Dow Corning parent companies win breast implant case

DETROIT (Dec. 16)—Dow Corning Corp.'s parent companies can't be the subject of lawsuits from dissatisfied customers of Dow Corning silicone-gel breast implants, a Detroit federal judge has ruled. Although Dow Chemical Co. and Corning Corp. helped develop silicone, they never made silicone implants, and forcing them to face litigation on this issue would knock out a key point in Dow Corning's Chapter 11 reorganization plan, Judge Denise Page Hood ruled. The case dates from Dec. 21, 1999, when a federal bankruptcy judge ruled that women with breast implant claims who didn't vote for Dow Corning's settlement agreement were free to sue the parent companies.