980s but there was no recall nor a public
warning about the potential danger.  Today, three decades later,
that's still a worry, the news agency said, as the lifespan of a
furnace is 50 years or more.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: NSW Minister Seeks Review of Dumper's Judgment
---------------------------------------------------------------
ABC News reported that the New South Wales Environment Minister
wants a review into the court judgment against a man who
repeatedly dumped asbestos-laced material near homes.

The Minister, according to the report, wants a court to review
whether the three-month suspended prison sentence Dib Hanna
received for dumping 80 tonnes of the dangerous material in
Sydney's south-west was enough given the excavator is a repeat
offender.

ABC related that Hanna dumped eight truckloads of waste at a
private property on Henry Lawson Drive at Picnic Point across
Easter last year.  The waste cost AUD30,000 to clean up.

The Land and Environment Court found Hanna guilty of being in
contempt of a 2011 court order not to illegally dispose of waste.
The 37-year-old excavator is a repeat offender who was previously
fined over AUD130,000 for dumping waste across four sites in
western Sydney, the report said.

ABC further related that the NSW Environment Protection Agency
welcomed the sentence, but Environment Minister Robyn Parker says
she is disappointed by the court's decision and has asked the EPA
to review the judgment.

"I think the judge had a range of sentences that could have been
applied. This to me seems very disappointing," she told ABC.
"I've asked the EPA to investigate this matter and the judgment
and just see what grounds there might be to look further into this
because this guy is a serial offender."

ABC related that Justice Nicola Pain said Hanna had a lengthy
record of offences but she took into account an early guilty plea
and family circumstance when she handed down the sentence.

Hanna is expected to again face the court on charges directly
relating to last year's incident, the report said.

Paul Crossan from the Bankstown City Council says he is pleased
with the outcome, but would not say whether he thought the
sentence was too soft, according to ABC.  "It's a precedent case
and I think the case and the investigation was put forward quite
convincingly," he said.

Mr. Crossan says Hanna will likely be sent to prison if he
reoffends in the next three months.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: South African Victims Suffer Lonely Battle
-----------------------------------------------------------
Tamar Kahn, writing for Business Day Live, reported that Adriaan
Lombaard grew up in the small town of Rierees in the Northern
Cape, where he and his brother passed their afternoons swimming in
the dam and playing in the dumps from the local asbestos mine.
They had no inkling of the dangers they were exposing themselves
to.

Despite the fact that South Africa was the site of ground-breaking
research linking asbestos exposure to an excruciatingly painful
and deadly lung cancer called mesothelioma more than a decade
before Mr Lombaard was born, there were no warning signs or fences
to keep children away from the contaminated land they played on,
according to the BDLive report. South Africa was the world's
third-largest producer of asbestos at the industry's peak, with
mines in the Northern Cape and parts of Limpopo.

Now 42, Mr Lombaard has mesothelioma. Asbestos has cut a swathe
through his family: his older brother too is battling
mesothelioma, and their father died of an asbestos-related disease
in 1982, the report said.

BDLive related that Mr Lombaard has successfully sought
compensation from the Asbestos Relief Trust (ART), which recently
paid him R500,000. But for many other South Africans with
environmentally-acquired asbestos-related diseases, there is
nowhere to turn.

"Legislation just takes care of the worker . . . but many other
people were exposed to asbestos in the course of their everyday
lives," National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH) at the
National Health Laboratory Service scientist Zodwa Ndlovu, told
BDLive.  "Miners came home from work with clothes covered in
asbestos fibres that family members would inhale, and there was
extensive neighbourhood exposure. People would even take blue
asbestos from the dumps and build their houses from it," she says.

According to BDLive, South Africa mined three types of asbestos --
blue (crocidolite), brown (amosite) and white (chrysotile), of
which blue is the most dangerous.

People who acquire asbestos-related diseases (ARDs) at work can
claim financial assistance from the Compensation Commission for
Occupational Diseases administered by the Department of Health but
at present the only source of redress for people with
environmentally-acquired ARDs are the ART and the Kgalagadi Relief
Trust (KRT), which were established by legal settlements with
mining companies, BDLive noted.

Many barriers stand in the way of claimants seeking compensation
from these trusts, Dr Ndlovu, who published research on the Relief
Trust's payouts earlier this year in the journal Global Health
Action, told BDLive.  The trusts do not actively promote
themselves to environmental claimants, and the onus is on patients
to provide medical evidence of their illness at their own expense.

According to BDLive, claimants must have lived within 10km of
qualifying mines or mills around Kuruman, or prove their home was
polluted with asbestos by someone who worked at one of these
sites. The ART only covers people exposed to asbestos between 1965
and 1988, while the KRT covers the period 1952 to 1981.

Dr Ndlovu found only 146 of the almost 15,500 claims submitted to
the trusts were related to environmental exposure to asbestos, and
only half of these got compensation, BDLive related. They were the
"lucky" ones.

For patients who were exposed to asbestos outside this timeframe,
or in a part of the country that falls outside the trusts'
parameters, there is nowhere left to turn, BDLive said.

Asbestos-related diseases have an unusually long latency period,
and people exposed to the mineral as a child or young adult may
become sick only 40 or 50 years later, Jill Murray, former head of
pathology at the NIOH, told BDLive. "We mined asbestos for nearly
100 years over large parts of the country, and in all that time
the dust control was very poor. There are probably hundreds of
thousands of people who have been and continue to be exposed to
environmental asbestos," she says.

Asbestos mining stopped in South Africa in 2002, but it was not
until 2008 that the import, export, manufacture and sale of
asbestos products was banned, according to BDLive.

Without an energetic activist movement campaigning on behalf of
asbestos victims today, the government is under no pressure to
clean up contaminated sites or look into the issue of financial
assistance for people with environmentally-acquired disease,
BDLive said. Nor is it in any hurry to assess how many people were
exposed to asbestos in the past and what proportion of them are
likely to fall ill in the future.

"Government simply lacks the will," attorney Richard Spoor, who
represented asbestos claimants in the class action lawsuit against
Gencor that led to the establishment of the ART, told BDLive.

Mintek told Parliament last year that there were more than 250
asbestos mines that required rehabilitation at a cost of R3bn.

Department of Environmental Affairs director for land remediation,
Mpho Tshitangoni, says his department has conducted an assessment
of "secondary" asbestos contamination of nonmining areas 2009, but
the information it contains has yet to be approved.

Despite the lack of data, Prof Murray says the future financial
burden posed by people affected by environmental exposure to
asbestos is unlikely to be too great for the government to
stomach. "Although many hundreds of thousands of people were and
are exposed to asbestos in the environment, the risk of
mesothelioma is small. But the disease is deadly, and no one
should say the state can't afford compensation," she says.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Materials Found in Canberra Cycling Track
----------------------------------------------------------
Megan Doherty, writing for The Canberra Times, reported that soil
and air tests will confirm any contamination by asbestos found on
a popular cycling track at the Stromlo Forest Park facility in
Canberra.

An environmental scientist cycling on the track found the material
over the Easter long weekend and alerted the venue, according to
the report.

The report related that the Economic Development Directorate's
venue and events services general manager Neale Guthrie said 30 to
40 broken pieces of bonded sheet asbestos, each about the size of
a 50 cents piece, were located on the track on land owned by the
Australian National University, which co-ordinated a clean-up on
Thursday.

Mr Guthrie was only speculating but believed the asbestos could
have been left over from an ANU building destroyed during the 2003
bushfires, with the material being missed during the clear-up, the
report said.  "We don't believe this has been sitting there for
five or six years and people have been just riding over it," told
The Canberra Times.  "I'm pretty confident this stuff has been
under the ground and just made it's way to the top. We do visual
inspections of all of the trails every two months. And while the
guys who do the inspections are not experts looking for asbestos,
definitely my venue manager has a reasonable understanding of
asbestos, and he can't recall seeing it before."

The report further related that the section of the main trunk
trail between Red Rock and Tall Trees has been closed and warning
signs installed. The trail will remain closed until it is
professionally certified as being clear of any asbestos containing
material.

Mr Guthrie told the news agency the affected trail had not been
used during the National Mountain Bike Championships in February
or the Solo 24-Hour Championships in March.  Mr Guthrie added that
the government would follow-up with a visual inspection of all the
cycling trails. "I'm always concerned about it. We'll wait and see
what the results say. If the results say there's nothing in the
air, nothing in the soil, then I'm pretty confident these things
have just been exposed in the past few weeks or months through
weather," he said.

The government issued a statement to inform the public of the
trail closure, the report said.

Mr Guthrie, according to the report, said the scientist who found
the material had left a message, his call was returned, and an on-
site meeting was arranged.  The trail had been closed by the
afternoon after the onsite meeting.  "I think we moved reasonably
fast," he told the news agency.

Canberra Off-Road Cyclists president Sarah O'Callaghan told the
news agency that members were initially concerned about the risk
but were reassured that the asbestos found was bonded. "Certainly
members of the CORC committee did express some concern last night
in the bigger picture, that over the years we as CORC spent a lot
of time out there building trails and things like that, and were
volunteers exposed? We've run big events out there -- have people
been exposed?" she said.

"Certainly, the verbal indications are that's not the case,
because it is bonded sheet asbestos and it's a couple of very
small sections [of the trail]."

A member of the public has suggested asbestos found at Stromlo
Forest Park may be from ruins of a hut that was built almost 60
years ago, the Canberra Times said in another report.

The man, who did not want to be named, said he had been walking
the trails on Mount Stromlo for many years and the asbestos could
have originated from a now-ruined structure known as Magnetic Hut,
the report related.

The ANU website says the hut, the first paleomagnetic laboratory
on campus, was built in 1955 and was a "long, timber-frame
structure clad in weatherboards."   Sections of the hut were
removed in the 1970s.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Aussie Minister Proposes Nat'l Response Agency
---------------------------------------------------------------
Alex Serpo, writing for ABC Environment, reported that Australia
has the highest per capita incidence of asbestos-related disease
in the world. Now we are finally stepping up to confront this
toxic legacy.

When it comes to creating a prosperous and sustainable nation, the
cause couldn't be more important, the report said.  When asbestos
was available in Australia, approximately 750,000 tonnes of
asbestos was mined and 1.5 million tonnes of all forms of asbestos
was imported, bringing the total to 2.25 million tonnes in
society.

While some of this asbestos has been cleaned up, much of it
remains in ageing houses and commercial buildings, the report
said.  Health experts have taken a hard look at Australia's
asbestos stock and estimate that over the next 20 years, an
estimated 30,000 to 40,000 Australians will be diagnosed with an
asbestos-related disease.

