11.   Implant makers were delighted, expecting that courts would be emboldened to dismiss lawsuits against them.

12.   In addition, thousands of women have settled their cases in private agreements with implant makers or gone to trial and won awards that reached millions of dollars.

13.   Numerous lawsuits have been filed nationwide against breat implant makers.

14.   She emphasized that she had never been a consultant or expert witness for the implant makers.

15.   So, about the same time that the FDA announced its moratorium, a group of lawyers led by Chesley began negotiating with the implant makers.

16.   The crush of litigation led Dow Corning, then the largest of the implant makers, to declare bankruptcy.

17.   The FDA acted after implant makers failed to supply it with research indicating that its products were safe.

18.   The most likely outcome is that implant makers will create and endow a new global trust, against which all claims would have to be made.

19.   The other implant makers involved in the negotiations are Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. and Union Carbide.

20.   This study, by the National Cancer Institute, is under attack by implant makers and some scientists as biased toward showing a link between implants and disease.