Monday, November 10, 2003

JEREMIAH STETTLER
THE SAGINAW NEWS

Dow Chemical Co. attorneys have no right to the medical, insurance and employment records of residents suing the company over dioxin contamination, a judge has ruled.

Saginaw County Chief Circuit Judge Leopold P. Borrello ruled Friday that the records have nothing to do with certifying the case as a class-action lawsuit.

The judge has allowed Dow to go ahead and interview residents along the Tittabawassee River, however.

"Dow can meet with the residents as long as they don't harass them," Borrello said today.

Dow spokesman Scot Wheeler said the company is disappointed that residents suing the chemical giant are blocking information "vital" for a sound ruling.

"We are pleased that the court has allowed us to interview individuals," Wheeler said. "We feel a denial of access to medical records is not only disappointing, but that it is not right or good for this case."

Gary Henry, a resident suing Dow, said the decision was "great news."

"It protects the right of the plaintiffs against Dow's request for irrelevant information," he said. "But this does not protect residents."

He said residents not named in the lawsuit are at risk because of informal meetings Dow officials will conduct this week.

Although Dow maintains that the meetings are meant to gain input from residents in a small-group setting, Henry said residents who participate may expose themselves to probing by Dow officials into their medical, employment and property information.

He urged residents not to accept Dow's invitation to the meetings.

"Just hang up the phone," he said.

Wheeler said the meetings announced by Dow last week have nothing to do with the lawsuit. Attorneys will not attend the meetings, and Dow officials will not probe into personal information, he added.

Borrello's ruling comes less than three months before he will decide whether to certify a class-action lawsuit involving nearly 300 residents along the Tittabawassee River. t

© 2003 Saginaw News.