Asbestos deaths are not expected to peak before 2020 and in the
words of Federal Employment Minister Bill Shorten "children who
aren't even born yet will die of asbestos related disease," ABC
Environment related.

In this context, Shorten has moved to create the national Asbestos
Safety and Eradication Agency, a new agency that would be
responsible for co-ordinating a national response to what has
become Australia's most deadly material, the report said.

While this is a positive and productive step, the challenges on
the ground remain considerable, according to the report. One of
the first challenges is illegal dumping.

According to the report, large recyclers of construction and
demolition material (the nation's largest waste stream) argue that
an important part of the solution to this problem is to made the
safe disposal of asbestos as cheap and convenient as possible. One
way to do this would be to exempt the disposal of pure and
properly wrapped asbestos from government charges at landfills.

This isn't a large enough volume to affect government income, with
most landfills receiving hundreds of thousands of tonnes of
assorted waste per annum, but would provide an economic pull for
safe disposal, the report said.  WA recently took the lead on
this, but NSW, Victoria and South Australia have not.

In the words of Federal Employment Minister Bill Shorten
"children who aren't even born yet will die of asbestos related
disease," the report related.

Another way would be to fund a national education campaign to help
DIY home improvers identify asbestos and dispose of it safely, the
report added.  Bill Shorten has said the new body will help run
these campaigns.

Another issue is a lack of co-ordination between states and
territories, ABC Environment pointed out. Again, Shorten's new
agency has promised to tackle this issue but quickly or
effectively this happens is an open question. Across the nation's
state and territories, the resource recovery industry faces
greatly varying laws, taxes and standards that inhibit its
effective operation.

Finally, even within states themselves there is a lack of funding
and effective management of asbestos, ABC Environment further
pointed out.  This was more recently highlighted in Queensland
during rebuilding after the floods when a wave of complaints lead
the state's Ombudsman to investigate asbestos management. His
response? Management of asbestos in the state was "confused" and
full of holes.

Shorten made a moving speech when introducing his recent Asbestos
Safety and Eradication Bill, according to the report.  "We owe it
to future generations to finally come to grips with the blight of
asbestos in Australia," he said.  However, if the Federal
Government is serious about tackling this terrible toxic legacy,
it will need to properly address funding, co-ordination and
disposal costs.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Blackdog Residents Fear Fibro in Substation
------------------------------------------------------------
Neil Drysdale, writing for STV News, reported that Blackdog
residents have claimed there is dangerous asbestos at the site
where a new substation is planned for construction.

Campaigners in the tiny north-east community are preparing for
what they describe as a "last-ditch" chance to persuade
Aberdeenshire Council not to proceed with the substation proposal
when members of the Formartine area committee visit the village
later this month, according to the report.

STV News related that Nicola Brown, one of the leading protesters
against the electricity substation -- which is linked to the
GBP230m European Offshore Wind Deployment Centreventure in
Aberdeen Bay -- said she was determined to stop the new facility
being built and told STV the site earmarked for the development
was blighted by asbestos, rat poison and other potential public
health risks.

Ms Brown said: "The majority of residents are very much opposed to
this scheme because it tramples over the wishes of those of us who
live here.  We have had to put up with more and more landfill
sites being created in and around the area, but if councillors
grant permission for this proposal, I have genuine concerns about
health and safety and we have heard nothing to reassure us so far.
We have sent letters of objection, we have consulted Aberdeenshire
Council and we are preparing fliers. But it is absolutely crucial
we get as many people as possible to join us for the meeting on
April 23, when we can highlight the strength of feeling on this
issue."

The council has deferred a decision on where the electricity would
be brought ashore, according to the report.

Councillors will be visiting the site on April 23 before hosting a
local hearing in the White Horse Inn in Balmedie, the report
related.

An Aberdeenshire Council spokeswoman said: "The site of the
proposed electricity substation buildings at Blackdog has been the
subject of consultation with the council's Contaminated Land team.
They have requested that a site investigation and, if required,
remediation shall be undertaken at the site. This will be enforced
via conditioning of the planning decision, if planning permission
is granted.  A limited site investigation of the landfill in 2002
did not find asbestos in the area of the planning application.
The requested planning condition will ensure that, should any
asbestos be identified by the investigation and is assessed as
having a potential impact on human health, it will be
appropriately remediated under the terms of the condition. This is
standard procedure, in line with council policy."


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Feds Seek to Junk Suit v. Guilty Business Owner
----------------------------------------------------------------
Jim McBride, writing for Amarillo Globe-News, reported that
federal authorities have moved to dismiss probation revocation
proceedings against a former Amarillo business owner who pleaded
guilty to negligently releasing asbestos into the air.

Jack R. Coiner, owner of Asbestos Maintenance Services Inc.,
pleaded guilty in 2009 to the asbestos charge and was sentenced in
2010 to four years' probation, according to the news agency.
Coiner was charged with theft of services over US$1,500 but less
than US$20,000 in Hutchinson County, but the charge was dismissed
March 22, court records show.  In 2010, Coiner also was ordered to
pay US$31,150 in restitution and complete 160 hours of community
service.

The news agency, citing court records, said Coiner told two
employees to store asbestos, which was properly sealed inside bags
and barrels, at two locations.  Coiner told authorities he planned
to store the material at dump sites in Borger and Canyon, and
later dispose of it legally at a permitted landfill. He said he
was unable to do so because of financial hardship, court records
show.

Some of the bags and barrels weathered or eroded, releasing
asbestos, a toxic material, into the area, the news agency
related.

A federal investigation didn't reveal any other instances when
Coiner or his businesses unlawfully disposed of asbestos,
according to court records, the news agency further related.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Report Gives Hope to Macleay Island Residents
--------------------------------------------------------------
Judith Kerr, writing for The Redland Times, reported that a
damming report on asbestos regulation in Queensland has given
added hope to Macleay Island residents lobbying for the island's
contaminated foreshore to be made safe.

Queensland Ombudsman Phil Clarke's report, just released,
contained 36 recommendations for improving asbestos removal
regulations, the news agency said.

Macleay Island resident Lindsay Hackett said Redland City Council
and the state government had been discussing how to contain the
asbestos on the beach since a 2009 Safety in Mines Testing and
Research Station (SIMTARS) report found a low-level of
contamination, according to the report.  Since then, 8,800 square
meters of land above and below water was fenced off and the
council applied to two state government departments for a
development application to build a car park to cover the asbestos.

"Our wait may be coming to an end" Mr. Hackett told the news
agency.  "In the past, there was a lack of coordination between
the council and the various state government departments but now
there seems to be a solution.  We have been told the council is
working out costs for entombing the asbestos to the low tide mark
as recommended by SIMTARS in 2009 and in line with community
expectations.  If an application to entomb to the low-tide mark is
approved, it will be a win-win for everyone, as the asbestos will
be contained and islanders will also get additional car parking,"
he said.

The report said the council plans to use the concreted area to
extend the ferry terminal car park, allowing for up to an extra
186 parking bays and a total of 288.  Plans for the ferry terminal
also include a recreational boat ramp, which the council had a
deed of agreement for funding with the Transport Department.
Under that deal, the state government would pay $300,000 for the
council to build the ramp.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: NSW Leader Calls for Touger Penalties for Dumping
------------------------------------------------------------------
The Australian reported that NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson
has called for tougher penalties for anyone found dumping "killer"
asbestos, after a man caught doing so in Sydney's southwest
avoided jail time.

The Australian report related that Dib Abdallah Hanna was handed a
three-month suspended sentence in the NSW Land and Environment
Court for contempt of court for failing to follow a court order
not to dump asbestos and other waste.  Hanna, 37, dumped 80 tonnes
of waste containing asbestos after forcing his way through a fence
at a property on Henry Lawson Drive at Picnic Point in April.  The
tip-truck owner, who pleaded guilty, was also put on a three-month
good behaviour bond by the court.

According to the report, Mr Robertson said Hanna's punishment was
a "disgrace" and Mr O'Farrell needed to send a stronger message to
would-be offenders.

"The government can legislate to toughen these laws to make sure
that people who dump asbestos and compromise community safety
suffer the full consequences before the court," he told reporters.
"Suspended sentences and fines that won't be paid for more than 50
years clearly aren't getting that message across."

The report also related that Premier Barry O'Farrell said he was
"stunned" that Hanna had escaped a prison sentence.

"I don't understand why a judge of the Land and Environment Court
in relation to a contempt of that same court decided to give a
slap on the wrist," Mr O'Farrell told Macquarie Radio.  He has
promised to consider increasing the penalties for illegal dumping,
including jail time, the report said.

The mayor of Bankstown City Council, which is expected to take
Hanna to court on charges of dumping the waste, said fines were
not working as a deterrent, according to the report.  "These
cowboys need to be taught a lesson and that's where the courts
should come in," Khal Asfour said.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Wis. Solon Introduces Claims-Transparency Bill
---------------------------------------------------------------
The Associated Press reported that asbestos-exposure lawsuits
would be slowed until plaintiffs reveal how many businesses their
attorneys plan to go after under a bill introduced by a Republican
lawmaker, who said the measure would prevent lawyers from hiding
multiple claims in hopes of maximizing awards.

The AP report related that Rep. Andre Jacque of De Pere told the
Assembly Judiciary Committee during a public hearing that his bill
would inject transparency into asbestos claims. The bill would
help judges and jurors see how many defendants may be at fault for
one person's illness, ensuring they divvy up damages fairly, he
said.

"This is simply, again, helping better understand the totality of
the circumstances," Jacque told AP.

According to AP, trial attorneys contend the measure is designed
to slow cases down in the hopes plaintiffs will die and protect
corporations from making payouts.

Asbestos is a fibrous, heat-resistant mineral that's been used for
centuries for insulation, fireproofing and building. Dry asbestos
can crumble into a powder, which can release fibers into the air
and cause health problems, including cancer.

Many of the companies that manufactured asbestos products have
filed for bankruptcy and established trusts to cover damage
claims. People who contend still-solvent companies contributed to
their health problems can file civil lawsuits.  But business
advocates contend attorneys who file lawsuits often don't disclose
they've filed claims against the bankrupt companies as well,
preventing judges and juries from properly divvying up liability
and shrinking payouts, AP said.

AP related that business lobby says it works like this: An
attorney representing a worker with an asbestos-related illness
might file a lawsuit against a solvent company whose products the
worker believes played a role in sickening him. Meanwhile, the
attorney quietly pursues claims against multiple trust funds set
up by bankrupt companies whose products also contributed to the
worker's problems. The approach ensures no one distributes
liability across all the companies and increases the chances of
larger payouts.

