Julian Mitchell to George S. Fabel on Southern Asbestos's Request for Help with Its Asbestosis Cases (1937)

A copy of a one-page letter of January 2, 1937, from Julian Mitchell of Mitchell & Horlbeck, the Charleston, South Carolina, law firm that represented Raybestos-Manhattan there, to George S. Fabel, president of the Southern Asbestos Company of Charlotte. Answering Fabel's letter of December 31 to Mr. Bremer (who was ill at home), Mitchell wrote that E. H. Jeffords would meet Walter Doyle, attorney for the Lumber Mutual Casualty Company, at Mitchell's office on January 6 or 7 to see whether they could help, "bearing in mind, however, that we have cases pending against us so that it is important that nothing may be done which might react against us in the litigation pending here." Copies went to Jeffords and Sumner Simpson.

What it shows

Southern Asbestos and its insurer, facing asbestosis cases in North Carolina, wanted information from Raybestos-Manhattan's Charleston plant (Fabel's request of December 9, 1936). Simpson had told Jeffords to help short of testifying (December 11). Here the company's lawyer sets the limit: help "without jeopardizing our own interests," because Raybestos-Manhattan had its own asbestosis suits pending at Charleston.

In Johns-Manville's index

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

Acknowledges receipt of letter dated 12/31/36. Informs that W. Doyle, Attorney for Lumber Mutual Casualty Co., may come to Charleston to meet with Jeffords on 1/6/37 or 1/7/37. States RM has suits pending and it is important nothing be done which would negatively affect litigation. All cooperation possible will be given Southern Asbestos Co. without jeopardizing RM's position in pending litigation.

Related documents

• G. S. Fabel of Southern Asbestos to Sumner Simpson Asking to Interview Charleston Employees (1936)
• Sumner Simpson to G. S. Fabel of Southern Asbestos on Interviewing Charleston Employees (1936)
• Sumner Simpson to E. H. Jeffords on Helping Southern Asbestos Without Testifying (1936)
• George S. Fabel of Southern Asbestos to Sumner Simpson Sending Dr. Shull's Asbestosis Article (1936)

About this copy

This is document 03145 of the Sumner Simpson Papers, as numbered in the collection's index.