International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) settled with two former employees who claimed that toxic fumes they breathed in the semiconductor factory where they worked were to blame for their son's birth defects. Terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.
Zachary Ruffing, now 15 years old, was born blind and with deformities that make it impossible for him to breathe on his own. His parents, Michael Ruffing and Faye Calton, who worked at IBM's East Fishkill, N.Y., semiconductor plant, were the first of some 200 ex-employees to sue because of alleged damage from chemicals used at IBM's plants.
IBM said it doesn't believe it acted wrongfully and said the amount of the settlement isn't material to earnings. The company said it intends to defend itself "vigorously" in the other lawsuits which are pending in New York State Supreme Court in White Plains, NY and State Superior Court in San Jose, CA.