"By hiding the exposure to the bankrupt companies' products from
the jury, plaintiffs' counsel seek to recover an unfair settlement
(or verdict) from the defendants. Then, by later recovering from
the bankruptcy trusts, the plaintiff's counsel can 'double dip,'"
Trevor J. Will, a Milwaukee attorney who specializes in defending
companies in asbestos cases, said in written testimony, the AP
related.

AP said under Jacque's bill, judges would have to order a
plaintiff in a civil suit to disclose all trust claims they've
filed or plan to file within a month of filing the suit. Once the
plaintiff makes the disclosures, the judge could not schedule a
trial any sooner than six months out. If a plaintiff announces
they plan to file a claim, the judge would have to stay the
proceedings until the filing happens.

AP added that plaintiffs also would have to provide everyone
involved in the lawsuit with all documents and discovery materials
related to the claim actions. Defendants would be entitled to a
reduction in their payouts based on money the plaintiff has
already won through trust claims.

AP further added that Ohio lawmakers passed a similar bill last
year, and legislators in Oklahoma and Illinois are currently
considering such measures.

AP continued that Democrats on the Wisconsin committee questioned
the need for it after asbestos damages attorney Jill Rakauski told
the panel only nine new asbestos cases were filed last year.
Democrats said the bill is designed to create so many hoops that
plaintiffs will die of their diseases before they can navigate all
the red tape.

"The first thing you learn as a defense lawyer is delay is your
friend," Rep. Evan Goyke, D-Milwaukee, a former state public
defender, told AP.

Jacque took offense to those allegations, calling them "sickening"
and "an affront to the legislative process," AP said.

Jeff Pittman, president of the Wisconsin Association of Justice, a
group of trial attorneys, apologized to Jacque, but insisted the
bill would "delay justice," AP related.

Will, the attorney, countered most plaintiffs with mesothelioma
already die before their cases end, AP further related. He
insisted delays would happen only if plaintiffs "drag their feet"
on disclosing trust claims.  "The core issue is full disclosure,"
he said. "If you know you have a claim, you can't sit on it. You
can't play games with it."


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Facts on Fibro Importation From Brazil Unveiled
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Herald Online reported that the Asbestos Disease Awareness
Organization (ADAO) unveiled the facts behind the continued
importation of more than 1,000 tons of asbestos from Brazil mining
operations that are in part funded by U.S. investors potentially
unaware of its dangers. Some of the US financial institutions and
investment funds Eternit S.A. shareholders include: Mellon Capital
Management Corporation, The Vanguard Group, Inc., and State Street
Global Advisors. In addition, California, Louisiana, New Jersey,
and Texas have been identified as ports of entry for Brazilian
asbestos.

Asbestos is carcinogenic to humans in all forms according to the
World Health Organization, and unsafe at any level of exposure
according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the report
related.  Despite these facts, and a second Surgeon General
warning of its hazards, asbestos continues to be imported to the
U.S., as documented by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Since
2012, Brazil, the third largest producer, has been reported as the
sole source for this importation, mined by operations funded in
part by U.S. investors; all asbestos imported and used was
chrysotile, the deadliest form of this mineral. According to the
same USGS report, U.S. asbestos consumption is likely to remain
near the 1,000-ton level, as it has in the past 4 years.

The report related that environmental asbestos exposure occurs in
the U.S., during natural and man-made disasters, such as Hurricane
Sandy and the Joplin, Missouri tornado or W.R. Grace in Libby, MT.
Occupational exposure occurs in the U.S. due to lack of knowledge,
the long latency period of asbestos disease, the inability to
identify asbestos products currently in use, and lack of
enforcement. Millions of homes, schools, buildings are
contaminated with asbestos.

"I am appalled and disgusted that the United States still allows
the importation of asbestos to meet so-called manufacturing
needs," stated Linda Reinstein, ADAO Co-Founder and President.
"We've known for decades that safer substitutes exist and yet we
continue to face a man-made public health crisis. More than 30
Americans die every day from preventable, asbestos-caused
diseases. It's time we protect public health over the profits of
these companies. There is consensus among the World Health
Organization and EPA about the life threatening risks of asbestos
are undeniable and the Brazilian importation is well documented by
the USGS. We must act now to make it crystal clear that we will no
longer tolerate policy that allows asbestos to be imported ADAO
urges Congress to stop asbestos imports and ban asbestos in our
country."

The World Health Organization estimates that 107,000 workers
around the world die each year of an asbestos-related disease,
equaling 300 deaths per day, the report said.

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) was founded by
asbestos victims and their families in 2004. ADAO seeks to give
asbestos victims a united voice to help ensure that their rights
are fairly represented and protected, and raise public awareness
about the dangers of asbestos exposure and the often deadly
asbestos-related diseases. ADAO is funded through voluntary
contributions and staffed by volunteers. For more information,
visit www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Britannia Hotels Fined for Exposure Risk
---------------------------------------------------------
Nick Ames, writing for Kent News, reported that a hotel chain
which runs the Grand Burstin on Folkestone's seafront has been
ordered to pay more than GBP200,000 in fines and costs after
construction workers and guests were put at risk of asbestos
exposure.

According to the report, Britannia Hotels Ltd failed to ensure a
full asbestos assessment was undertaken before construction
workers refurbished a wing to one side of the landmark building in
Harbour Way, between February and July 2010.

The report related that Canterbury Crown Court heard an asbestos
surveyor called to the site after work began and discovered the
widespread presence of the substance in the eaves of the building.
He also found asbestos on the second floor, which was likely to be
linked to the removal of walls and ceilings as part of the
refurbishment.

The report further related that a licensed asbestos contractor had
to be called in to remove the material and seal off the
contaminated area to prevent fibres spreading to other parts of
the hotel.

Britannia Hotels Ltd, of Hale Road, Cheshire, pleaded guilty to
two separate breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act, the
report added. The company was fined a total of GBP160,000 and
ordered to pay GBP40,051 in costs.

After the hearing, health and safety inspector Melvyn Stancliffe
said: "Britannia Hotels Ltd carried out refurbishment work without
carrying out a full and proper asbestos survey before works got
under way. The company's failure to deal with the asbestos could
have resulted in up to 22 workers being exposed to asbestos from
the outset of the project between February and July 2010.

"Although guests did not have direct access to the floors where
asbestos was found, it is possible that the fibres may have spread
into areas that were still open to them. The simple fact is that
because of the company's failures, both guests and workers have
been put at risk, and they now face an uncertain future.  This
situation was wholly avoidable and I hope today's prosecution also
highlights the need to ensure workers are given the appropriate
training to ensure asbestos is properly managed and dealt with."

It is not yet known whether any workers or hotel guests were
adversely affected by the substance, the report said.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Surrey to Pay Extra C$225,000 for Fibro in Pipes
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Christopher Poon, writing for The Now, reported that asbestos
found in drainage and sewage pipes during a routine replacement
along Bishop Road to High Street is expected to cost the city an
additional $225,000, on top of the $1.3 million already approved
for the project.

The Now report related that the issue was brought forth to White
Rock council, during which director of engineering and municipal
operations Greg St. Louis explained that the discovery requires
more pipes to be replaced than originally thought.

Coun. Alan Campbell expressed concern at the issue, saying that
change orders such as this were "a license to make money when
you're a contractor," the report said.

The company doing the work is Langley-based Pedre Contracting.

According to Campbell, he would have liked to see video cameras
used during the initial inspection in order to know what they were
dealing with at the onset, the report related.

"This is 25 per cent of the total contract value we're being asked
to find," he told Now.  "As a contractor, this is great, but as a
city... we do have money, but these are very large amounts."

Campbell also wondered if engineering had done all of the proper
work leading up to the project, noting something messed up along
the way.  "If the work hasn't been done we end up with a problem,"
he said.

But while Campbell and other members of council were concerned
with the additional funds being requested, St. Louis said
initially the contractor had quoted a higher cost for the
additional work, the report said.  "This is where we ended up,"
said St. Louis of the $225,000. "(The contractor's) initial
numbers were higher than this."

Coun. Larry Robinson also wondered about five change orders made
since the project's start, all of which were over $25,000, the
report said.  "Five of these are over $25,000 and that's about 2.5
per cent of the total contract, so is there a point where we have
a process that kicks in where we expect to see a more detailed
invoice?" he asked.

St. Louis responded by saying that there was no set amount at
which some sort of audit process takes place, but noted that each
increase is looked at thoroughly by staff, the report related.

The original budget for the project was $1.7 million, of which
$1.3 million was approved in fall 2012.  Council voted to approve
up to $250,563 for additional pipe replacements, if needed.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Mass. Town to Vote on $100,000 Abatement Spending
------------------------------------------------------------------
Bourne Courier reported that the capital outlay committee will
recommend that May Annual Town Meeting voters approve $110,000 to
finance asbestos-abatement measures that must be undertaken at
Peebles Elementary, Otis Memorial and Bourne High Schools.

The Courier related that the panel had initially recommended a
$50,000 appropriation, but a tour of the three affected buildings
by Facilities Director Jon Nelson and school system Business
Manager Edward Donoghue resulted in a revised asbestos report.

The school district, according to the report, is not sure of
Peebles' future given the start of planning for a new building off
Trowbridge Road. And Otis Memorial may never be used again out on
Otis Air National Guard Base. But the asbestos in floor tiles and
other areas in both schools cannot be ignored.

Nelson and Donoghue recommend that the school system abate as much
floor tile in Peebles as possible this summer; that is, replace
larger swaths of flooring rather than smaller sections, the report
said.  And Nelson says it would be more cost effective in the long
run to replace entire classroom flooring at BHS instead of
tackling the asbestos "piece by piece." This class-by-class
approach, he said, could last five to six years.

Otis Memorial, meanwhile, is leased by the Cape Cod Collaborative
to education 70 youngsters, the report related.  There is asbestos
in miscellaneous areas. The material has already been removed from
the kitchen and boiler room. Nelson says the Otis Memorial
flooring is in better condition that that in Peebles where the
aging tiles are chipped or cracked in places.

The Courier said the overall $110,000 asbestos mitigation
recommendation involves abatement at Peebles as soon as possible
and the start of related work at BHS and Otis Memorial.

The capital outlay panel's total spending request for fiscal 2014
is now set at $15,289,890, the report added.  This total includes
spending recommendations in the landfill and sewer divisions. It
also includes $11.1 million for construction of a new Bourne
Highway Department facility off Scenic Highway.

