ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS

January 2008

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West Virginia Jury Hits Dupont with $196 Million in Punitive Damages for ‘Willful and Wanton’ Conduct

A West Virginia jury in the Circuit Court of Harrison County ordered DuPont to pay $196.2 million in punitive damages on Oct. 19, 2007. The Harrison County, West Virginia jury levied the verdict against DuPont for what it determined to be the company’s “willful and wanton” contamination of the area around a former zinc smelting plant and the company’s subsequent failure to be forthright about the plant’s attendant health risks. DuPont reacted publicly to the verdict, stating that it was deprived of a fair trial and that it would appeal the case to West Virginia’s Supreme Court of Appeals. Steve James, DuPont to Appeal W. Va. Verdict, Reuters, Oct. 19, 2007.