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paul <unk> a new york lawyer who represents des victims said that before the new york ruling only the states of washington and wisconsin had followed the california decision
now that the new york decision has been left intact other states may follow suit
generally when new york and california go one way it has a tremendous influence on other states especially small ones said mr. <unk>
the high court refused to hear appeals by <unk> drug co. which went out of business in N and was taken over by <unk> <unk> trust <unk> squibb & sons inc. a unit of squibb corp. and eli lilly & co
the appeals involved des which was approved by the food and drug administration for use from the <unk> until N to prevent <unk> during pregnancy
in N the fda banned the use of des after studies linked it to cancer and other problems in daughters of women who took the drug
lawsuits over the harm caused by des have flooded federal and state courts in the past decade
in many cases the lawsuit was filed long after the drug was used the cancer in the daughters was typically not detected for years and there is no way to prove which of several companies manufactured the <unk> consumed by certain women
under traditional legal theories inability to prove which company manufactured a drug that caused an injury or death would lead to the lawsuit being dismissed
but in its ruling last april the new york court said that all producers of the <unk> drug should share liability when the manufacturer of a specific <unk> ca n't be determined
each company 's share of liability would be based on their share of the national des market
the new york court also upheld a state law passed in N extending for one year the statute of limitations on filing des lawsuits
the effect is that lawsuits that might have been barred because they were filed too late could proceed because of the one-year extension
<unk> drug co. vs. <unk> <unk> squibb & sons inc. vs. <unk> and eli lilly & co. vs. <unk>
government contractors
the high court leaving intact a $ N million damage award against general dynamics corp. declined to resolve questions about a legal defense against civil lawsuits often used by government contractors
last year the supreme court defined when companies such as military contractors may defend themselves against lawsuits for deaths or injuries by <unk> that they were simply following specifications of a federal government contract
in that decision the high court said a company must prove that the government approved precise specifications for the contract that those specifications were met and that the government was warned of any dangers in use of the equipment
but last february a federal appeals court in new orleans upheld a damage award against general dynamics rejecting the company 's use of the government contractor defense
the appeals court said the defense is valid only if federal officials did more than rubber <unk> a company 's design or plans and engaged in a <unk> review and evaluation on a par with a policy decision
general dynamics appealed to the high court backed by numerous business trade groups arguing that the appeals court definition restricts the defense too severely
general dynamics was sued by the families of five navy <unk> who were killed in N after they <unk> a <unk> through a <unk> chamber
the accident was caused by <unk> operation of a <unk>
a federal district court awarded damages to the families and the appeals court <unk> the award
general dynamics corp. vs. <unk>
court in brief
in other action yesterday the high court
let stand the mail fraud and conspiracy conviction of john <unk> a former vice president of <unk> <unk> corp. a unit of nestle s.a
the conviction stemmed from federal charges of consumer fraud for sale of phony <unk> apple <unk> between N and N
<unk> vs. u.s.
left intact an award of $ N million in damages against dow chemical co. in the death of an oregon man from exposure to agent orange
the award was made by a federal court to the widow of a u.s. forest service employee who contracted <unk> 's disease after using <unk> containing agent orange in a <unk> program
it can be hoped that spanish prime minister <unk> gonzalez will draw the right conclusion from his narrow election victory sunday
a strong challenge from the far left the communist coalition <unk> <unk> failed to topple him
he should consider his victory a mandate to continue his <unk> economic reforms and not a demand that he move further left
if he follows the correct path he may be able to look back on this election as the <unk> mark of <unk> opposition
the far left had some good issues even if it did not have good programs for dealing with them
it could point to plenty of <unk> that the spanish economic <unk> so far has failed to cure
unemployment still is officially recorded at N N the highest rate in europe although actual <unk> may be lower
housing is scarce and public services the court system schools mail service telephone network and the highways are in <unk> condition
large pockets of poverty still exist
the left also is critical of the style of the socialist government a remarkable parallel to the situation in britain
mr. gonzalez and his colleagues particularly the finance minister carlos <unk> are charged with having abandoned their socialist principles and with having become arrogant <unk> who refuse even to go on television controlled by the state to face their <unk>
in response to this the socialist prime minister has simply cited his free-market <unk>
they are very considerable since N when spain joined the european community its gross domestic product has grown at an annual average of N N the fastest in the ec
in that time more than N million jobs have been created and the official jobless rate has been pushed below N N from N N
a N N inflation rate dropped below N N
net foreign investment through august this year has been running at a pace of $ N billion about double the year-earlier rate
mr. gonzalez also has split with the left in <unk> spain 's nato commitment and in renewing a defense treaty with the u.s.
