In a dramatic turn of events in the small town of Libby, Montana, a vital asbestos screening clinic has had its doors closed following a legal dispute with the railroad company BNSF. This town, nestled approximately 50 miles from the U.S.-Canadian border, has witnessed scores of its residents fall ill due to the toxic asbestos dust that emanated for years from a nearby mine. The Center for Asbestos Related Disease, the clinic in question, has been instrumental in the concerted effort to assist these victims.
Authorities, led by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, implemented the closure on Wednesday as a result of a court directive to seize the clinic’s assets. This order was issued to help settle a judgment in favor of the railroad company. A particular court case in Montana held BNSF partly responsible for the environmental contamination when it transported tainted materials from the mine through the town. As a result, BNSF is also dealing with numerous lawsuits filed by victims of asbestos exposure from within Libby and its neighboring areas.
In a different courtroom battle, however, the Texas-based railway company won a suit in 2023, accusing the clinic of fraudulently endorsing certain patients for government benefits despite knowing they were not genuinely ill. They contested the credibility of more than 2,000 diagnoses, with courts ruling that 337 were improperly recorded. This lawsuit was pursued on behalf of the federal government, which provides specialized Medicare services to the victims of asbestos in Libby. As a consequence, BNSF was awarded a portion of the $6 million judgment against the clinic. Including legal fees, court costs, and interest, they assert the amount owed now stands at $3.1 million.
A spokesperson for BNSF Railway, Kendall Kirkham Sloan, clarified in a statement that the proceedings are in alignment with legal frameworks. Meanwhile, Tracy McNew, Executive Director of the clinic, expressed the negative implications of the closure on public health outcomes in Libby, due to a diminished capacity to screen individuals for health complications stemming from asbestos exposure.
“The Center for Asbestos Related Disease remains steadfast in its pledge to its patients and the Libby community. Efforts to reopen will persist with urgency,” McNew affirmed in her statement. For over two decades, the clinic has been extending health screenings, as well as monitoring and managing the treatment of individuals affected by asbestos. It declared bankruptcy after the verdict in the fraud case and continued operations without settling the owed sums under a bankruptcy court settlement reached with the federal government, including BNSF.
James “Andy” Patten, legal counsel for the clinic’s bankruptcy, argued that BNSF’s actions to enforce the fraud judgment were in contravention of the bankruptcy settlement sanctioned by a federal court. BNSF’s Sloan refrained from commenting on that particular settlement.