Jury Rules Monsanto Polluted Town (Anniston, Alabama)

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52550-2002Feb22.html

Jury Rules Monsanto Polluted Town

By Rawls

Associated Press Writer

Friday, February 22, 2002; 1:22 PM

GADSDEN, Ala. -- A jury on Friday determined that Monsanto Co. polluted an

Alabama town with PCBs, a verdict that sets the stage for more trials on

claims that the contamination harmed the residents' health and property.

Monsanto, its spinoff Solutia Inc. and Pharmacia Corp. were found liable for

the claims, including negligence.

Circuit Judge Laird said he had not decided when or how damages against

the companies would be set.

Monsanto attorney Adam Peck said after the verdict that the judge also still

must decide how to proceed with the remaining cases. " It's the first step of

a long process, " he said.

Some 3,500 Anniston residents and business owners originally sued the

companies, claiming Monsanto knowingly contaminated their community for

decades with PCBs, chemicals used as an insulating fluid in electrical

capacitors and transformers.

In the case decided Friday, 16 residents and one business claimed the

contamination from a Monsanto plant had damaged their property and caused

emotional distress.

Monsanto attorneys had argued the company acted responsibly by closing the

Anniston plant in 1971 - six years before PCB production was banned by the

government. The attorneys said the company wasn't aware the chemicals were

being released or that they could be dangerous to the general public.

" When Monsanto learned that PCBs could possibly be in the environment, it

acted promptly and responsibly, " company attorney Jere White told jurors

during the trial, which started Jan. 9.

The plaintiffs' lawyers painted a picture of a reckless company that knew it

was creating toxic dumps and didn't tell its neighbors. They called expert

witnesses who said Monsanto was aware of a health threat and concealed the

danger.

" They did everything they could ... to cover up the PCB problem and avoid

cleaning up the mess, " said attorney . " No one could find out

the extent or nature of the contamination and what it had done to this

community. "

said Friday that he was " gratified " by the verdict, as were some

Anniston residents.

" I really did enjoy it, " said Maevon Satcher, whose lawsuit against the

companies has yet to be heard.

Monsanto made PCBs in Anniston for about 40 years. The St. Louis-based food

and biotechnology company spun off its chemical business in 1997, forming

Solutia. Pharmacia Corp. formed after Monsanto merged with Pharmacia &

Upjohn in 2000.

Allegations of PCB contamination in Anniston have dogged the companies for

years.

A federal trial over PCB contamination in Anniston ended in a $40 million

settlement last year, and Solutia, in another case, agreed to pay $43.7

million to as many as 5,000 property owners along Choccolocco Creek and Lake

Logan , where PCBs were found.

In a series of cases that have yet to be set for trial, a Montgomery law

firm says it has about 13,000 clients suing over PCB contamination in

Anniston. And apart from the lawsuits, the company said it has spent $40

million cleaning up contamination around Anniston.

The trial was held in Gadsden, about 20 miles from the plant, because of

pretrial publicity in Anniston.

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On the Net:

PCB facts: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts17.html

Solutia: http://www.solutia.com

© 2002 The Associated Press