An asbestos trial involving over 8,000 plaintiffs and 259 defendants is scheduled to begin this week in West Virginia despite the fact that the case is being contested in the United States Supreme Court. The lawsuit's defendants, which include ExxonMobil and Honeywell International, have been seeking the suit's dismissal, claiming that the thousands of cases are too unrelated. The lawsuits are being divided into two simultaneous proceedings-one for product liability claims and the other for asbestos exposure claims. Last week, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist denied a request by ExxonMobil and several other defendants to have the trial postponed until the Supreme Court ruled on their appeal.

Because asbestos-related illnesses take so long to appear, the number of asbestos lawsuits has been dramatically increasing over the last few years. Over 200,000 cases are currently being litigated in the U.S.