E. H. Jeffords to Sumner Simpson on the Continuance of the McCurley Suit (1935)

A one-page letter of April 11, 1935, marked "Confidential" and headed "In Re: Damage Suits," from E. H. Jeffords, general manager of Raybestos-Manhattan's General Asbestos & Rubber Division in North Charleston, South Carolina, to Sumner Simpson, the company's president. Jeffords reported that the suit of Lewis H. McCurley against Raybestos-Manhattan, set for trial the day before, had been continued by the judge until the fall term after the plaintiff's lawyers gave "numbers of excuses" for not going ahead. He added: "There are certain points in regard to this matter, which I do not care to put in writing, for I could not prove my statements, but I will mention these to you the next time I see you."

What it shows

Simpson had asked to be kept posted on the suits brought against the North Charleston division, and Jeffords told him no further trials would come up before October or November 1935. The letter does not say what the suits alleged. Later that year Simpson described the suits at this plant as asbestosis suits (Simpson to McConnell, October 1935).

In Johns-Manville's index

Johns-Manville's attorneys indexed the Sumner Simpson Papers. Their index describes this document as follows:

Informs that the suit against the Charleston plant scheduled to go to trial on 4/10/35 entitled Lewis H. McCurly vs Raybestos-Manhattan, Inc. has been continued until the fall term. States "there are certain points in regard to this matter, which I do not care to put in writing, for I could not prove my statements, but I will mention these to you next time I see you."

Related documents

• Sumner Simpson and E. H. Jeffords on American Tobacco Company Help with Dust Control (1935)

About this copy

This is document 02477 of the Sumner Simpson Papers, as numbered in the collection's index.