The DPW complex is subject to voter scrutiny at the May town
meeting and election, the report further related.  It must be
approved in both places for capital- borrowing to be undertaken.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Libby Victims' Lawyers Get $4MM in Fees
--------------------------------------------------------
Matthew Browe, writing for the Associated Press, reported that a
state judge has ruled that lawyers for victims of asbestos
exposure in a contaminated Montana town are entitled to more than
$4 million in fees and expenses out of a $19.6 million settlement
with chemical manufacturer W.R. Grace and Co.

AP related that some victims had objected to the amount as
excessive. They wanted the money to go toward future medical care
for more than 2,200 people sickened by asbestos dust from a Grace
mine near Libby.

But State District Judge James Wheelis said in a recent order that
the 20 percent fee was "fair and reasonable," according to the
report.

He cited the 18,000 hours of work that attorneys from three firms
said they put into the case, which carried a risk of failure that
could have left them with nothing, the report further related.
The full amount sought by the attorneys was more than $5 million.
However, Wheelis granted their request to return $981,000 to a
medical trust for victims.

The money, AP said, will go into a trust that will help cover
medical costs for victims, including 1,350 clients of the
attorneys awarded the fee and 850 others who were not clients but
will benefit from the trust.

Wheelis said the fee payment should come from the entire group of
victims, not just the attorneys' clients, because they will all
benefit from the settlement, AP said.

"It would be inequitable if non-clients received the same benefit
from the fund as clients, but not share in the burden of the
litigation expense," AP cited the just as saying.

In letters submitted to Judge Wheelis, about 20 people, including
victims, said the money should instead be spent on medical care
for those sickened by asbestos dust from a Grace mine near Libby,
according to the AP report.  Three letter writers supported the
attorneys' fee request, the report said.

The Libby settlement, which reached last year, followed decades
of asbestos exposure from a Grace mine outside the town of Libby
that so far has killed an estimated 400 people and sickened more
than 2,000.  Asbestos dust from the mine once blanketed the town,
and contaminated mine waste was widely used by residents and local
officials in construction projects, as a soil supplement in home
gardens and for other purposes.

The plaintiffs' attorneys described their fee request as
reasonable given the time and effort they put into lawsuits filed
against Grace.  Total costs and fees requested topped $5 million,
but almost $1 million of that amount would be returned for the
benefit of the victims, according to documents filed by the
attorneys.  The attorneys said they were entitled to up to 40
percent of their client's share of the settlement under their
retainer contracts, but opted for a lesser percentage that would
come from all qualifying victims and not just the attorneys'
clients.

The attorneys are from three law firms: McGarvey,
Heberling, Sullivan and McGarvey P.C. of Kalispell; Lewis,
Slovak, Kovachich and Marr P.C. of Great Falls; and Murtha
Cullina LLP, which has offices in multiple locations.

A separate legal settlement between Libby victims and the state
of Montana to cover damages for failing to intervene sooner
included $14 million in attorney fees.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Quebec on the Verge of Ending Fibro Industry
-------------------------------------------------------------
CBC News reported that Quebec's government appears to be on the
verge of officially turning its back on the asbestos industry,
according to comments made by the province's natural resource
minister.

The ministry, according to CBC, wants to end an 11-year-old policy
of encouraging the use of asbestos in Quebec construction projects
and is publicly questioning the implications of exporting
chrysotile asbestos.

"If even in Quebec, with all the monitoring bodies, we can't see
any case for which there is a safe use of asbestos, how can we
ensure that it is used safely when we export it?" Natural
Resources Minister Martine Ouellet told CBC.

CBC recalled the when the "policy concerning the increased and
safe use of chrysotile asbestos" was in introduced in 2002, the
Parti Quebecois government declared: "Unequivocally, we believe
the future of asbestos and asbestos products can play a leading
role in many specific sectors."  It addressed non-friable asbestos
products, or ones where the fibre is firmly locked in solid mass
and cannot normally escape, the report said.

That policy, according to CBC, was designed to stimulate demand
for chrysotile asbestos. It was aimed at government ministries,
Crown corporations, municipalities as well as health and social
service facilities.

Quebec's Natural Resources Minister Martine Ouellet said the
province has moved past the point where asbestos promotion is an
official government policy.  That policy is still in force but,
Ouellet said, it simply doesn't make sense in 2013.  "I don't
think we're there anymore," she said.

CBC related that Ouellet wants a full review of the policy and is
hoping to officially introduce a new one in the coming months.

The future of asbestos mining in Quebec ground to a halt earlier
this year after the newly elected government of Pauline Marois
announced it would not honour a commitment of the previous
government to lend the Jeffery Mine $58 million to restart
production, CBC recalled.  The government said instead it would
rather put that money into economic diversification projects in
the area.

At the end of March, the province's health minister announced that
the government would make public a list of buildings that contain
asbestos.  That announcement came after a freedom of information
request filed by Radio-Canada yielded a list of 180 health care
sites in Quebec known to contain the carcinogenic fibre, CBC said.

As recently as 2010, Canada was producing 150,000 tonnes of
asbestos annually, all of it in Quebec, and exporting 90 per cent
-- worth about $90 million -- to developing countries, according
to CBC.  More than 50 countries ban the mining and use of asbestos
because it causes cancer, but Canada, traditionally a major
exporter, has successfully lobbied in the past to keep it off a UN
list of hazardous substances.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Cramlington Management Experts Expand Operations
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ruth Lognonne, writing for The Journal, reported that a firm of
asbestos management experts have continued their expansion by
opening two further offices and recruiting more staff.

Cramlington-based Asbestos Management Services (AMS) has also
moved to a nearby 2,799 sq ft office space as well as opening two
new offices in Doncaster and Warrington and growing its workforce
by 13, the report said.  The firm has moved its headquarters from
Crosland Park in Cramlington to an office some three times the
size at nearby Atley Business Park. AMS's headquarters includes a
specially designed analysis laboratory, to house its expanding
team of testing and analysis specialists, as well as training and
conference facilities and increased office space.

With the move comes the recruitment of an additional five members
of staff in the region, including a surveyor and a lab technician,
taking the total number of employees at the Cramlington head
office to 15, the Journal report added.

Managing director at AMS, Stewart McNicholl said: "It's exciting
times for AMS and a brilliant start to 2013. While the opening of
these new offices is a significant investment for AMS, we have
made the move with confidence about the future as demand for our
services continues to grow.  Our North East office has bespoke lab
facilities to house our ever increasing team of technicians. What
it means is better support for clients and further improved
service levels, as the ability to carry out asbestos analysis
locally means a faster and more efficient turnaround of results."

The Journal related that a 620 sq ft office has been opened at
Doncaster Business and Innovation Centre, creating four new jobs
in the region while a 650 sq ft office at Birchwood Science Park,
Warrington, will service the North West.  The Warrington office
currently has four members of staff who will soon be joined by a
further four employees, including a regional manager.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Exposure Leads to Death of Old Catton Man
----------------------------------------------------------
David Freezer, writing for Norwich Evening News, reported that the
inquest into the death of a 69-year-old Old Catton man has
concluded he died due to exposure to asbestos during his working
life.

Norfolk coroner, William Armstrong, concluded the inquest into the
death of Peter Turner -- who died at his home in Desmond Drive on
Monday, March 11, the report said.  Mr. Armstrong told the news
agency that a postmortem examination had found Mr. Turner had died
because of bronchial pneumonia, which is linked to exposure to
asbestos.  Mr. Armstrong confirmed Mr. Turner, a retired market
trader, had signed a solicitor's statement just three days before
he died which said he had been exposed to asbestos during his
career, the report added.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: US Surgeons Urge Citizens to Learn Fibro Hazards
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The U.S. Surgeon General urged all Americans to educate themselves
about the serious dangers of asbestos exposure. Inhaling asbestos
fibers can cause serious respiratory diseases including
mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs.

In the statement issued in conjunction with National Asbestos
Awareness Week, Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin said that
anyone who disturbs asbestos-containing products puts their self
at risk of developing respiratory disease. Three of the major
health effects associated with asbestos exposure including
asbestosis, a chronic scarring of the lungs; lung cancer, and
mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the chest cavity and
abdominal cavity.

Dr. Benjamin said certain occupations are of special concern
because of the frequency with which workers may encounter building
materials containing asbestos.

Jobs with occupational risk of asbestos exposure include
pipefitters, boilermakers, construction workers, workers who
install insulation, workers who carry out demolition of older
buildings.  The danger is also very real for do-it-yourself home
handymen, firefighters and first responders and community
volunteers, she said.

Any disturbance of the materials can cause asbestos fibers to
float in the air, allowing them to be inhaled.

"The greater the exposure to asbestos, the greater the chance of
developing harmful health effects," Dr. Benjamin said. "If you
think you have been exposed to asbestos, I encourage you to speak
to your health care professional."

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, an
estimated 1.3 million construction and general industry workers
are potentially being exposed to asbestos. Approximately 2,500 to
3,000 Americans die of mesothelioma each year and a similar number
of new cases are diagnosed, the National Institute of Occupational
Safety and Health reports.  The interval between exposure to
asbestos and diagnosis of the disease is typically 20 to 50 years.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Ohio Bldg. Owner Fined for Improper Demolition
---------------------------------------------------------------
The Norwalk Reflector reported that a Jefferson County judge has
ordered Arthur David Sugar and several of his affiliated companies
to pay an $850,000 civil penalty resulting from the improper
demolition of the former Weirton Steel facility in Steubenville
and the subsequent asbestos contamination.

"Asbestos is widely known to be a dangerous, cancer-causing
material which must be abated in any demolition," Attorney General
DeWine told the news agency.  "The aggressive penalty issued
against the defendants in this case shows that endangering Ohioans
by failing to properly manage asbestos will not be tolerated."

According to the report, Jefferson County Court of Common Pleas
Judge Joseph J. Bruzzese imposed the sanctions against Arthur
David Sugar, Sr.; David Sugar Excavating, LLC; Honey Creek
Contracting, Inc.; Excavation Technologies Inc.; and ADS Leasing.
The Court found that in 2004 the defendants began the demolition
of the former Weirton Steel facility and committed "massive
violations," including violating regulations regarding asbestos
removal procedures and failure to notify Ohio EPA of asbestos
removal.

The report further related that in 2010, Sugar and Ohio EPA
reached an agreement for preliminary injunction regarding clean-up
of the site.  In 2011, Sugar and Honey Creek pleaded guilty in
United States District Court to one count of conspiracy and four
counts of violating the Clean Air Act rules related to the proper
removal and handling of asbestos. A trial was held in 2012 in the
Jefferson County Court of Common Pleas regarding liability for
these and other violations, including causing a public nuisance,
which resulted in the $850,000 civil penalty. A hearing will be
held on April 12th on costs, attorney fees, and to determine
further injunctive relief.

