OTHER NEWS - Feb. 3, 1992

ABA Favors Judges’ Deciding on Company Secrets: Defendants in product liability cases--such as lawsuits filed over silicon-gel breast implants--often share internal documents with plaintiffs’ lawyers only if they agree not to give the data to other lawyers or the public. And the American Bar Assn., in a court reform proposal, said the decision whether to maintain that secrecy should continue to reside with judges. Consumer groups have become increasingly critical of secrecy agreements, arguing that they are keeping important health information from the public. Many believe that judges, overburdened by heavy dockets, never question what is being kept secret and approve such pacts routinely.