UPDATE: Mass Trial in W.Va. Moving Forward to Liability Phase

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The next phase of the West Virginia asbestos trial involving thousands of plaintiffs was scheduled to get underway on Dec. 2, at which time arguments over liability in cases involving Union Carbide employees were expected to commence, sources close to the case told HarrisMartin Publishing. Adkins v. Dow Chemical Corp., No. 02-C-9004 W.Va. Cir. Ct., Kanawha Cty.

The second phase of the trial follows an Oct. 24 verdict by a Kanawha County Circuit Court jury, which determined that approximately a half dozen of Union Carbide's facilities in West Virginia and Ohio were dangerous from 1945 to 1980 …