My understanding is no scientific evidence was produced in the first trial by the plaintiffs. The MS Supremes reversed and Dupont wins round 2. The story does not say but I assume Kathleen Smiley handled the second go round for Glen Strong (Kathleen no longer has a law license). I remember him from my teenage years as a good guy.
One thing that bothered me about the first case is that he testified to eating oysters from the Bay itself. Those reefs were closed then as Shoreline Park was essentially using the Bay for a commode and was thus polluted. I’m not certain I would have overlooked that as a juror.
Dupont and dioxin pollution is another subject matter and perhaps fodder for a future post. Here is the Sun Herald story:
A jury Thursday sided with The DuPont Co. in the retrial of a civil lawsuit brought by a man who said dioxins from a plant on the Mississippi Gulf Coast caused his rare blood cancer.
Glen Strong had won a $14 million jury verdict in 2005, but the Mississippi Supreme Court overturned it and a new trial was ordered. The trial began May 22 in Laurel.
Strong declined to comment after the jury’s verdict was announced.
DuPont attorney Deborah Kuchler of New Orleans said the company repeatedly contended that there was no connection between Strong’s illness and operations at the DeLisle plant.
Strong claimed he ingested dioxin – chemicals that are hazardous even in very small amounts – from the plant through the air and through oysters he ate from the Bay of St. Louis.
The plant is about five miles from Strong’s home in Bay St. Louis. The case was filed and heard in Jones County, more than 100 miles from the coast.
DuPont, based in Wilimington, Del., makes titanium dioxide at the plant. It’s a white pigment used to make paint, toothpaste, plastics and other items.
Kuchler said 850 more claims are pending against DuPont from the DeLisle plant. She said the claims must be addressed one at a time.
“DuPont’s plan is to continue to defend these cases and the safety of its operations,” Kuchler said.
The Supreme Court had also overturned a verdict of $1.5 million issued to Strong’s wife, Connie, for loss of love and companionship.
There were other problems with the case including magic jurisdiction. Smiley opened an office in Laurel for a short time so the case could be filed there back when. This was ths sort of stuff that made tort reform possible. The venue portion of it was necessary IMHO.
sop
Really an interesting case – and all news to me. Agree with you on the venue, Sop btw as well as the impact cases like this had on tort reform.
Ollie Diaz had a scathing dissent in the Supreme Court opinion. I understand his sentiment and actually agree with it in principle but we must have fair juries before they can be trusted to make the right decision.
This case was and is big news down here. Tops has a different take. On this one we disagree though I share his concerns about the dioxin.
sop