"As attorney general, I take my role in protecting the health and
safety of Ohio families very seriously," DeWine further told the
news agency.  "I will continue to work with Ohio EPA to make sure
Ohio's laws regarding asbestos are enforced across the state."


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Baron and Budd Joins ADAO in Battling Crisis
-------------------------------------------------------------
Comparatively speaking, U.S. asbestos imports have dropped from
803,000 metric tons in 1973 to 1,100 today (a mere 2.3 million
pounds). In observance of "Global Asbestos Awareness Week" (GAAW)
the ADAO is using this powerful platform to flood the world with
one message: No matter what the protective measures or
'controlled' exposure levels, all asbestos is hazardous at any
dose.  On April 1, the first day of GAWW, U.S. Attorney General
Regina Benjamin issued a public warning about the tragic health
risks associated with any level of asbestos exposure -- controlled
or not. She emphasized the equal danger of exposure from any form
of asbestos, most especially chrysotile (white asbestos) because
it accounts for all asbestos being used today.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), 57 percent of U.S.-
imported asbestos goes into making chlor-alkali (part of the
process in manufacturing chlorine) and a form of lye, sodium
hydroxide; 41 percent goes into roofing materials, and the rest is
unaccounted for. Health experts and anti-asbestos activists find
this data chilling. For example industry stakeholders continue
claiming that chlor-alkali is key to making asbestos diaphragms, a
separating shield used in chlorine production. The World Health
Organization (WHO), however, says otherwise imports-condemned-
health-experts-activists).

ADAO platinum sponsor Baron and Budd persistently collaborates
with ADAO CEO and co-founder Linda Reinstein and her team in
calling for the U.S. to pass a ban on asbestos. President and
managing shareholder Russell Budd says, "The fact that, even
today, the U.S. continues to import and use asbestos is
unbelievable, especially given clear medical evidence that
asbestos causes cancer, such as mesothelioma."

To view all 7 days of Global Asbestos Awareness Week (GAAW) go to:
http://www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org/archives/19322
Mesothelioma law firm Baron and Budd is a platinum-level ADAO
sponsor and is proud to support ADAO's efforts to ban asbestos in
the U.S. The firm has been protecting the rights of mesothelioma
patients and their families for more than 35 years and have
established a track record of success in the courtroom, as well as
a strong history of giving back to the mesothelioma community.
Learn more about the mesothelioma lawyers at Baron and Budd on the
firm's website: http://baronandbudd.com/areas-of-
practice/mesothelioma-attorney/

                         About Baron & Budd

The national mesothelioma law firm of Baron & Budd, P.C. has a
more than 30-year history of "Protecting What's Right" for
asbestos sufferers and their families. As one of the first law
firms to successfully litigate an asbestos lawsuit, Baron & Budd
continues to actively represent veterans, industry workers and
others who are suffering as a result of exposure to asbestos.
Baron & Budd achieved the largest mesothelioma verdict ever in the
state of Texas, a $55 million verdict for an asbestos sufferer and
his family in El Paso, Texas. Contact Baron and Budd at
1.866.855.1229 for additional information on mesothelioma
treatments, mesothelioma cancer doctors and treatment centers and
mesothelioma attorneys.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fiji OHS Starts Probe in Secondary School
----------------------------------------------------------
Torika Tokalau, writing for The Fiji Times Online, reported that
the Occupational Health and Safety Unit of the Ministry of Labour
has begun their investigations on the suspected asbestos material
discovered at Navuso Secondary School.

According to the report, the OHS team from the ministry visited
the school last week to obtain samples of the suspected asbestos
but couldn't do this because the pipes were laid a few feet
underground.

"At this stage we cannot confirm whether it's asbestos or not,"
deputy secretary for OHS and Workers Compensation at the Ministry
of Labour Osea Cawaru told the news agency.  "Step one was to
obtain a sample and confirm the presence of asbestos through
polarised microscopic analysis.  It was a hard and dangerous task
because the pipes laid are a few feet underground and digging may
affect the integrity of the pipe if it is asbestos or any form of
asbestos containing material.  At this stage we are only assuming
it's asbestos because we could not obtain a sample for analysis."

He said to the news agency that once they confirmed the suspected
asbestos was positive they would carry out a risk assessment to
ascertain if there was any damage or deterioration on the pipe.

"We will then immediately liaise with the school and put control
measures depending on the state of the material. For example if it
is still in its solid state and intact, the pipes should not be
disturbed and if damaged the pipe should be removed.  So at this
stage, we will be formally recommending to the school not to
disturb the pipes except when there is repair works next time,
then they should inform us immediately before any work continues
for precautionary measures to be in place."

He said if the suspected asbestos was in its solid form then it
did not pose a threat to human life, according to the report.

"If the pipe is solid and intact the pipes has to be left
undamaged, as asbestos would only be dangerous when it is
disturbed. So we have suggested to the school to work closely with
relevant authorities and change the cement pipes to PVC or steel
pipes as a medium term measure."


ASBESTOS UPDATE: State Funeral to be Held for Aussie Politician
---------------------------------------------------------------
The Australian Associated Press reported that the family of
trailblazing indigenous politician Ernie Bridge have accepted the
West Australian government's offer of a state funeral.

Mr Bridge, the Kimberley MLA from 1980 to 2001, died in Perth from
asbestos-related diseases on Easter Sunday, aged 76, the AAP
related.  He was WA's first Aboriginal MP and the first indigenous
cabinet minister in any Australian government.

The family have agreed to a state funeral to be held from 10am on
April 19 at Arena Joondalup, north of Perth, the report related.
The father of four will then be buried at private ceremony in
Pinnaroo.

According to the AAP report, Mr Bridge recently lodged a Supreme
Court writ seeking damages from parties including companies run by
two of the nation's richest women, Gina Rinehart's Hancock
Prospecting and Angela Bennett's Wright Prospecting.  He claimed
he was exposed to asbestos while overseeing the closure of mines
and withdrawal of government services from Wittenoom in the late
1980s.

His family, the report said, have requested that in lieu of
flowers, donations be made to the Asbestos Diseases Society of
Australia.

Mr Bridge served as a minister under WA Labor leaders Brian Burke
and Peter Dowding, AAP related.  The Order of Australia member and
Centenary Medal recipient was praised for his commitment to
Aboriginal affairs and was well known for promoting the concept of
piping water from the Kimberley to Perth via Kalgoorlie.  He was
also a country music singer and former pastoralist.

Lawyer Simon Millman of Slater and Gordon confirmed earlier that
Mr Bridge's family would be able to continue the legal fight
because the claim had been lodged while he was still alive, the
AAP noted.  The family have not yet indicated whether they will
continue the legal action.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Former Student Diagnosed With Mesothelioma
-----------------------------------------------------------
Douglas Barrier, writing for STV Airdrie, reported that a former
pupil at a high school whose buildings were constructed with blue
asbestos was diagnosed with mesothelioma, more than 30 years after
the pupil attended the school.

The STV Airdrie report said Sandra Naylor was a pupil at
Caldervale High School in Airdrie between 1974 and 1979 -- when it
was a newly constructed school that had been built using asbestos.
Sandra was diagnosed with the incurable disease in November 2012.

According to the report, Sanda had been suffering from pains in
her chest and shoulder and now the doctors were giving the couple
the answer.

Mesothelioma, the news agency noted, is a cancer particularly
caused by blue asbestos and it normally takes 20 to 40 years from
exposure to development.

Sanda and her husband, living in East Sussex, are trying to sue
North Lanarkshire Council but her husband, Iain, admits they have
a bigger fight on their hands keeping Sandra alive, the report
said.

"Doctors mentioned exposure to asbestos and we just looked at each
other and Sandra was obviously distraught. She was trying to rack
her brain thinking where that had come from.  It wasn't until
Sandra one day Googled 'Caldervale asbestos' and it came up with
the fact that the renovation had been done in 2011. They actually
had to halt the renovation because of the asbestos.  She's got
another three chemo sessions, but we don't know what the prognosis
is -- everyone always asks that.  We asked the consultant at the
time but they didn't want to give out any numbers but it is an
incurable cancer, which is what got to us. She can go through the
chemotherapy but what they're trying to do is get her into some
sort of remission," Iaian told the news agency.

The report said the couple sought out legal help from law firm
Balfour and Manson, who are now appealing for construction workers
who may have helped in the building of the school to get in touch
to aid the case.  Solicitor David Short had put in a Freedom of
Information request to North Lanarkshire Council and uncovered a
400-page document filled with photographs of asbestos in the
school, the report added.

A spokesman for the local authority said that they would be unable
to comment on the matter for legal reasons, the report continued.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Found in Proposed Isle of Wight Project
--------------------------------------------------------------
On the Wight reported that after months of denials, the PFI
contractor planning a controversial asphalt plant on the banks of
the Medina has been forced to admit that asbestos has been found
on the landfill site they want to take over.

The news agency related that a specialist report commissioned by
Eurovia Roadstone concludes: "It is likely that the asbestos
containing material present was deposited as part of the landfill
operation. It is therefore likely that additional asbestos
containing materials could be encountered during the development
of the site. Asbestos containing materials are therefore
considered to represent a significant source of contamination with
regard to human health."

Whilst the report states the risk to construction workers is
moderate, and risk to local workers who take over the site once it
is developed and those using neighbouring land is low, it could
still be considered a huge blow to the entire project, the news
agency said.

Local campaigners with long memories of the site had for months
warned of the likelihood of asbestos being present, the report
added.  At the same time Eurovia insisted that "none had been
found" -- based on testing which, it transpired, did not include
testing for asbestos.

The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract, which the Isle of
Wight Council Conservative administration regards as one of its
greatest achievements, began on 1st April 2013 and sees the
management of the Island's roads handed to the consortium for the
next 25 years, the news agency related.  The Council insists that
its contract with Eurovia does not rely on the asphalt plant
gaining planning consent. But Eurovia has consistently refused to
say how it will source asphalt if it cannot develop the site near
Cowes.

The news agency further related that the contract was approved by
the Full Council last autumn at a time when the Environmental
Health officers were recommending refusal of the plans.
Councillors were not told of their concerns, and Ventnor
independent councillor Chris Welsford, who tried to have the
matter aired in the Chamber, was blocked from doing so by Council
chairman Susan Scoccia.

