( November 18, 2024, 2:43 PM EST) -- CHICAGO — A federal court in Illinois granted a motion to file a surreply, allowing an asbestos pipe manufacturer suing a law firm to brief whether California’s anti-strategic lawsuits against public participation law applies. Facing a multitude of defenses to a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) lawsuit, the frequent asbestos defendant relies on “only inuendo and conclusory allegations” in an effort at revenge against the plaintiffs’ counsel, the law firm told a federal judge in Illinois in replies filed in support of motions to dismiss and strike the complaint....