Insulated from Asbestos?

Some of the cases against traditional defendants are no less of a stretch. USG, for example, recently lost a case in Beaumont, Texas, that "symbolizes everything that is wrong with the process," says CFO Rick Fleming. The case involved 22 Texaco refinery workers exposed to asbestos but not physically impaired, he contends. "Three of them testified they remembered having seen our joint compound in an office they once walked through 25 years ago.

"Their testimony was allowed by the judge to be attached to the full 22-member group, even though 19 of them were never exposed to our product," he adds. "We figured this was one case we could not lose." The jury disagreed. USG, which had just laid off some 500 workers to help meet legal bills, had to find another $16 million to pay plaintiffs. The case is on appeal. —R.B.

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