Anniston Star
March 21, 2003

Jury in PCB case decides initial award

By Sara Clemence
Star Staff Writer
03-21-2003

An Etowah County jury awarded $200,000 in damages Thursday to a woman whose Anniston properties are contaminated with PCBs.

Reaction was muted in the courtroom when Calhoun County Circuit Judge Joel Laird read aloud the unanimous verdict against chemical company Solutia and its predecessor, Monsanto: $99,925 in cleanup costs for Patricia Chupp's three western Anniston properties, and $100,000 for related mental anguish.

The amount was far less than the $800,000 plaintiffs' attorney Donald Stewart requested earlier this week, and far more than the few thousand dollars company attorneys said was warranted. The properties, according to plaintiffs' experts, were worth about $5,000 total.

The lawsuit includes about 3,500 plaintiffs who accuse the companies of polluting their properties and bodies with PCBs. The chemicals, which Monsanto made at a plant in western Anniston, have been linked to cancer and other illnesses.

Last February, the jury found the companies liable for negligence, trespassing, suppression of the truth, wantonness, outrageous conduct and creating a public nuisance.

Chupp is the first of 900 plaintiffs whose property claims are being decided by the jury.

Asked whether the verdict was fair, Solutia officials said they had not been able to discuss with the jury the cleanup agreement, or consent decree, the company has negotiated with the Environmental Protection Agency.

"I think that's a very important piece of information that would have likely affected their decision," said Beth Rusert, Solutia spokeswoman. "The residents of Anniston deserve peace of mind, but we think cleanup is the best way to do that."

The agreement calls for Solutia to begin cleaning up some contaminated properties, and to study the full extent of the pollution for later cleanup. It will not take effect until a federal judge approves it.

Plaintiffs' attorneys would not comment for the story, nor allow Chupp to speak while "the jury is still in the box."

Sources on Wall Street said they were surprised at the size of the verdict, which they had expected to be around $20,000.

Although they started out considering the plaintiffs one at a time, Thursday the jurors said they could begin handling three at once. Solutia attorneys objected, saying that the cases should be heard individually because they are all different.

"This jury is intelligent enough to be able to consider these cases 927 at a time," Laird said. "They've requested three, and I don't think that's an unreasonable request."

Closing arguments for the next three plaintiffs will begin at 9 a.m. today in Gadsden.