Dow Corning appeals judge´s decision on suing parent firms

MIDLAND, Mich. (Jan. 12)—Dow Corning Corp. and the plaintiffs´ attorneys who negotiated last year´s $3.2 billion settlement agreement against the company are appealing a bankruptcy court judge´s ruling that women with silicone-gel breast implant claims may sue Dow Corning´s parent companies. The "third-party release" clause in the agreement is essential, and Judge Arthur Spector´s ruling to overturn that section of the settlement abrogates the whole, a Dow Corning spokesman said. Spector signed the entire agreement Nov. 30, but three weeks later issued a ruling saying claimants who voted against the plan could sue Dow Chemical Co. and Corning Corp. for damages.