Union Carbide Asks Judge To Bar 'Prejudicial' Words In Lawsuit

In a court filing this week, Union Carbide asked U.S. District Judge John Copenhaver to limit what Charleston attorney Michael Callaghan can say in court.

The company requested that Copenhaver bar Callaghan from using words it calls “improper, inaccurate and prejudicial.”

Those include “facility,” “dump” or “open dump,” “hazardous waste,” “pollutant or contaminant,” “point source,” “discharge,” “direct discharge,” “discharge of a pollutant,” “waters of the United States” and “disposal.”

Callaghan, who represents the Courtland Company, is suing Union Carbide over contamination of Courtland’s property in South Charleston, allegedly from a landfill site owned by Carbide.

A number of toxic substances have been detected in Davis Creek adjacent to the Carbide landfill. Davis Creek is a tributary of the Kanawha River.

Callaghan says Carbide is in violation of the federal Clean Water Act and should pay civil penalties for it. The case is set to go to trial in June.