Archives

Listed below are the complete CTS Alert Archives, along with examples of the documented evidence we used to examine each case.

Pharmacy Benefit Managers: Health Care Cost Containment or Consumer Rip-Off?
Alert #12 - August 13, 2004

• July 22, 2004 - Amici Curiae Brief of AARP, Legal Counsel For The Elderly, And The Prescription Access Litigation Project In Support Of The District Of Columbia

Court Secrecy: What You Don’t Know Might Kill You 
Alert #11 - July 21, 2004

• October 2003 - "The Dilemma of Secret Settlements"
• September 2002 - Editorial, "Courtroom Cover-Ups"
• Spring/Summer 2004 - Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, newsletter p. 14  

Class Action Con-Job: New Law Will Deny Civil Justice in State Law Cases
Alert #10 - July 6, 2004

• June 2004 - Letter to the senate from 13 state attorneys general opposing the Class Action bill

Buyer Beware: The Truth Behind High Prescription Drug Prices
Alert #9 - June 15, 2004

Class Action Changes Would Protect Corporate Abuses
Alert #8 - May 21, 2004

• April 2004 – “Altering of Worker Time Cards Spurs Growing Number of Suits,” New York Times Article 
• April 2002 – Complaint in the class action case of Michael Pittman and Garrett Cutler vs. Wal-Mart, Inc., in the Circuit Court for Prince Georges County, Maryland, April 23, 2002.

MTBE: Shielding Poluters, Part II
Alert #7 - May 5, 2004

• April 2004 - Bid to Revive Energy Legislation Via Unrelated Bill Fails in Senate
• June 2000 - Origin of the Reformulated Gasoline Program 
  According to this document it was the gas industry that originally generated, developed, and promoted the use of RFG, not the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or other parts of the federal government.

MTBE: Shielding Polluters - The Inside Story
Alert #6 - April 16, 2004

• Deposition in South Tahoe Public Utility District vs Atlantic Richfield Company 
  This document shows that the oil industry has known for years that it is virtually impossible to keep MTBE from leaking out of storage tanks into groundwater supplies.
• MTBE Release Source Identification at Marketing Sites 
  This Exxon study concluded that even a teaspoon of the chemical dissolved in 250 gallons of water would result in MTBE levels of 413 parts per billion.

HMOs Deny Obligation to Provide Patient Care
Alert #5 - April 2, 2004

• January 2004 - Brief on behalf of Texas and 20 state Attorneys General, Page 2 
  Twenty states joined Texas in pointing out to the Supreme Court, that “[m]odern HMO practice, unforeseen in 1974, has resulted in managed care providers routinely making medical judgments and decisions.”
• January 2004 - Brief on behalf of Texas and 20 state Attorneys General, Page 3 
  Texas Solicitor Gen. R. Ted Cruz states in the brief to the court “no meaningful remedy for negligent and wrongful decisions made by HMOs."
• December 2003 – The Bush Administration argues industry’s position 
  As employers have noted, imposition of liability under state law could prevent employers from designing innovative health plans that are consistent across state borders and could make employers less willing to provide health benefits because of the higher costs associated with them.

Haliburton May Still Dodge its Obligation to Asbestos Victims
Alert #4 - March 19, 2004

• February 1955 – McIntyre-Saranac Conference on Occupational Chest Disease 
  Harbison-Walker Refractories (HW) had a representative at the McIntyre-Saranac conference in 1955 that included a presentation entitled, "The Dust Diseases in Great Britain." According to a transcribed recording, the presentation detailed the impact of asbestos exposure.
• February 1955 – Transaction of the McIntyre-Saranac Conference on Occupational Chest Disease 
  The conference presentation made clear that "The connection between asbestosis and cancer of the lung is becoming clearer, and in one series of 100 autopsies on asbestosis cases there were 25 cases of cancer of the lung."
• August 1972 – HW Internal Memo 
  Asbestos lawsuits against Halliburton also uncovered a 1972 HW internal memo written by D.R. Pflemmer to P.E. Fisch regarding, “Standards for Asbestos Dust,” stating that, “Harbison-Walker has been acutely aware of the asbestos problem for many years.”
• August 1992 – Letter from Exxon executive James W. Hammond 
  In another court document Mr. Hammond, long involved in the company’s industrial hygiene program, made it clear that Halliburton subsidiary, Brown and Root, knew about the hazards of asbestos.

Ford's Deadly Police Car Cover-Up
Alert #3 - March 9, 2004

• April 30, 2003 - Deposition of Ford representative – see pp 12 and 15 
  Ford never tested a Crown Victoria Police Interceptor (CVPI) equipped with a trunk pack liner and fuel tank shields to a 75 mph fuel integrity crash standard. This was discovered only recently in deposition testimony taken as part of dozens of class action lawsuits against Ford that have been consolidated for discovery purposes before a federal court in Cleveland.
• February 3, 2003 - Deposition of Ford representative – see highlighted sections 
  Ford announced that the Ford CVPI passed a crash test conducted in August 2002, meeting a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) limit on fuel leakage of less than one ounce of fuel. In reality, as revealed in an internal report and acknowledged by Ford officials in deposition testimony, the CVPI in this test leaked more than 40 ounces of synthetic fuel.

Armstrong World Industries - A Legacy of Deceit
Alert #2 - February 25, 2004

• October 1987 - Armstrong World Industries/Commercial Union Insurance Industries Court Document, Cover Page & Page 15 
  According to the American asbestos industry and insurance companies own internal records they were indifferent to the asbestos poisoning of generations of American workers for decades.
• October 1987 - Armstrong World Industries/Commercial Union Insurance Industries Court Document, Page 13 
  The insurance companies included in the court record a 1954 workman’s compensation decision in the first claim against Armstrong based on asbestos exposure.
• November 2003 - Armstrong World Industries Press Release 
  In 2002, Armstrong's net sales totaled more than $3 billion. Based in Lancaster, PA, Armstrong operates 58 plants in 14 countries and approximately 15,700 employees worldwide.

Asbestos Corporations Knowingly Poisoned Millions, Could Avoid Full Liability
Alert #1 - February 9, 2004

• September 1966 - Chemical Week Article
  This industry magazine reported the startling conclusion of the U.S. Public Health Service that 40 percent of all Americans suffered at least mild asbestosis.
• September 1966 - Letter from Senior Executive in Honeywell's Bendix Unit 
  This Honeywell senior executive writes to his colleague at Johns Manville “If you have enjoyed a good life working with asbestos products, why not die from it. There has to be some cause.”