Isle growers sue DuPont
By William McQuillen
for deception in
fungicide case
Bloomberg NewsDuPont Co., the biggest U.S. chemical company, is being sued by Hawaii growers who claim the company hid evidence and produced perjured testimony to trick them into settling lawsuits over Benlate DF fungicide.
The suit is the first since the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this year permitted new claims over the allegedly fraudulent settlements. The San Francisco-based appeals court said Hawaii growers can sue based on claims DuPont hid evidence the fungicide was contaminated with weed killer.
Living Designs Inc. and Plant Exchange Inc., two Hawaii nurseries, are seeking unspecified damages in the latest suit, filed late last month in federal court in Honolulu. They claim they were duped into settling for a fraction of what they could have received if they had access to all the evidence.
"The withholding of this data was part of a fraudulent scheme to diminish or extinguish DuPont's legal liability for damages," their suit says.
Representatives from Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont couldn't be reached for comment.
The 9th Circuit decision opened up DuPont to potentially millions more in damages on the Benlate claims, which already have cost the company at least $1 billion in settlements and legal fees. The company pulled the product off the market in 1991.
The 9th Circuit ruled that under Delaware law _ which governed settlements reached with Hawaii growers _ parties with evidence of fraud could either void the settlements or accept the money and file new fraud suits.
Earlier this month, DuPont won a round in the legal battle over Benlate as the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Georgia growers who accused the company of deception. That decision didn't affect other claims by groups of growers in Florida and Hawaii, lawyers said.
In the Georgia case, some nursery owners were barred from pressing their claims unless they offered to give back some $9.2 million they received in a settlement.
