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FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - December 6, 2000 - Ecuadorian shrimp farmers won a $10 million verdict in an eight-week trial against chemical maker DuPont that alleged that the DuPont fungicide BenlateŽ and other fungicides used in combination negligently impacted the shrimp production in Ecuador. The plaintiff claimed the fungicides used on the banana plantations in Ecuador ran off into the shrimp farms and poisoned them, thus reducing the shrimp harvest.
Allegations were that DuPont Benlate and its breakdown products and other fungicides used in combination with Benlate from other chemical manufacturers ran off from the banana farms. The shrimp farmers who used that water were affected by the run-off that combined with the fungicide, damaging their shrimp-producing ability. The plaintiff claimed the shrimp's exposure to these poisonous chemicals weakened the shrimp, making them more susceptible to disease.
The plaintiff, Desarrollo Industrial Bioacuatico, S.A., or DIBSA, a major shrimp farming corporation, was awarded $10,063,165 by a jury that found the defendant, E. I. Du Pont de
Nemours and Company, Inc., more commonly referred to as DuPont, negligent. The jury
also ruled that DIBSA did not bear any fault in the cause of their losses and tacked on another $4 million in accrued interest since 1994. With legal issues still pending regarding attorney's fees and costs, the total judgment may approach $20 million. Twenty-nine more cases remain. The case was tried in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court of Broward County at the satellite courthouse in Hollywood. This case has important implications for Florida, since a significant portion of the shrimp Floridians eat comes from Ecuador and the negligence of chemical companies like DuPont can reduce seafood supply and increase prices.
Joint lead attorneys Senator Walter G. "Skip" Campbell and his partner, Robert J. McKee, represented the plaintiffs from the Fort Lauderdale law firm of Krupnick Campbell Malone Roselli Buser Slama Hancock McNelis Liberman & McKee. Associate Ivan Cabrera was also heavily involved in the case. This trial team will be continuing to represent the interests of shrimp farmers in the remaining 29 cases. It is likely that the next trial will be scheduled in early 2001.
Ecuador is the third largest producer of shrimp in the world. Shrimp farming is also the third largest income producer for Ecuador and employs over 200,000 people in that country.
This jury verdict should cause a change in the way Benlate and the other fungicides are marketed and used. If the guidelines for use consider the impact on the environment, farmers should be able to produce more shrimp with the supply going up and prices coming down.
Krupnick Campbell partner Robert J. McKee says, "I hope that this litigation raises awareness among corporations of the fragile nature of the environment. All companies must be accountable and responsible for their actions and the harm their products cause the environment."
In a previous suit, the law firm of Krupnick Campbell sued Dupont on behalf of farmers worldwide, including Florida, for damages to crops in 1994. Krupnick Campbell filed more than half the total number of worldwide lawsuits against DuPont for that disaster. After taking two cases through almost six months of trial to successful verdicts, Krupnick Campbell obtained settlements for all their clients, totaling in excess of $200 million.
The Plaintiff, DIBSA, is owned by Seaboard Corporation of Kansas and Continental Grains of New York, now known as ContiGroup Companies.
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