GADSDENPlaintiffs in the Monsanto trial achieved an initial victory against the company and its spinoff, Solutia, Friday.
After five hours of deliberation in two days, the Monsanto trial jury reached a verdict shortly after 9 a.m. Friday that Monsanto and Solutia are legally responsible for polluting the Anniston area and people's blood with PCBs.
The Bowie v. Monsanto case, begun in 1996, is far from over, with approximately 3,500 individual claims left to be presented to the Gadsden jury. Several hundred plaintiffs say they are sick from Monsanto's PCBs, but their injury claims will not be presented for at least a month. Moreover, the jury will not award monetary damages to the plaintiffs until the entire trial is over, and that could be several months from now, Calhoun County Circuit Judge Joel Laird told The Star Friday afternoon.
Yet, the jury's verdict on liability resulted in immediate rejoicing among the plaintiffs and their attorneys, who hugged and cried in the Etowah County courthouse Friday morning.
Tears rolled down western Anniston plaintiff Peggy Moore's face as she explained, "For seven years, we've been hollering and finally somebody heard us. This is release; it's justice."
The response from Solutia officials was one of disappointment.
In a prepared statement, the chairman and CEO of Solutia, John Hunter, said "We are extremely disappointed with the jury's verdict handed down today
While we recognize and appreciate the jury's time and effort, it's important to note that this is an interim step in a long process. There has been no decision reached with regard to damages."
Hunter also said Solutia has made "solid progress" in investigating and cleaning up PCBs in the Anniston area.
Tommy Abernathy, who lives with his family near the former Monsanto plant, said, "Monsanto got exactly what was coming to them." He said he would not have raised a family in western Anniston if the company had given full disclosure to residents about the spread of the PCB contamination from its plant.
Plaintiff attorney Donald Stewart said he is "gratified about the verdict. We're looking forward to putting on the rest of our case."
Solutia's Anniston plant manager, David Cain, said he was disappointed with the verdict and he said he didn't feel it reflected the company's conduct in Anniston in the past or present. He noted, "It is not going to change how we feel about this community. We are going to continue to strive to be good neighbors in Anniston."
The jury members filed into the courtroom at approximately 10 a.m. Friday, and their foreman, Christy Lewis, a health worker in Etowah County, gave the bailiff the document containing the jury's unanimous ruling on six counts - negligence, wantonness, fraud, trespass, nuisance and outrage.
Several of the jurors turned to look directly at the lawyers and plaintiffs sitting in the benches before Lewis handed their letter to the bailiff, who then gave it to Laird to open and read.
As Laird read the rulings on each count, some of the plaintiffs made muted exclamations and others cried.
The judge then asked the jury to return to court Monday for continued proceedings in the case.
Laird said his discussion with the jurors on Monday will help him decide what to do about the plaintiffs' request for injunctive relief - in which they ask Laird to order comprehensive PCB cleanups of landfills and waterways. He said he will begin to consider the injunctive relief request next week.
Meanwhile, the Monsanto legal team has asked Laird to dismiss the non-property damage claims of 2,042 plaintiffs in the case - either because they have no detectable PCBs in their blood or because they have not been tested. In a Feb. 12 filing to the court, the defense claimed "these plaintiffs have no evidence to support their claimed exposure to PCBs."
Monsanto attorney Adam Peck said Solutia "looks forward to the next step in the (trial) process." He added that Solutia will continue to work on PCB cleanup issues with state and federal agencies no matter what happens in the Gadsden courtroom.
Solutia previously has settled two PCB-related cases in the Anniston area. The company gave Choccolocco Creek and Logan Martin Lake property owners $40 million for contaminating the waterways and committed $21 million to a waterway investigation of PCBs.
Solutia also settled with 1,600 plaintiffs who had property and personal injury claims in western Anniston, giving them $45 million.
Currently, more than 25,000 people have sued or are suing Solutia and Monsanto in regards to PCB pollution in the Anniston area, including an approximate 15,000 who are now suing in Birmingham federal court.
The initial phase of the Bowie v. Monsanto case includes property damage claims and emotional distress for the 15 plaintiffs who had elevated levels of PCBs in their blood.
PCBs are a group of chemicals first manufactured in Anniston by the Swann Chemical Company in the early 1920s.
Swann's Anniston plant was purchased by Monsanto in 1935, and the Missouri-based chemical company continued to produce PCBs in Anniston until 1971.
PCBs are known to cause cancer in rats and mice and are linked to human neurological and developmental problems, skin rashes, thyroid dysfunction and other diseases. The Environmental Protection Agency lists PCBs as suspected human carcinogens.
