Friday, March 26, 2010
West Virginia Supreme Court Cuts DuPont Verdict
WEST VIRGINIA....
The West Virginia state Supreme Court has conditionally approved a major jury verdict issued in 2008 against DuPont Co., but cut the verdict by about 30 percent. While Justices upheld most of the rulings against DuPont in the $400 million case over pollution of the town of Spelter in Harrison County, they found the Circuit Judge that presided over the case should have allowed a jury to decide if the plaintiffs had filed the case within the two-year statute of limitations. The court also ruled punitive damages may not be awarded in cases seeking future medical monitoring because of past toxic exposure...cutting the original punitive damages award by 40 percent, from $196 million to about $117.7 million. The court also cut punitive damages another $20 million, giving DuPont credit for what it spent cleaning up the site. The final punitive damages award would be $97.7 million, and the total judgment in the case about $283 million.
The West Virginia state Supreme Court has conditionally approved a major jury verdict issued in 2008 against DuPont Co., but cut the verdict by about 30 percent. While Justices upheld most of the rulings against DuPont in the $400 million case over pollution of the town of Spelter in Harrison County, they found the Circuit Judge that presided over the case should have allowed a jury to decide if the plaintiffs had filed the case within the two-year statute of limitations. The court also ruled punitive damages may not be awarded in cases seeking future medical monitoring because of past toxic exposure...cutting the original punitive damages award by 40 percent, from $196 million to about $117.7 million. The court also cut punitive damages another $20 million, giving DuPont credit for what it spent cleaning up the site. The final punitive damages award would be $97.7 million, and the total judgment in the case about $283 million.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 4:48 PM 
