GADSDEN
A Birmingham appraiser told jurors in the Monsanto trial Tuesday that Solutia and Monsanto should pay a total sum exceeding $8.6 million for property damages to the first 16 plaintiffs in the Bowie case. The sixteen plaintiffs allege PCB contamination of their land and the majority also are suing for emotional distress due to the presence of PCBs in their blood.
Richard Maloy, the final expert for the 16 plaintiffs in this phase of the 3,500-plaintiff Bowie trial, included in his calculations two significant factors: estimated cleanup costs and reduced property values due to PCB contamination on the 16 properties. Maloy has more than 20 years' experience in his field, and sits on the environmental taskforce of the Appraisal Institute, a professional association based in Chicago.
Adam Peck, an attorney for Monsanto and Solutia, objected to the damage assessments one by one as Maloy listed calculations for each of the 16 properties Tuesday afternoon.
Barring bad weather, Peck will cross-examine Maloy this morning in Gadsden. Following the cross-examination, the defense team will begin presenting its witnesses to the Gadsden jury.
Maloy told the jury that his analysis of overall western Anniston land values and marketability, which began in late 1997, indicated to him that not only did property values drop significantly for PCB-contaminated land, especially after 1999, but the plaintiffs accrued thousands of dollars of liability.
Maloy also testified that it would be extremely difficult for the plaintiffs to purchase mortgages or obtain bank loans.
He cautioned the jury that "there is a lot of variability in the (PCB) test results. To accurately assess the total scope of contamination, more expensive testing should be accomplished."
Maloy's damage estimates varied greatly depending on the size, value or marketability of the plaintiffs' properties. His assessments ranged from $16,058 for Cecil and Jimmie Grady's small home on Zinn Drive in western Anniston to $1,941,780 million for Robert Johnston's cattle farm on Choccolocco Creek in Talladega County.
For the Brockman Avenue home of Arthur Bowie, the lead plaintiff in the trial, Maloy assessed property damages of $36,882.
He testified that Louise Hutchinson's home on Zinn Drive should be torn down because the estimated cost of cleanup exceeded the value of her property, even before it was known to be polluted.
Regarding the Anniston Quality Meats store on Clydesdale, near the former Monsanto plant, Maloy said it is also "a candidate to be torn down. No one in their right minds would buy that property for the purpose of meat processing."
In his calculations, Maloy figured in a PCB cleanup cost of at least $5 per square foot. He also factored in a loss factor which indicates plaintiffs' properties will be worth only 50 percent of their typical market value, even after a PCB cleanup. It may take 10 to 20 years to fully eliminate the PCB problem in western Anniston, he testified.
In his objections, Peck said some of the damages - such as the $5-per-square-foot compensation for PCB cleanup Maloy cited in his testimony - are not recoverable under Alabama law.
