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Jury awards $15.5M to couple in DuPont case A Laurel, Miss., jury has awarded $15.5 million in damages to a man who got cancer after exposure to toxic chemicals released from a chemical manufacturing plant, Dallas law firm Baron & Budd P.C. said Monday. The verdict was delivered Friday in a Jones County district court in Mississippi. It is the first in a series of lawsuits against E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (NYSE: DD) on behalf of more than 2,000 people who live near the plant operated by the Wlimington, Del.-based chemical maker. DuPont said it would appeal the decision. Baron & Budd attorneys, who represented Glen Strong and his wife Connie, argued that the DuPont DeLisle plant in Pass Christian, Miss., has been manufacturing titanium dioxide, used to whiten and brighten products, since 1979. Court documents showed that the process of making titanium dioxide involves the use of toxic chemicals, including cancer-causing substances, which the attorneys argued were released into the air. Strong, whose family has lived near the plant since 1979, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer, in 1998. Baron & Budd said the cancer forced Strong to leave his job as a Harris County deputy. DuPont, in a written statement released Friday, said the court struck nine of its witnesses prior to trial, including scientists who would have proven that DuPont was not responsible for Strong's illness. "There is no connection between our operations and any health effects alleged by the plaintiff," DuPont says in the statement. "The safety and health of our employees, our neighbors and our community is our most important priority. This verdict does not change our legal strategy and we will continue to vigorously defend these lawsuits." The $15.5 million award includes $14 million in actual damages to Strong and $1.5 million to his wife for emotional distress caused by her husband's illness. The jury was scheduled to consider punitive damages against DuPont Monday but rescheduled for Thursday because of Hurricane Katrina.
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