High Court Won’t Hear Asbestos Suits : Public health: U.S. high court refuses to hear arguments by California and 29 other states on removal costs for schools and other government buildings.

The Supreme Court today refused to let California and 29 other states sue 26 manufacturers in the nation’s highest court over removal of asbestos from public schools and other government buildings.

The court, without comment, refused to hear arguments that the manufacturers should pay for such removal.

Today’s action does not preclude the 30 states from suing asbestos manufacturers in their respective state courts.

But the states first went to the justices, hoping to head off a competition among themselves for monetary damages from the asbestos makers.

In an unusual move, the states asked the court to invoke its “original jurisdiction” so this big stakes dispute could be consolidated and resolved before any lower court considers it.

The request was denied.

Asbestos has been used for decades in the construction of buildings and ships. The inhalation of asbestos fibers has been linked to various diseases.

Tens of thousands of personal injury lawsuits have been filed against asbestos manufacturers by shipyard workers. Hundreds of asbestos-in-buildings suits also have been filed.

The justices were told that eight states have sued asbestos makers in their state courts, seeking to have them pay the costs of removing the substance from public buildings.

The eight states are Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

In response to the request acted on today, lawyers for one asbestos maker, W. R. Grace & Co., said, “There is no national or even interstate issue involved here. Plaintiffs may turn at any time to their own state courts as have their eight sister states.”

Lawyers for the company said the suggestion “that only this court can equitably apportion defendants’ assets and spare the states a race to judgment” wrongly implies a preordained finding of liability.

They quoted Environmental Protection Agency reports indicating that the presence of asbestos in a building does not mean the health of occupants is endangered if the asbestos-containing material remains in good condition and is unlikely to be disturbed.

The states’ request was prepared by Atty. Gen. Kenneth Eikenberry of Washington state.

The states were Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming.

New Jersey subsequently asked the court to join the other states as a plaintiff.