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LITIGATION
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether two Vietnam veterans can sue a group of chemical companies for illnesses allegedly caused by exposure to agent orange, despite the existence of a long-settled class-action suit. The companies--Dow Chemical, Monsanto, and 11 other firms that manufactured the defoliant for use during the Vietnam War--appealed to the high court to halt the suit after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd District ruled the veterans could proceed. The companies maintain that all such claims were resolved in 1984 when they made a $180 million global settlement over alleged agent orange injuries. That settlement was supposed to cover all current and future claims and resulted in more than $196 million being paid in cash to about 55,000 claimants before closing in 1997. The two men, however, claim they were not aware of the earlier settlement when they filed their suits, and, since they did not contract cancer until after the settlement expired, it does not apply to them. The appeals court agreed, saying that, because the men were not aware of their alleged injuries caused by exposure to agent orange until after the settlement's 1994 deadline for filing claims, they were not represented in that settlement and could continue with their claims. In his request for Supreme Court review of the case, the companies' attorney, Seth P. Waxman, says the appeals court decision "jeopardizes all other class-action settlements reached in the past" because it opens the door to claims by even more allegedly injured individuals. |
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