Judge Won’t Freeze Breast Implant Suits : Health: Dow Corning had made the request in behalf of its parent firms, Dow Chemical and Corning.

Plaintiffs in the fight over breast implants won a victory Friday when a federal bankruptcy judge refused a request by Dow Corning Corp. to freeze lawsuits against its parent companies.

Dow Corning--once the largest maker of silicone breast implants--filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection May 15, freezing all debts and claims against it while it figures out a way to pay them.

It had asked the court to grant a temporary restraining order halting breast implant lawsuits against Dow Chemical Co. and Corning Inc., which own Dow Corning in a 50-50 joint venture.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur J. Spector denied the motion after a two-day hearing, Dow Corning spokesman T. Michael Jackson said.

In their claims of immune system problems and chronic pain from the implants, women have sought to target Dow Chemical’s deeper pockets.

Dow Chemical claims it can’t be sued because it never made implants and can’t be held responsible for Dow Corning’s actions. A Dow Chemical spokesman said it has been named as a defendant in more than 10,000 suits.

Attorneys for breast implant recipients had argued to Spector that Dow Corning’s request to shield Dow Chemical from liability would deny their clients’ rights.

The issue is crucial to 400,000 breast implant cases that had been settled in the Birmingham, Ala., federal court and thousands of others pending around the country.

The $4.25-billion settlement approved by U.S. District Judge Sam Pointer is now in doubt for two reasons. First, the money isn’t sufficient to pay all claims, and second, Dow Corning won’t be paying its $2-billion portion of the settlement until its bankruptcy filing is resolved.

Dow Chemical isn’t a party to the settlement, but Pointer recently reinstated it as a defendant because of evidence showing that it did research on implants and that an Italian subsidiary once sold them.

A hearing on a request for a permanent injunction barring Dow Chemical and Corning from being named in implant suits is scheduled for June 8 before Spector.