MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2014
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SUPER BOWL XLVIII: SEAHAWKS 43, BRONCOS 8
• Arkush: Seattle defense owns the night. B1 • Telander: What’s up with Manning? B1 • Malcolm Smith named MVP. B6
SEAHAWKS SOAR
Cliff Avril
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Defendant appeals Pa. court ruling Appellate court grants plaintiff a new trial against Rohm and Haas By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com The chemical company blamed in 33 lawsuits for causing a brain cancer cluster in McCullom Lake wants the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to overturn a decision granting the first plaintiff a new trial. In a 20-page request dated Jan. 21, attorneys for Rohm and Haas petitioned the state’s highest court to uphold a trial judge’s
2011 dismissal of the case. A Pennsylvania appeals court in October overturned the lower court’s decision to dismiss the case and grant judgment in favor of the Philadelphia-based chemical company, whose Ringwood plant is accused in 33 lawsuits of causing a cluster of brain and pituitary tumors in McCullom Lake and the neighboring Lakeland Park subdivision in McHenry. The company’s attorneys are
asking the seven justices to uphold the dismissal overturned by the Superior Court – what Pennsylvania calls its appellate court – to correct what it calls a “drastic departure” from procedure and law and “reverse the damage” it alleges the ruling could do. “If allowed to stand, the Superior Court’s decision will severely restrict trial courts’ ability to manage complex trials and enter judgment when a case has end-
ed and the plaintiff cannot prove liability,” the appeal from the Chicago law firm of Kirkland & Ellis stated. A departure from law and procedure was the very grounds on which the Superior Court overturned the dismissal of plaintiff Joanne Branham’s case. Branham lost her husband of 43 years, Franklin, to glioblastoma multiforme brain cancer in 2004. She sued in 2006, along with two of her former next-door
neighbors, who were diagnosed with oligodendroglioma, an even rarer type of brain tumor that normally occurs in 1 in 300,000 people. The 33 lawsuits allege that carcinogenic vinyl chloride and related compounds from the plant’s operations fouled residents’ air and groundwater. While Rohm and Haas acknowledged that a plume of chemicals
See RULING, page A6
About this series “Coincidence or Cluster?” is the Northwest Herald’s ongoing coverage of the McCullom Lake brain cancer lawsuits.
Officials: Hoffman’s death an overdose
GROUNDHOG DAY PROGNOSTICATION
Actor found dead in NYC apartment The ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
Handler Mark Szafran of Norridge presents Woodstock Willie to the large crowd that gathered Sunday morning on the Woodstock Square for the Groundhog Day Prognostication. Willie predicted six more weeks of winter after seeing his shadow.
More winter says Woodstock Willie Prediction doesn’t surprise some By LINDSAY WEBER • editorial@nwherald.com
As the sun rose Sunday on Woodstock Square, onlookers milled around at its center tightly cupping warm cups of coffee and hot chocolate. Small puffs of breath were visible from the chilled lips of people braving the cold in the hopes that groundhog Woodstock Willie would bring this polar winter to an early end. Clara Klasek, 7 years old, had the best seat in the house for Willie’s prognostication, perched atop the shoulders of her conveniently tall
uncle. Clara was part of the minority of the morning hoping for six more weeks of winter. Clara hoped for more snow to make snowballs. Clara’s older sister, Cadence, was hoping for the opposite. Clara’s uncle, Jason Klasek, had only one thing in mind, and it wasn’t the weather. “I want to cuddle with the groundhog and nuzzle his nose,” Jason Klasek said.
See PREDICTION, page A6
ON THE NET: View video from Sunday’s Groundhog Day Prognostication in Woodstock at NWHerald.com.
NEW YORK – Philip Seymour Hoffman, who won the Oscar for his portrayal of writer Truman Capote and created a gallery of slackers, charlatans and other characters so vivid that he was regarded as one of the world’s finest actors, was found dead in his apartment Sunday with what officials said was a needle in his arm. He was 46. The actor apparently died of a drug overdose, said two law enforcement officials, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition Philip of anonymity Seymour because they Hoffman were not authorized to discuss the case. Envelopes containing what was believed to be heroin were found with him, they said. Hoffman – with his doughy, everyman physique, his often-disheveled look and his limp, receding blond hair – was a character actor of such range and lack of vanity that he could seemingly handle roles of any size, on the stage and in movies that played in art houses or multiplexes. He could play comic or dramatic, loathsome or sympathetic, trembling or diabolical, dissipated or tightly controlled, slovenly or fastidious. The stage-trained actor’s
See ACTOR, page A6
LOCALLY SPEAKING
McHENRY COUNTY
AREA CHEER TEAMS ADVANCE The Jacobs, Cary-Grove, Hampshire and Crystal Lake Central competitive cheerleading teams advanced to next weekend’s IHSA state finals after finishing in the top five of their respective divisions Sunday at the Grayslake North Sectional. The four advancing local teams will compete beginning Friday. For more, see page B2.
Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
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18 4 Complete forecast on A8
HUNTLEY: Freshman Camille Paddock speaks to students about bullying after overcoming it herself. Local&Region, A3 Vol. 29, Issue 34
Where to find it Advice Classified Comics
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Local&Region A3 Lottery A2 Obituaries A4-5
Opinion Puzzles Sports
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