Dupont Liable in West Virginia Zinc-Waste Class Action; $196.2 Million in Punitive Damages Awarded

As the Associated Press reports — DuPont guilty of wanton, willful, reckless conduct: Company ordered to pay nearly $200M over zinc waste site in Harrison County — Dupont has been found liable in a West Virginia class action suit apparently based on claims of negligence and public and private nuisance in connection with the dangers of a zinc waste site.  The multiphase trial plan resulted in the jury awarding $196.2 million in punitive damages, in one of the early post-Williams punitive-damages, class-action awards.  Total damages in the lawsuit, which include the cost of medical monitoring, surpass $400 million.  The lawsuit was brought by Florida plaintiffs’ attorney Mike Papantonio.

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