-Caveat Lector- > =========================================== > P A N U P S > Pesticide Action Network Updates Service > =========================================== > > DuPont Convicted of Racketeering in Benlate Case > > August 17, 2001 > > A Florida jury has found DuPont Co., makers of the fungicide Benlate > (benomyl) liable for racketeering, negligence, fraud and defective > product claims in a lawsuit filed by two Costa Rican-based plant > nurseries. DuPont was ordered to pay US$78.3 million to the > nurseries, > but announced that it would appeal the decision. > > This is the latest in a long line of cases against DuPont that have > resulted in litigation and settlement charges totaling approximately > US$1.3 billion to the company over the last ten years. In April 2001, > > DuPont announced that it would phase out sales of Benlate around the > world by the end of 2002. (See PANUPS: DuPont Withdraws Benlate from > Market, May 7, 2001 at > http://www.panna.org./panna/resources/panups/panup_20010507.dv.html.) > > The racketeering charges were based on information gathered from > internal DuPont documents showing that the company conducted tests in > > Costa Rica in 1992, but destroyed the records as claims against > Benlate > mounted. The growers' attorney maintained that DuPont had launched a > corporate "damage control" program by assigning an attorney to > supervise > the testing, skewing some results and discarding those that were > unfavorable. > > A plant pathologist from Pennsylvania State University, testifying > for > the growers, stated that DuPont documents dating back to 1980 > describe > Benlate as an unstable product prone to deterioration in hot, moist > conditions. According to his testimony, some plants treated with > Benlate > grew to only 10% of their expected height, miniature roses in Florida > > dropped all of their leaves within two days of treatment, and > Hawaiian > orchids treated with Benlate were too malformed to sell. The plant > pathologist attributed the problems to a natural byproduct of the > breakdown of Benlate that, in his opinion, turned the fungicide into > an > herbicide. > > DuPont's attorney stated that after U.S. testing in 1992, "DuPont > reached the conclusion, the inescapable biological conclusion, that > Benlate could not be the cause of the damage." According to DuPont, > the > problem was due to a one-time incident of herbicide contamination at > a > Benlate mixing plant. However, growers' complaints about crop damage > continued long after the contamination occurred. > > In a related story, attorneys representing growers in another Benlate > > case five years earlier made a side deal with DuPont as part of the > settlement. The attorneys, who represented 20 farmers and nurseries > suing DuPont for Benlate damage, personally collected US$6.4 million > in > return for agreeing to never bring another Benlate case against the > company. The growers accepted a settlement of US$59 million from > DuPont, > but were not told about the side agreement with their lawyers, who > also > received US$20 million in fees for the case. > > Some of the growers have since filed a malpractice suit against the > lawyers and are also seeking punitive damages. DuPont defends the > payment to the lawyers saying that the company didn't feel it was in > its > interest to bankroll the additional cases that these attorneys were > threatening to pursue. DuPont maintains that while the side agreement > > was confidential, the confidentiality did not apply to the lawyers' > clients. Attorneys for the plaintiffs are in the discovery phase and > no > trial date has been announced. > > Sources: "DuPont hit with $78.3 million fine, ditches Benlate," > Reuters, > August 13, 2001. "Costa Rican farmers seek $29 million in Miami > trial," > Associated Press, August 8, 2001. "DuPont suffers blow as Benlate > racketeering trial gets under way in Miami," Associated Press, July > 9, > 2001. "Clients sue over secret agreement," Miami Herald, February 22, > > 2001. > > Contact: PAN North America. > > PANUPS is a weekly email news service providing resource guides and > reporting on pesticide issues that don't always get coverage by the > mainstream media. It's produced by Pesticide Action Network North > America, a non-profit and non-governmental organization working to > advance sustainable alternatives to pesticides worldwide. > > You can join our efforts! We gladly accept donations for our work and > > all contributions are tax deductible in the United States. Visit our > extensive web site at http://www.panna.org to learn more about > getting > involved. > > > =========================================== > NOTE: Replies to the sender of this message > will not be read. > > To comment, send a message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To subscribe, send a blank message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To unsubscribe, send a blank message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) > 49 Powell St., Suite 500, San Francisco, CA 94102 USA > Phone: (415) 981-1771 > Fax: (415) 981-1991 > Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Web: http://www.panna.org > =========================================== > > ==^================================================================ > EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://igc.topica.com/u/?aVxh9y.aVGHGn > Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > This email was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! > http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register > ==^================================================================ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? 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