COALITION OF SILICONE SURVIVORS

P. O. Box 129 Broomfield, CO 80038-0129

Lynda Roth - (303) 469-8242

February, 1998

Dear Silicone Survivors and Friends:

UPCOMING EVENTS: Check the Jan/Feb issue of Mother Jones, there is a great article "Implanted Evidence: The medical establishment has misread the data. Breast implants are still dirty." This article certainly discredits information given out by Dr.Angell. .

LEGAL INFORMATION: 1/6/98 is the-expected mailing date for second annual instalments of approved fixed and long-term benefits that, because of size, were payable in installments under the Revised Settlement Program. Approximately $110,000,000 in payments will be distributed.

The Claims Office is actively engaged at this time in reviewing Long-Term Benefit Schedule claims & has paid some approved claims under that schedule. Detailed letters are being sent to claimants whose long-term claims cannot be approved because of deficiencies in the existing claim documentation. By the end of November, all claims filed through August 1997 for dermatomyositis/polymyositis, scleroderma, and lupus will have been reviewed; additional time will be required to review the claims for GCTS) General Connective Tissue Syndrome (and to send letters notifying of approval or outlining deficiencies in the original claim documentation.

Potential payments of post-8/84 McGhan claims are still suspended because of appeals pending before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Although one of these appeals was recently dismissed as moot (because this court in Order 27K vacated its prior injunction respecting certain settlement discussions), some appeals still remain. Once these remaining appeals are resolved by the 11th Circuit, the 80% share of post 8/84 McGhan claims assumed by 3M and Union Carbide under the RSP would then become due and payable, and should become promptly available for distribution. Also, at that time, a determination should promptly be made whether McGhan/INAMED would be able to meet its financial obligations for its 20% share. Although (if McGhan/INAMED should fail to meet its obligation) claims against McGhan/INAMED would then be outside of (and not barred by) the RSP, it should be noted that a "limited fund" class action was recently filed against McGhan/INAMED, partly in anticipation of such an eventuality.

Opt out report. (Note: this represents a near-final report since the "second round" opt-out period has now expired for over 99% of the registrants): 7,118 domestic implant recipients exercised "first round" Opt out rights during 1994 and did not rejoin the settlement class (3,091 "first round" opt outs did elect to rejoin the settlement class) 12,217 domestic registrants exercised "second round" Opt out rights before being sent status letters 32,599 domestic registrants (of the 361,676 non-Opt out domestic registrants sent Notification of Status letters) exercised "second round" Opt out rights after receiving their status letters; +10,046 had submitted satisfactory proof of Bristol, Baxter, or 3M implants +651 had submitted satisfactory proof only of post-8/84 McGhan implants; +2,044 had not, according to their proof of manufacture, received an implant from any of the settling defendants +19,858 had not submitted any proof of manufacture.

The Claims Office has mailed preliminary notices to all unrepresented foreign claimants and to all attorneys representing foreign claimants, listing the manufacturers and brands of implants that are covered in a revised foreign settlement and providing forms for potentially eligible foreign claimants to request the detailed notice of the settlement when it is available. The Claims Office is working with the court, the Foreign Claimants Committee, and the settling defendants in preparing these detailed notices.

Thursday January 15 5:59 PM EST, Dow Says Judge Allows Implant Verdict Appeal MIDLAND, Mich. (Reuters) - A Louisiana judge has granted a Dow Chemical Co. request to appeal an August 1997 silicone breast implant jury verdict, the company said Thursday, suspending the next phase of the trial indefinitely. State district Judge Yada Magee in New Orleans signed the order Wednesday, Dow said in a statement. The second phase of the trial to determine liability was scheduled to begin January 20. A jury determined last August that Dow was negligent in testing silicone for use in human implants. "We are especially looking forward to having the phase one trial proceedings reviewed by the appeals court since we believe there are an abundance of substantive and procedural defects that, when taken together, irreversibly prejudiced the jury against us," Dow Chemical General Counsel John Scriven said in a statement. The judge denied a company request to throw out the August 18 verdict. But she agreed to put the proceedings on hold indefinitely while the company takes up the issue with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, Dow said. The verdict last August involved eight plaintiffs who argued their Dow Corning Inc. silicone gel breast implants made them sick. Dow Chemical owns half of Dow Corning and did testing for the company, but denies the tests were for breast implants. On Tuesday, Magee ruled the August decision does apply to the 1,800 women who were part of the original class action suit, even though she decertified the class in a December decision.

Dow Chemical Breast Implant Trial in Louisiana: Dow Chemical Guilty Verdict Binding for All 1,800 Women: Dow Not Allowed to 'Get Off on a Technicality' NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 13 /PRNewswire/ The following was released by Command Trust Network, a national silicone implant information clearinghouse: Late last night state court Judge Yada T. Magee ruled that an August jury verdict which found Dow Chemical guilty of fraud, negligence and conspiracy for dangerous breast implants is still binding for the 1,800 women suing the corporation in Louisiana. Magee specifically stated that her December ruling dissolving the entire class action of 10,000 claims against various corporations was not intended to nullify the August verdict against Dow Chemical.

The August verdict will stand and the women will not have to individually re-try Dow's guilt. Magee's de-certification of the entire Louisiana class action of 10,000 women had left in question how many of the 1,800 Dow Chemical plaintiffs would be protected by the August guilty verdict. Magee also ruled that her court was the proper place to hear the claims of the eight women who had formerly represented all 1,800 claims against Dow Chemical. After determining some procedural issues, their trial is expected to resume next week. Exactly where the remaining 1,800 women's claims will be heard is unclear at this point.

Judge Magee based her ruling on the "Doctrine of Issue Preclusion" in Louisiana law which clearly states that once an issue has been tried, the results are binding on all parties affected and cannot be re-tried. "Dow Chemical's guilt was never in question. They were not allowed to get off on a technicality, and I'm grateful on behalf of every single suffering woman," said Dawn Barrios, lead Louisiana attorney for the women. A jury decided that Dow is guilty and it wouldn't have been fair or just to make these women try the same issues,'' said Rick Laminack, an attorney for the women. "Corporations can wait forever. Sick women may not live to see their day in court."' SOURCE: Command Trust Network

Friday January 9, A New Orleans judge on Friday postponed until Jan. 20 (now uncertain) the second phase of a breast implant lawsuit against Dow Chemical Corp. State district judge Yada Magee reset the trial, which was to begin on Monday, to give more time to hear arguments on a variety of motions. In the first phase of the lengthy lawsuit, jurors ruled in September that Dow was negligent in testing silicone for use in human implants. The second phase is to determine liability. The lawsuit was originally a class action, but Magee downgraded it in December so that only eight plaintiffs are represented.

10/20/97--Dow Corning--The court in the Eastern District of Michigan repeats its directive (under its CMO#1) that (1) parties and claimants should NOT submit additional informational copies of pleadings, motions, and Statements of Claim unless specifically requested by MIE to do so, and (2) that parties and claimants should not submit additional copies of such documents with any request or expectation that the copy will be returned with a "filed

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