NZ victims may sue James Hardie 

James Hardie Industries could face hundreds of new asbestos compensation claims if courts rule that New Zealand victims can sue the building products company in Australia.
  
Lawyers on both sides of the Tasman are currently working on test cases, hoping to circumvent current New Zealand law in order to seek damages from James Hardie.
  
Graeme Little, a Sydney-based barrister, said he was working on several of the test cases at the moment.
  
"In New Zealand, they have a no fault scheme, which means that you can get compo, but you can't sue for damages," Little explained.
  
"That limits your right to sue for damages in a court in New Zealand. It doesn't say anything about suing in a court overseas."
  
He said the cases needed to prove that the wrong occurred with James Hardie in Australia and not when the victims inhaled asbestos fibres in New Zealand.
  
"That's the issue that's before the courts at the moment and will be resolved some time later this year," Little said.
  
Currently about 50 victims of asbestos-related lung cancers die in New Zealand each year, with lawyers estimating that the majority of cases were caused by James Hardie products.
  
These figures do not include other New Zealand victims with asbestos-related diseases such as pleurisy.
  
When asked how many victims in New Zealand depended on these test cases, Little replied: "It could be hundreds."
  
A New Zealand lawyer for asbestos victims, Hazel Armstrong, said she was not optimistic about the cases succeeding.
  
"I think it's fairly unlikely. If the product was manufactured in New Zealand and your exposure was in New Zealand, I think there are quite a lot of hurdles to get through," she said.
  
A James Hardie spokesman said it was too early for the company to speculate on the outcome of the cases.
  
In the meantime, New Zealand unions have pledged to work hard to try to come to a settlement with the company similar to that reached in Australia last December, which was the biggest in the nation's history.
  
Union representatives hope to meet in Melbourne in a fortnight's time so the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) can share its experience with New Zealand counterparts.
  
"I'm in the process of setting it up," said Andrew Little, national secretary for New Zealand's Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union.
  
"I just want to get a briefing on the agreement that the ACTU done with James Hardie.
 
"I want to get an idea of what it has involved to get to the point that Australia has got to.
  
"Sadly the victims that were exposed (to asbestos) are starting to die off at a pretty rapid rate. We don't have time on our side."