Ex-IBM workers lose cancer suit

[MORTARDUDE]

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Ex-IBM workers lose cancer suit


Items compiled from Tribune news services
Published February 27, 2004

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA -- In a major victory for the electronics industry, a jury decided Thursday that IBM Corp. was not responsible for the cancers that developed in two former employees at a disk drive plant.

The jury deliberated for less than two days before clearing the computer giant of claims that the harsh chemicals used in its San Jose factory caused the retirees' illnesses. The former workers, who were diagnosed with cancer in the 1990s, sought damages that could have totaled millions of dollars.


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The trial, the first of more than 200 similar lawsuits against IBM, riveted the industry, which bills itself as clean and progressive. Some observers had said a jury verdict against IBM could have triggered more lawsuits against semiconductor companies and other high-tech businesses.