ABB Settles West Virginia Claims, Won't Reveal Costs 
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Published October 11, 2002

ABB Ltd. settled claims against a U.S. unit that were part of a West 
Virginia asbestos trial, joining others including Honeywell International
Inc. that have opted for an agreement with plaintiffs over facing a jury.

Wolfram Eberhardt, a spokesman for Europe's biggest engineering company, 
didn't give terms of the settlement or disclose the number of claims. 
It will give more details about asbestos claims when it reports third-
quarter results on Oct. 24. 

ABB, which faces some 90,000 asbestos-related claims by former employees
of its Combustion Engineering unit, has set aside $940 million for 
lawsuits related to the insulation material that's been linked to cancer. 
Asbestos lawsuits have pushed at least 56 companies to file for bankruptcy
protection.

"We've reached out-of-court settlements with the plaintiffs in West 
Virginia," said ABB spokesman Wolfram Eberhardt. 

The shares, which have lost more than half their value since August, 
fell 41 centimes, or 9.8 percent, to 3.78 Swiss francs, their lowest 
closing price ever. ABB's market value has fallen three quarters this 
year to about 4.2 billion Swiss francs. 

Exxon Mobil Corp., Owens-Illinois Inc. and Dow Chemical Co.'s Union 
Carbide unit are among other defendants in the largest-ever asbestos 
trial. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected company calls today to halt the 
trial, which began Sept. 23 and involves claims by about 8,000 people.

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