Dow to appeal $75m US pollution damages verdict

15 June 2006 12:07  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Dow Chemical said it would challenge a US jury verdict awarding $75m (€59m) punitive damages against the company for groundwater contamination due to the use of perchloroethylene in dry cleaning.

On 13 June a San Francisco jury returned a verdict saying Dow had to pay this amount to plaintiffs in Modesto, California as a result of contamination during the 1960s through the 1980s, the US chemicals major said on Wednesday.

Co-defendants Vulcan Materials Company and RR Street & Co were ordered to pay $100m and $75,000 respectively.

Previously the jury had returned a preliminary verdict against Dow and five other defendants awarding compensatory damages of $3.17m.

Dow said there had been no evidence to support the claim of punitive damages and that the amount awarded by the jury was excessive.

“Although the jury’s verdict is disappointing and without basis, Dow believes that this absurd result will be remedied by the courts,” said Charles Kalil, corporate vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary for Dow.

The company said plaintiffs argued that its historical warnings and instructions regarding perchloroethylene were insufficient when evaluated from the perspective of environmental risks as understood today.

“Although it is improper to evaluate product information distributed decades ago from the viewpoint of today’s greatly expanded base of scientific information and knowledge, the jury improperly re-examined long-outdated product literature with such hindsight,” it said.

By: Hilde Ovrebekk
+44 20 8652 3214

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