The controversy has also seen the Council pitted against Island MP
Andrew Turner, who has sharply criticised Eurovia for failing to
address concerns raised by the Wight Residents Against Asphalt
Plant (WRAP) campaign group, the news agency noted.  At the same
time Council leader David Pugh was accusing WRAP of
scaremongering.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Town Mayor Seeks Support for "Post-Asbestos" Era
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jean-Hugo Savard, writing for La Presse Canadienne, reported that
the mayor of Thetford Mines, Luc Berthold, is asking for financial
help from the Quebec government.

He's asking for the government to fulfill its responsibilities and
provide financial support to his municipality so it can survive
the "post-asbestos" era, the report related.

For Berthold, it's now clear that Quebec is heading toward a total
ban on the product, the report said.  He added in the same breath
that the government has the duty to act quickly to support the
Thetford Mines region.

About 100 former mining workers in the region are still out of
work after the closing of the Lac d'amiante mine in St-Joseph-de-
Coleraine, the report noted.

Berthold said he will try over the coming days to communicate with
representatives of the Pauline Marois government to discuss the
asbestos issue, the report added.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Scottish Pupils at Risk to Cancer-Causing Fibres
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ben Borland, writing for Scottish Express, reported that new
figures seen by the Sunday Express show that in some council areas
nine out of every 10 pupils are currently at risk of being exposed
to cancer-causing fibres.

The report related that the issue is now being examined by both
Westminster and the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff, yet nothing has
been done at Holyrood since a petition from a group of worried
parents was closed three years ago.  Even more worryingly, the
most recent national survey of asbestos in schools was carried out
by councils umbrella group Cosla before the SNP even came to
power.

According a straw poll of local authorities, 93.1 per cent of
schools in Edinburgh built before 2000 have asbestos in the walls,
ceilings or floors, the report said.  In Fife the figure is 86 per
cent; in Dumfries and Galloway it is 67 per cent; and in Falkirk
62 per cent.  In East Ayrshire, there are 44 secondary, primary
and nursery schools variously containing crocidolite, amosite,
anthophyllite and chrysotile asbestos, all of which can trigger
the aggressive lung cancer mesothelioma.

All the councils involved insist the risk to health in each case
is low or very low and point to the fact they have tough asbestos
management plans in place, the report said.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which operates across the
entire UK, says it is safer to leave undamaged asbestos in place
rather than try to remove it, the report related.  However, some
argue this approach is outdated and are now calling on British
education ministers to match the Australian government, which
recently pledged to remove all asbestos from schools by 2030.

The report recalled that last month, the House of Commons
Education Select Committee heard that millions of pupils and
teachers could have been exposed to asbestos dust in schools
leading to thousands of deaths.

David Laws, the English schools minister, said the government
would be reviewing its policies and a full-scale inquiry could
begin in May following a report on the relative vulnerability of
children to asbestos, the report said.

Meanwhile, health fears at a high school in Caerphilly have
prompted a series of political debates across the Severn Bridge in
Cardiff, where the Welsh Tories are calling for a public asbestos
database, the report related.

The report said Michael Lee, from the Asbestos in Schools
campaign, said Scottish ministers and MSPs must now take another
look at the evidence.  He said: "It is an issue that the Scottish
Parliament has to consider. It has never been given sufficient
priority by any government, but if the Scottish Government is not
considering it then they are putting lives at risk.  They have to
consider it and they have to take action; not to do so would be
irresponsible."

He added: "The problem is that insufficient money has been put
into maintaining schools across the whole of Britain. If the
fabric of the building deteriorates then the condition of the
asbestos deteriorates.  Schools are not the same as offices, yet
the asbestos is managed in the same way. People in an office are
not going to bash holes in the wall or kick footballs into the
ceiling.  You can tell children not to do these things but whether
they obey or not is a different matter."

According to the report, the warning comes just days after Sandra
Naylor, a former pupil at Caldervale High School in Airdrie,
Lanarkshire, announced plans to sue the council after developing
mesothelioma.

Mr Lee said: "There are many cases where people have died or are
dying and when you look into it, school is the only place where
they could have come into contact with asbestos."

However, the danger is just as acute for the pupils of today -
with an estimated 1,200 Scottish schools built between 1945 and
the 1990s still containing some form of asbestos, the report said.

Robin Howie, an asbestos expert from Edinburgh, said: "We have to
take much greater care with our children than we do with adults,
yet there is no recognition of that from the HSE.  Children are
more vulnerable to exposure than teachers or their parents, and
are up to 40 times more likely to develop mesothelioma over the
course of their lives.  If children were dying at the time of
exposure then we wouldn't be having this conversation; the money
would be found somewhere. But people are dying 40 years down the
line."

He said he would like to see regular airborne testing introduced
at every school where asbestos is present.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said they were following current
HSE advice, adding: "However, we would consider any change in this
advice carefully."


ASBESTOS UPDATE: West Va. Parents Concerned Over Fibro in Schools
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Alanna Autler, writing for WowKTV.com, reported that several
parents and teachers voiced their concerns about their students
returning to school as inspectors discovered several areas within
the school that tested positive for asbestos within the last six
months.

On the last day of spring break, Ivy Davis, like many kids, dreads
going back to school but Ivy, a sixth grader at East Bank Middle
School, said she's nervous for a very specific reason, the report
said.

"When I get in there, I notice I can't breathe that well and I
start coughing a lot where the dust has been stirred," Ivy, who
suffers from asthma, told the news agency.  She said ever since
construction started at the junior high last fall, her wheezing
has only gotten worse.

"It makes you frustrated," Ivy's mother, Amanda Davis, told the
news agency. "You send your child, not thinking they're going to
be in harm's way, and this to me is harmful when you walk in and
look around."

According to the report, renovation project costing nearly $6
million is underway at East Bank Middle School. Construction began
in the fall of 2012, with the goal of installing a new heating and
air conditioning system, according to Chuck Wilson, the facilities
director for Kanawha County Schools.  Wilson said the school has
lacked a functioning HVAC system for the past three to four years,
and the current infrastructure dates back to the 1960s.

The renovation also includes updates to the ceilings, rooftops,
ductwork, and floor tiling that required demolition in numerous
parts of the building, according to Wilson.  "It's a work in
progress," Wilson said. "But the ultimate outcome is going to be a
really fresh, nice-looking school for the students and the
community. It's not been done while any kids are in school and
it's been glove-bagged, and we're really heavily regulated on how
this occurs," he said.

Unless moved or disturbed, materials containing asbestos usually
pose no threat, the report said. When spread in the atmosphere,
asbestos exposure can possibly cause respiratory problems, lung
cancer, or even mesothelioma.

The report related that Wilson explained that workers sent a
sample from the boiler room to be tested for asbestos after they
found an area that appeared suspicious. This is where asbestos has
shown up most frequently since construction started.  He said he's
confident the samples are negative, but the test takes 24 hours to
process.

Wilson, the report added, said he believes the air will pose no
harm to students on Tuesday because teams certified to deal with
asbestos have since cleared the problem areas. In addition to the
regular staff and contractors, five extra custodians helped clean
the hallways.  But with dry, warm weather expected for the day the
children return to school, some parents said they want
administrators to double and triple check for asbestos levels.

"It's in the air, it's not just going to go away over night,"
Davis told the news agency. "They should have shut down a few days
before spring break, anything to make it more safe for the kids."

Wilson predicts construction to finish by August 2013, the report
related.  He said crews performed demolition at times when
students were out of school, such as spring break and on the
weekends.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Removal Questionable at NY Sugar Refinery
----------------------------------------------------------------
Pat Guth, writing for the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance, reported
that the future redevelopment of the former Domino Sugar refinery
in Brooklyn is already garnering the attention of local labor
unions who claim that the developer chosen for the project is
considering a "shady" asbestos company to tackle the removal of
the carcinogenic material from the site.

The report said Two Trees Management, which will be overseeing the
project over the next decade, has raised eyebrows for considering
a company whose past involvement in similar projects is
questionable at best and has resulted in a few lawsuits. And it's
all done in the name of saving a few dollars, say the members of
Local 78, a union that consists of lead, asbestos, and hazardous
waste laborers.

The union, according to the report, claims that not only did the
company, New York Insulation, fail to pay its employees but they
also left a hazardous mess behind after doing work at the
Department of Education in Brooklyn, which was being turned into
condominiums. They claim that during that particular job, asbestos
material was literally flying out the window,

Jed Walentas, son of Two Trees founder David Walentas, claims the
company is doing the right thing by hiring New York Insulation,
proclaiming "total confidence" in the company, the report related.
He also said they were "better than any other bidder, union or
non-union." Jeremy Soffin, the company's PR director, agreed,
adding that Two Trees has had "excellent experience working with
New York Insulation in the past."

The report said the old refinery on the East River was built in
1856, and by 1870, records show, it was processing more than half
the sugar used in the U.S. Though it was rebuilt after a fire in
1882, most of the old buildings remain on the site. The Brooklyn
plant ceased operations in 2004. Three of the buildings have
landmark status, but the others -- which are full of asbestos --
will be either demolished or renovated.

State and federal laws demand that asbestos removal be done by a
licensed contractor trained in such procedures and that it be done
in ways so as not to release dangerous fibers into the air, where
they can be inhaled and cause mesothelioma cancer and other
diseases, the report further related.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: MEPS Call for EU to Increase Removal Measures
--------------------------------------------------------------
The Journal reported that MEPS are calling for the European Union
to protect workers and citizens in member states from the effects
of asbestos.

According to the report, a motion tabled by the Committee for
Employment and Social Affairs in the European Parliament has
passed through committee stage and will go before the parliament
for its first reading later this month.

The report related that in 2005 Europe banned asbestos and a
cleanup operation has been taking place across European countries
for decades, though many MEPs believe this has not been
sufficient.

The new report calls for increased removal measures that would see
all member states required to clear asbestos from all public
buildings or buildings providing services which require regular
public access by 2028, the Journal said.

Between 20,000 and 30,000 people a year suffer from asbestos
related diseases with as many as 120,000 dying every year as a
result of one of these illnesses, the Journal related.

Speaking to TheJournal.ie, Irish MEP and a member of the
responsible committee, Emer Costello, said this is a "huge issue"
and that many people "would not be aware that there are so many
public buildings that have asbestos".  In 2008, the roof of the
hemicycle in Strasboug collapsed, while the parliament was out of
session, and asbestos was discovered. Costello said this shows
that the substance is "present even in relatively modern
buildings."

"There are some water pipe systems across the European Union --
I'm not sure about Ireland now -- that also have asbestos and a
lot of people don't know that," Costello added.  She said an
important part of the report is the call for register of buildings
that have asbestos and training for professionals like architects,
engineers and those working in construction.  "This is as
important a health and safety issue as any of the others we have
on construction sites so we do need proper EU directives and
proper implementation on this," she said.

