N.J. Court Denies Class Status in PVC Workers' Suit

A New Jersey appellate court Friday denied class status for former workers at a New Jersey factory that made an industrial-type plastic linked to a rare liver cancer. The six former employees of Pantasote Inc. in Passaic, N.J., named the company, four of its workers' compensation insurers, and numerous suppliers in a third-party tort suit that began in 2003. The workers allege their employer knew of the dangers of vinyl chloride -- used in the making of PVC -- and withheld that information from its workers. The appellate court, however, allowed the six to pursue their tort action, alth...