mr. gonzalez is not quite a <unk> <unk> revolutionary however
he did not go as far as he could have in tax reductions indeed he combined them with increases in indirect taxes
yet the best the <unk> could do was not enough to deter the biggest voting bloc nearly N N from <unk> the direction spain is taking
now he can go further
he should do more to reduce tax rates on wealth and income in recognition of the fact that those cuts yield higher not lower revenues
he could do more to cut public subsidies and transfers thus making funds available for public services <unk> of money for six years
the voters delivered mr. gonzalez a third mandate for his successes
they as well as numerous latin american and east european countries that hope to adopt elements of the spanish model are supporting the direction spain is taking
it would be sad for mr. gonzalez to abandon them to <unk> his foes
monday october N N
the key u.s. and foreign annual interest rates below are a guide to general levels but do n't always represent actual transactions
prime rate N N N
the base rate on corporate loans at large u.s. money center commercial banks
federal funds N N N high N N N low N N N near closing bid N N N offered
reserves traded among commercial banks for overnight use in amounts of $ N million or more
source fulton prebon u.s.a inc
discount rate N N
the charge on loans to depository institutions by the new york federal reserve bank
call money N N N to N N
the charge on loans to brokers on stock exchange collateral
commercial paper placed directly by general motors acceptance corp. N N N to N days N N N to N days N N N to N days N N N to N days N N N to N days N N N to N days N N N to N days
commercial paper high-grade unsecured notes sold through dealers by major corporations in multiples of $ N N N N days N N N days N N N days
certificates of deposit N N one month N N two months N N three months N N six months N N one year
average of top rates paid by major new york banks on primary new issues of negotiable c.d.s usually on amounts of $ N million and more
the minimum unit is $ N
typical rates in the secondary market N N one month N N three months N N six months
bankers acceptances N N N days N N N days N N N days N N N days N N N days N N N days
negotiable bank-backed business credit instruments typically financing an import order
london late eurodollars N N N to N N N one month N N N to N N N two months N N N to N N N three months N N N to N N N four months N N N to N N N five months N N N to N N N six months
london interbank offered rates libor N N N one month N N N three months N N N six months N N N one year
the average of interbank offered rates for dollar deposits in the london market based on quotations at five major banks
foreign prime rates canada N N germany N N japan N N switzerland N N britain N N
these rate indications are n't directly comparable lending practices vary widely by location
treasury bills results of the monday october N N auction of short-term u.s. government bills sold at a discount from face value in units of $ N to $ N million N N N weeks N N N weeks
federal home loan mortgage corp. freddie mac posted yields on 30-year mortgage commitments for delivery within N days
N N standard conventional fixed-rate mortgages N N N N rate capped one-year adjustable rate mortgages
source telerate systems inc
federal national mortgage association fannie mae posted yields on N year mortgage commitments for delivery within N days priced at par
N N standard conventional fixed-rate mortgages N N N rate capped one-year adjustable rate mortgages
source telerate systems inc
merrill lynch ready assets trust N N
annualized average rate of return after expenses for the past N days not a forecast of future returns
oh that terrible mr. ortega
just when american <unk> had pulled the arms plug on the contras and their friend ronald reagan along comes mr. ortega in costa rica this weekend to <unk> into the hands of what are often called conservatives
conservatives are the <unk> in u.s. politics which always said that mr. ortega and his friends do n't want to hold an election in nicaragua
liberals are the <unk> that says give peace a chance now they are saying mr. ortega should give them a break <unk> the conservatives ask them to vote for bullets instead of <unk>
we suspect daniel ortega knows the difference between a <unk> and a strategy
he knows that making george bush look silly in a photograph with him will trigger <unk> <unk> and that announcing an end to the liberals ' cease-fire will produce mainly their concern over the contras ' military activities in northern nicaragua
mr. ortega understands better than those who worry about his behavior that what <unk> the sandinista movement is not democratic peace but <unk> <unk>
it is the presence of internal and external enemies which justifies the need for a large active army that mikhail gorbachev 's soviet union continues to supply with bullets
annualized interest rates on certain investments as reported by the federal reserve board on a <unk> basis