                      Compensation for victims

The Journal related that the MEP estimated that as many as 3,000
people a year may be suffering from asbestos related illnesses in
Ireland and said that if these people were working in public
buildings, the state should be liable for compensation. However
she said that it would be the responsibility of individual private
companies to establish compensation mechanisms for employees.

In a cast against Irish Rail in 1999, the family of a former
employee was awarded GBP200,000 in damages in London's High Court,
the report recalled.  Patrick O'Toole had died from cancer in 1987
after 30 years suffering with the disease as he had been exposed
to asbestos dust while working on railway carriages in the 1950s.
The court ruled that Irish Rail pay 30 per cent of the damages
while the suppliers were required to pay the bulk of the money.
While the new report says victims should be provided with access
to healthcare for resulting illnesses, it does not address the
issue of compensation and where it should come from.

In a recent report, EuroparlTV spoke to a community in the city of
Mons in Belgium which has been significantly affected by asbestos,
as many people living in the area worked in the local construction
supplies factory, the Journal further related.  Several people in
the area have died of asbestos related diseases such as
asbestosis, when the lungs fills up with fibres or mesothelioma, a
particularly aggressive form of cancer.

Eric Jonckheere, co-chairman of a victim's association told the
Journal that the association has drawn up a list of nearly 130
names of people who have died "because they were lied to and they
were carried off by asbestos diseases".  Jonckheere himself lost
his mother, two brothers and his father, who was an engineer at
the local Eternit factory, to mesothelioma.

Ethernit and associated companies employ around 1,000 people in
Belgium, the Journal noted. The company's legal executive Roeland
Verhille said many industries used asbestos beyond the
construction industry and while it does not deny the past, it had
stopped using the substance even before the EU ban.

"We have a past and we want to tackle the past," he told the
Journal.  "That's the reason also that we made a programme and
that we said it's not only about nonrecognition of victims, it's
broader than that. It's also about supporting medical research,
also about our own premises, and supporting the community where we
can."

As well as a database and improved training, the European
Parliament committee report is calling for a worldwide ban as
governments in countries like Canada are still investing in
asbestos, the Journal further related.

Removal of asbestos from all public buildings is likely to be an
expensive task but Costello said that a cost benefit analysis was
conducted as part of the report and that "in the long run we can't
afford not to do it," according to the Journal.  "This will
involve a fifteen year wind-down if it's put in place so I'm
confident that should give member states sufficient time," she
added.

The report will now go before the parliament for its first reading
on 20 April.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Construction May Disturb Contaminated Soil
-----------------------------------------------------------
Sarah Motherwell, writing for Southern Gazette, reported that
asbestos-contaminated soil on the Burswood Peninsula may pose a
risk to public health and the environment if disturbed by
construction of the new sports precinct.

The report related that two sites on the peninsula south of the
Graham Farmer Freeway, which are owned by the State Government,
were the location of a James Hardie asbestos factory from the
1920s until the early 1980s, as well as a Swan Portland cement
operation.  The sites are now the future location of the State's
sports precinct, including the new Perth Stadium.  As a result of
the operations of the two companies, the sites are contaminated
with asbestos waste, cement kiln dust, kiln bricks and
hydrocarbons.

According to the report, the Department of Environment and
Conservation (DEC) carried out remedial works at the sites during
the previous decade to remove soil containing free asbestos
fibres, but in 2010 the sites were classified as "restricted for
remedial use" with restrictions on the disturbance of soil because
asbestos-impacted soil remained below a sealed surface.

The DEC's 2010 report, the news agency related, said a risk
assessment indicated that the levels of asbestos present on the
sites did not pose an "unacceptable risk" to human health or the
environment, but the Department of Health's Environmental Health
Hazards Unit is reviewing the report to determine the public
health risk aspects of the Site Management Plan.

According to the Health Department's primary asbestos guidelines,
the human health risk from asbestos-contaminated soil varies
considerably depending on the form of the asbestos, its quantity
and its exposure situation, the news agency said.

A spokesperson from the Department of Planning told the news
agency that both site works were subject to environmental approval
and the proponent of the site would have to implement management
plans and undertake monitoring in accordance with Environmental
Protection Agency guidelines.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Bid to Unify Claims to Alter Litigation Landscape
------------------------------------------------------------------
The Wall Street Journal's Review & Outlook recalled that federal
Judge Janis Graham Jack in 2005 blew the lid off the silicosis
scam and shut down that fraudulent tort industry.  A similar
opportunity is unfolding in Baltimore City Circuit Court, but this
time the subject is asbestos litigation, the report said.

This opportunity comes courtesy of plaintiffs lawyer Peter
Angelos, who last year took the audacious step of asking the court
to consolidate 13,000 of his asbestos claims into a single suit,
WSJ said. No court has agreed to a mass asbestos consolidation in
more than a decade. Such cases involve too many plaintiffs,
products, workplaces and diseases to make justice possible.

Courts instead have coped with the asbestos flood by creating
"inactive dockets," which hold the claims of unimpaired
plaintiffs, WSJ said.  If a plaintiff develops a disease, he can
petition to move to court. Mr. Angelos wants to upend this system
and consolidate his claims into one giant payday.

Judge John M. Glynn hasn't ruled on the motion, according to WSJ,
but the request has provided an unexpected opportunity for
disclosure. Judge Jack unearthed the silicosis swindle because she
ordered unprecedented discovery into the 10,000 claims in her
court. She found that 9,000 claimants had been "diagnosed" by the
same nine doctors who were taking orders from law firms that had
brought suit. One doctor performed 1,239 diagnostic evaluations in
72 hours -- less than four minutes apiece.

No such wide-ranging discovery has ever happened in asbestos,
according to WSJ.  Without mass consolidations and with inactive
dockets, law firms have taken to running the claims of unimpaired
plaintiffs individually through the 40 or so trusts established by
bankrupt asbestos firms. Those trusts hold a trove of data that,
if compiled, would likely show the same sort of doctor-lawyer
collusion exposed in silicosis.

So it's no surprise that the asbestos bar has pressured trusts to
keep their information locked up, WSJ said. The largest trust,
Johns Manville, made claims data available until about five years
ago, then succumbed to pressure and closed shop.

That might have come too late for Mr. Angelos, according to WSJ.
The trial lawyer has been suing for a long time, and many of his
13,000 claims were filed long ago -- some in the 1980s. This has
allowed defendant companies in the Baltimore suit to compare the
Social Security numbers and names of Mr. Angelos's claimants to
one of the last data dumps by Johns Manville, which includes
names, doctors and diagnoses. The results might impress even Judge
Jack.

The first discovery, WSJ related, was that more than 1,500
claimants were duplicates. Of the remaining 11,383 plaintiffs,
nearly 70% had been diagnosed by one or more of the same five
doctors. One of the physicians, William Goldiner, diagnosed nearly
50% of the plaintiffs, 77 in one day. When not outputting claims
for the tort bar, Dr. Goldiner works as a team doctor for the
Baltimore Orioles, which are owned by Peter Angelos. Another
doctor, Joseph Kligman, is a former partner of Dr. Goldiner. The
other three doctors either prepared reports at Dr. Goldiner's
request or relied on his exams.

This new information all but obliges Judge Glynn to do a Judge
Jack -- dig into the claims and see how many are bogus suits
manufactured with the help of friendly doctors, WSJ. As silicosis
proved, such discovery is the best way for the judiciary to stop
the avalanche of fraudulent claims so legitimate victims can get
their day in court.

The Angelos revelation also adds urgency to a U.S. House of
Representatives bill that would require asbestos trusts to make
public their detailed claims data, according to WSJ. This would
help defense attorneys connect dots and expose fraud. The
silicosis blowup cost doctors their licenses and earned fines for
screening companies and law firms. Democrats who oppose the
legislation should have to explain why they put their trial-bar
friends ahead of transparency and judicial fairness.

The asbestos litigation scam has dragged on because it has been
allowed to operate in the shadows, the WSJ report said. The
Baltimore court and Congress have a rare chance to shine a light.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Ottawa Neighborhood Groups Fear Bldg. Check Gaps
-----------------------------------------------------------------
CBC News reported that some Ottawa neighbourhood associations say
they're concerned about a potential gap in responsibility for
checking demolished buildings for asbestos and other hazardous
substances.

According to the report, the province requires developers to
submit a "designated substances" report when taking down
buildings, which includes steps taken to manage materials such as
asbestos, lead and mercury.  However, the city issues demolition
permits without checking for that paperwork.

Lynne Bankier, who lives in west Ottawa's Champlain Park
neighbourhood, told CBC News that older homes are often being
taken down for larger, more modern ones.  "I just hope that I was
not, and that my neighbourhood was not, being exposed unduly to
hazardous materials in that dust," she said.  "I realized that I
had no assurance that that was the case."

Heather Pearl, spokeswoman for the Federation of Citizen's
Associations, told CBC News she is worried developers are taking
advantage of the city, which doesn't check for materials such as
asbestos in buildings smaller than four storeys, or 600 square
feet.  "They're coming in and doing it quite quickly and we have
no evidence that they're actually following the legislation," she
said.

Ms. Pearl's group wants the city to make sure buildings don't have
any hazardous materials in them before it issues demolition
permits, CBC News related.  Pearl said the city and province have
a strong focus on intensification, which leads to demolishing
older buildings that potentially have asbestos in the insulation,
shingles and pipes. But in a report tabled at the planning
committee Tuesday, city staff said they lack the resources and the
Ontario Ministry of Labour should handle checks for asbestos.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Washington Passes Labelling Bill
-------------------------------------------------
The Spokesman-Review reported that products that contain asbestos
would have to be labelled in Washington state stores under a bill
that passed the House.

Approving a bill that already passed the Senate, the House voted
65-28 to support a bill first introduced by Sen. Andy Billig, D-
Spokane, that requires construction projects that have some form
of asbestos in them to be clearly labeled, the report said.  It
first turned down an amendment by Rep. Shelly Short, R-Addy, to
lower the potential maximum penalties from $10,000 to $1,000. Rep.
Dave Upthegrove, D-Des Moines, said violators are more likely to
get a warning and the chance to take corrective action, than a
fine. The higher figure is a maximum, not a set amount for every
infraction, he added.

Short told the news agency she didn't object to the concept of the
bill: "People absolutely ought to have the right to know."

The bill now goes to Gov. Jay Inslee.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Surrey Roads Repaired With Fibro-Containing Tiles
------------------------------------------------------------------
Echo reported that toxic asbestos tiles are being used to patch up
unmade roads in Thundersley, it has been claimed and serious
concerns have been raised for public health and safety after the
tiles, believed to be made from the potentially lethal substance,
have been used to cover gaping potholes in Keswick Road and
Windermere Road.

