HIGH COURT TAKES AGENT ORANGE CASE

Abstract

THE U.S. SUPREME COURT HAS agreed to decide whether two Vietnam veterans can sue a group of chemical companies for illnesses allegedly caused by exposure to agent orange, despite the existence of a long-settled class-action suit. The companies—Dow Chemical, Monsanto, and 11 other firms that manufactured the defoliant for use during the Vietnam Warappealed to the high court to halt the suit after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd District ruled the veterans could proceed. The companies maintain that all such claims were resolved in 1984 when they made a $180 million global setdement over alleged agent orange injuries. That settlement was supposed to cover all current and future claims and resulted in more than $196 million beingpaid in cash to about 55,000 claimants before closing in 1997. The two men, however, claim they were not aware of the earlier settlement when they filed their suits, and, since they did not contract cancer ...