A Connecticut state judge has ruled that...

A Connecticut state judge has ruled that individual victims of the Bhopal, India, gas disaster have the right to seek settlements with Union Carbide Corp. without being represented by the government of India. The ruling, issued July 18 by Judge Burton Jacobson in Bridgeport, was hailed by Carbide, which is frustrated by its failure to negotiate a settlement with the Indian government. However, U.S. lawyers representing the Indian government said the ruling had little meaning since litigation is proceeding in Bhopal--not Connecticut.