Both are classified as "private roads" meaning the highways
authority is only required to maintain them to a standard for use
by horse riders, and to allow access for cyclists and pedestrians
-- not vehicles, according to Echo.

Worried residents, the report said, are calling on Essex County
Council and Castle Point Council to take action as the route is
regularly used by local schoolchildren.

Edward Lorkins, of Rushbottom Lane, Benfleet, who has worked in
the construction industry for over 30 years, told Echo: "I've
worked as a builder for years so I've dealt with asbestos a lot
and this is definitely it.  Every time a car goes over them they
are getting more and more crushed and it just takes a gust of wind
for all that dust to be blown into the air which is a big worry.
Something needs to be done to remove it all."

Echo related that asbestos is a building material which was
commonly used for electrical or building insulation.  It became
outlawed when it emerged that long-term exposure to and inhalation
of its fibres causes serious illnesses, including malignant lung
cancer, mesothelioma -- which is a rare form of cancer associated
with exposure to amphibole asbestos -- and the lung disease
asbestosis.

Debbie Horne, of Keswick Road, Thundersley, told Echo: "It
wouldn't surprise me to be honest if it did turn out to be
asbestos, but it really is a worry. The road really isn't
maintained anymore so people chuck anything in the holes to fix
them."

Essex County Council said it supplied residents with appropriate
material to fix the potholes last November.  A spokeswoman from
Castle Point Council told Echo: "Residents have raised this
concern with us and we are currently investigating the matter."


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Widow of Mesothelioma Victim Launches Legal Fight
------------------------------------------------------------------
Birmingham Mail reported that the widow of a Black Country factory
worker who died last month after being exposed to lethal asbestos
has launched a legal fight to win justice for her late husband.

The report related that Ralph Edward Owen, aged 61, of Toys Lane,
Halesowen, succumbed to mesothelioma, a cancer linked to the
deadly dust, in Russells Hall Hospital on March 21, having been
diagnosed with the disease in October 2011.  An inquest heard by
Black Country coroner Robin Balmain on March 28 ruled that Mr Owen
had died of an industrial disease.

Knowing he was dying, suspicious Mr Owen began 17 months of his
own investigations into conditions at two firms where he had
worked, Reliance Plating and Heat Treatment, in Wolverhampton,
from 1968-76, and Archibald Kenrick and Sons, in West Bromwich,
where he was employed in 1984 and 1985, the report said.  His
widow Susan, aged 50, whom he married a year ago, is continuing
that quest for the truth with the help of specialist asbestos
lawyers from the Birmingham office of Irwin Mitchell solicitors.

Mrs Owen is searching for former work colleagues of her husband
who may be able to provide extra details of how he came into
contact with asbestos, according to the report.

She told the news agency: "Ralph's diagnosis was a massive blow to
us both, depriving us of the long future we planned together. If
the case succeeds, it will not bring my husband back but Ralph was
determined that I carry on the fight for justice in his name."

Irwin Mitchell lawyer Mark Lennon also told the news agency:
"Prior to his sad and untimely death, Ralph had been able to
provide us with a lot of information regarding working conditions
at the two factories, both of which are no longer trading.
Reliance, which was based at Lyndean Works, in Hickman Avenue,
Wolverhampton, and later at Sunbeam Street, manufactured
electroplated steel tubing and used large 'degreasing tanks' as
part of the production process. Ralph, who had worked at both
sites, claimed that asbestos was used in these tanks for their
acid and heat-resistant qualities and that he would have to crawl
under them where there was often asbestos dust on the floor that
had been dislodged.  When working at Archibald Kenrick, in Union
Street, West Bromwich, Ralph worked in the factory's powder
coating plant. He claimed the old pipework was lagged with
asbestos and that it rattled with the heat, sending clouds of
asbestos dust into the atmosphere."

Mr Lennon added: "In order to help Susan, we are keen to hear from
workers from either Reliance or Archibald Kenrick, who may be able
to provide us with additional detail about how he was exposed to
asbestos."


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Libby Victims Could Receive Medicare Compensation
------------------------------------------------------------------
The Missoulian reported that U.S. Sen. Max Baucus says federal
Medicare officials have agreed to resolve outstanding settlement
claims for at least 100 Libby asbestos victims by the end of the
month.

Baucus said more than 150 people in Libby and Lincoln County are
awaiting action by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,
the report related.

The agency, according to the report, must act before victims can
receive compensation under legal settlements with the state of
Montana and W.R. Grace and Co. The company for decades operated a
vermiculite mine that contaminated Libby and surrounding areas
with asbestos dust.

The report related that Medicare is entitled by law to a portion
of the multi-million dollar settlements to pay back expenses for
government-sponsored medical treatment. In some cases the process
has dragged on for more than a year, preventing settlements from
being finalized.


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Queensland Company Tests Positive in Fibro
-----------------------------------------------------------
The Chronicle reported that the Transport Workers Union will
gather outside the gates of JJ Richards to inform drivers of the
positive asbestos sample found at the company.

"Asbestos is a very serious matter and we want to be there for our
members," TWU state secretary Peter Biagini told the Chronicle.
"And while JJ Richards has poorly palmed the blame off onto its
customers, they are forgetting what is really important, which
sadly, is that they have exposed their employees. There are no
excuses when it comes to asbestos and we fear this company is
doing the same thing at other yards across Queensland."

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland were called onsite
following concerns the company were illegally handling the life-
threatening substance, the report related.  That test returned
positive two-weeks later.

"We are going to JJ Richards Toowoomba to talk to members about
the positive sample found and what that means to them and their
families," Mr Biagini further told the Chronicle.  "We will also
be holding a community meeting on April 23 with legal and asbestos
experts Maurice Blackburn, so we can talk to employees, their
families and the community at large."

The report related that following the positive results, the union
wrote to JJ Richards' branch manager Tom Richards, the Minister
for Justice Jarrod Bleijie and to those councils who have
contracts with JJ Richards across Queensland to raise awareness
and asked to discuss the health and safety issues, before calling
for an immediate audit and investigation of the company.

"Last week Minister Shorten nailed just how bad this substance
is," Mr Biagini said.  "Each year 650 Australians are diagnosed
with mesothelioma, the worst of the asbestos related diseases.
Sadly, as Minister Shorten said, those that have been exposed to
asbestos, in whatever form, there is nothing that can be done to
turn back time and protect them from asbestos exposure. I have
personally written to Tom Richards, the Minister and the Mayors
asking them to sit down with the TWU and discuss the issues
relating to the health, safety and conditions of JJ Richards
employees and the future of the company."


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Trucker Exposed to Fibro Considers Suing Firm
--------------------------------------------------------------
Jane Mundy, writing for Lawyers and Settlements, reported that
Austin worked in the Ventura oil fields from 2008 to 2012 as a
heavy equipment operator, and during that time, he worked with
asbestos drilling mud. Now Austin is concerned about asbestos
exposure and is considering filing an asbestos drilling mud
lawsuit.

"My job was to take the asbestos drilling mud that came out of the
drilling rigs and mix it with dirt and stockpile it in a huge
designated area," Austin told the news agency. "There were three
pits where the wet mud was dumped. I would take the drilling mud
and mix it with fresh dirt and existing mix (meaning mud and
dirt). This mix was eventually used for land fill."

According to the report, Austin kept some samples of this landfill
mix, in the case that an asbestos attorney accepts his claim and
requires that it be tested for asbestos.

"We called these pits the Mud Farm," Austin further told the news
agency.  "The company stockpiled the mix for about a year and
during the three years that I worked there I saw it taken away
twice. It was a mountain of dirt, the height of a four or five
storey building. It took months to haul if off with 10 trucks that
transported the mud 12 hours a day, 5 days a week. Then another
mound would be stockpiled.  Anyway, my concern is that I got a
rash within a month of working there, all over my legs. I know
this isn't a side effect of asbestos but it was very red and
irritating. Obviously I had a reaction from something so I am
concerned that years from now I might have respiratory issues. I
complained to my doctor, who looked at my rash and simply told me
to keep away from the stuff, which meant keep away from your job.
Easier said than done.  The rash would come and go, depending upon
what kind of equipment I was operating. I drove a wheel loader,
excavator and backhoe. And here's another thing: I noticed that
all the dump trucks that hauled the mud were new. After a couple
of years all the paint was peeled off and the dump trucks were all
about two years old; that is how corrosive this stuff is."

The report said Austin's boss decided his doctor's advice for him:
he was fired for not wearing the company's fire-retardant shirt.
"Their maintenance program was pretty bad," he explains. "The A/C
was constantly breaking down in the tractor I operated so I had to
open the windows and expose myself to all the chemicals in the air
-- which could have contained asbestos fibers. I told my
supervisor that I had this rash and they needed to get the A/C
fixed but that didn't happen.

Austin further told the news agency that "We were issued heavy
long-sleeved shirts that were fire-retardant. One day it was so
hot I had to take it off, so I just wore my t-shirt -- the A/C was
broken again. I got fired -- just two days before Christmas --
because I took my shirt off. Ironically, we were trained for heat
exhaustion, and if I kept this shirt on, I would have been treated
for heat exhaustion. To add insult to injury, they refused to pay
me unemployment insurance so I filed a complaint with the
California labor board because I knew this was a violation of the
California labor law. I went before the unemployment appeals judge
and won. It was ridiculous for the company to do this, when they
are making billion-dollar profits. If they are this callous, it
wouldn't surprise me if they know their workers have been exposed
to asbestos."


ASBESTOS UPDATE: Newfoundland Completes Registry of Mine Workers
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Canadian Press reported that a registry on the work and health
histories of former employees of an asbestos mine in Newfoundland
has been completed.

The Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission says the
registry will be used to help adjudicate occupational disease
claims for former workers of the shuttered mine in Baie Verte, the
report said.  The commission says the information in the registry
will also help patients under care for asbestos-related illness.

A research group at Memorial University collected the confidential
data after contacting 1,003 people who consented to be part of the
registry, according to the report.

The registry collected information from people who worked at the
mine from 1955 until 1992.


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S U B S C R I P T I O N  I N F O R M A T I O N

Class Action Reporter is a daily newsletter, co-published by
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USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Washington, D.C., USA. Noemi Irene
A. Adala, Joy A. Agravante, Valerie Udtuhan, Julie Anne L. Toledo,
Christopher Patalinghug, Frauline Abangan and Peter A. Chapman,
Editors.

Copyright 2013. All rights reserved. ISSN 1525-2272.

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