Jury orders DuPont to pay $500K in punitive damages

• DuPont Co. should pay $500,000 in punitive damages, a jury decided Friday.
• The case involved a man who developed cancer after drinking water said to be polluted by the company.
• Lawyers alleged DuPont knowingly dumped toxic C-8 into local waterways.

A federal jury ordered DuPont to pay $500,000 in punitive damages to an Ohio man who said he developed cancer from exposure to a toxic chemical produced at the company's West Virginia plant.

That brings the total amount of damages DuPont must pay David Freeman, 56, of Washington County, Ohio, to $5.6 million. Earlier this week, the same jury found that DuPont acted with malice and awarded him $5.1 million in compensatory damages.

The Columbus, Ohio, jury had only deliberated on punitive damages for about a day before presenting their verdict to Judge Edmund Sargus of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

Freeman had filed a lawsuit against the Wilmington-based chemical company alleging that his testicular cancer was caused by DuPont releasing C-8, a toxic chemical used in the production of Teflon, into the drinking water for the Mid-Ohio Valley Region near Parkersburg, West Virginia. The News Journal recently documented DuPont's role in C-8, also known as perfluorooctanoic acid, being released into the air, water in ground near Parkersburg.

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Freeman's home is just across the Ohio River, which separates Ohio and West Virginia, from the DuPont's Washington Works plant in Parkersburg.

DuPont challenged Freeman's claims during the trial. Attorneys for the company alleged that his exposure did not rise to a level that would cause cancer.

Dan Turner, a spokesman for DuPont, said the company will appeal the Freeman verdict. A second case against the company filed by Carla Bartlett, a West Virginia resident who claimed C-8 released from the Washington Works facility caused her kidney cancer is also on appeal. In October, a jury awarded Bartlett $1.6 million in compensatory damages, but did not award any punitive damages. Freeman and Bartlett are among the 3,500 cases filed against DuPont over C-8 contamination.

"The verdict will be appealed based on our believe that it, like the verdict in the previous Bartlett trial, which is now on appeal, was the result of trial rulings that misrepresented the findings of an independent science panel and mislead jurors about the risks of C-8 exposure," Turner said.

The science panel which Turner referred to studied Mid-Ohio Valley residents between 2005 and 2013 to assess the links between C-8 and known diseases. It was created as part of a 2005 settlement of a lawsuit Mid-Ohio Valley residents filed against DuPont. The company was also required to pay $70 million damages as a result of settling the case.

Findings released by the science panel concluded there was a probable link between C-8 exposure and six diseases, including kidney and testicular cancers.

Bartlett and Freeman were two of six so-called bellwether cases to see how the others might play out. Three of the bellwether cases have been settled for amounts DuPont called "immaterial" to its performance, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filing. A fourth case, was withdrawn from the bellwether trial pool by plaintiffs, the company said.

Rob Bilott, an attorney with the Cincinnati law firm of Taft Stettinius & Hollister, was among those representing Freeman. He said Freeman has done a "great service" for the 70,000 residents of the Mid-Ohio Valley region.

"Mr. Freeman has helped make very clear that DuPont's use of his community for decades as a dumping ground for DuPont's toxic and carcinogenic C-8 waste was inexcusable," Bilott said.

Although DuPont is the defendant in each of the C-8 lawsuits, it could ask Chemours to reimburse it for any damages awarded by a court. An understanding that DuPont could require Chemours to cover potential damages was part of the agreement when Chemous spun off as an independent company last year.

Cynthia Salitsky, a Chemours spokeswoman, confirmed an appeal will be filed.

"The Freeman verdict will be appealed and there are substantial legal grounds to challenge the results," she said. "This type of litigation could take place over many years and the interim results do not product the final outcome."

Salitsky added that if DuPont seeks indemnification from Chemours, it will defend against some claims. Typically, indemnification disputes often end up in a legal battle.

Keep Your Promises DuPont, an organization that advocates for residents in the Mid-Ohio Valley, applauded the jury's decision.

“With today’s punitive damages award, there can be no denying DuPont’s decades of misconduct and conscious disregard for the health of mid-Ohio Valley residents," said Harold Bock, a group member. "Not only was the company aware of the dangers of C-8, but they also knew the chemical was contaminating local drinking water at harmful levels. Despite this knowledge, and the availability of cheap, alternative disposal methods, DuPont continued to poison surrounding communities, deny any harm, and cover up the evidence."

Contact Jeff Mordock at (302) 324-2786, on Twitter @JeffMordockTNJ or jmordock@delawareonline.com.