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During 2001 there were several adverse judgments in trial court proceedings that are in various stages of the appeals process. All of these judgments concern asbestos claims involving Harbison-Walker refractory products. Each of these appeals, however, has been stayed by the bankruptcy court, as described in the Harbison-Walker Chapter 11 Bankruptcy section above, until at least April 4, 2002.
On November 29, 2001, the Texas District Court in Orange, Texas, entered judgments against Dresser Industries, Inc. on a $65 million jury verdict rendered in September 2001 in favor of five plaintiffs. The $65 million amount includes $15 million of a $30 million judgment against Dresser Industries, Inc. and another defendant. Dresser Industries, Inc. is jointly and severally liable for $15 million in addition to $65 million if the other defendant does not pay its share of this judgment. We believe that during the trial the court committed numerous errors, including prohibiting Dresser Industries, Inc. from presenting evidence that the alleged illness of the plaintiffs was caused by products of other companies that had previously settled with the plaintiffs. We intend to appeal this judgment and believe that the Texas appellate courts will ultimately reverse this judgment.
On November 29, 2001, the same District Court in Orange, Texas, entered three additional judgments against Dresser Industries, Inc. in the aggregate amount of $35.7 million in favor of 100 other asbestos plaintiffs. These judgments relate to an alleged breach of purported settlement agreements signed early in 2001 by a New Orleans lawyer hired by Harbison-Walker, which had been defending Dresser Industries, Inc. pursuant to the agreement by which Harbison-Walker was spun-off by Dresser Industries, Inc. in 1992. These settlement agreements expressly bind Harbison-Walker Refractories Company as the obligated party, not Dresser Industries, Inc. Dresser Industries, Inc. intends to appeal these three judgments on the grounds that it was not a party to the settlement agreements and it did not authorize anyone to settle on its behalf. We believe that these judgments are contrary to applicable law and will be reversed.
On December 5, 2001, a jury in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland, returned verdicts against Dresser Industries, Inc. and other defendants following a trial involving refractory asbestos claims. Each of the five plaintiffs alleges exposure to Harbison-Walker products. Dresser Industries, Inc.’s portion of the verdicts was approximately $30 million. Dresser Industries, Inc. believes that the trial court committed numerous errors and that the trial evidence did not support the verdicts. The trial court has entered judgment on these verdicts. Dresser Industries, Inc. intends to appeal the judgment to the Maryland Supreme Court where we expect the judgment will be significantly reduced, if not totally reversed.
On October 25, 2001, in the Circuit Court of Holmes County, Mississippi, a jury verdict of $150 million was rendered in favor of six plaintiffs against Dresser Industries, Inc. and two other companies. Dresser Industries, Inc.’s share of the verdict was $21.5 million. The award was for compensatory damages. The jury did not award any punitive damages. The trial court has entered judgment on the verdict. We believe there were serious errors during the trial and we intend to appeal this judgment to the Mississippi Supreme Court. We believe the judgment will ultimately be reversed because there was a total lack of evidence that the plaintiffs were exposed to a Harbison-Walker product or that they suffered compensatory damages. Also, there were procedural errors in the selection of the jury.
Since 1976, approximately 474,500 asbestos claims have been filed against us. Almost all of these claims have been made in separate lawsuits in which we are named as a defendant along with a number of other defendants, often exceeding 100 unaffiliated defendant companies in total. During the fourth quarter of 2001 we received approximately 14,000 new claims, compared to 16,000 new claims in the third quarter, 27,000 new claims in the second quarter and 18,000 new claims in the first quarter of 2001. Included in these numbers are new Harbison-Walker claims of approximately 4,000 in the fourth quarter and 3,000 in the third quarter. During the fourth quarter of 2001 we closed approximately 7,000 claims, resulting in approximately 36,000 closed claims during 2001. The number of open claims pending against us at the end of each quarter of 2001 and at the end of the two preceding years is as follows:
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