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FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - February 27, 2001 - An Ecuadorian shrimp farming enterprise, Aquamar, S.A., won a $12.3 million verdict in a five-week trial against chemical maker DuPont (NYSE: DD) that alleged that the DuPont fungicide BenlateŽ alone and with 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 farm and poisoned them, thus reducing the shrimp harvest.
Allegations were that DuPont BenlateŽ and its breakdown products, alone and other fungicides used in combination with BenlateŽ from other chemical manufacturers, ran off from the banana farms. Aquamar, who used that water, was affected by the run-off that contained the fungicide, poisoning and damaging their shrimp-producing ability. The plaintiff, Aquamar, also claimed the shrimp's exposure to these poisonous chemicals weakened the shrimp, making them more susceptible to disease.
Aquamar, S.A., a major shrimp farming corporation, was awarded $12,335,475 by a jury that found the defendant, E. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company, Inc., more commonly referred to as DuPont, negligent. With legal issues still pending regarding attorney's fees, prejudgment interest and costs, the total judgment may approach $23 million. Twenty-seven more shrimp farmers have cases against DuPont. The case was tried in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court of Broward County. This is the second verdict against DuPont in the past three months on these issues. The first verdict of over $10 million, which ended up having a final judgment entered in excess of $14 million, was named the largest verdict in Broward County in 2000, according to the sources of the Daily Business Review.
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, along with associate Ivan Cabrera, represented the plaintiffs from the Fort Lauderdale law firm of Krupnick Campbell Malone Roselli Buser Slama Hancock McNelis Liberman & McKee. This trial team will be continuing to represent the interests of shrimp farmers in the remaining 27 cases of Ecuadorian growers. It is likely that the next trial will be scheduled in the summer of 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 BenlateŽ 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, "DuPont's testing on BenlateŽ has little relevance to the environments in which this product is sold for use. This product kills shrimp and important toxicity data is either incomplete or not provided to users. These findings, along with an insufficient monitoring of the sales and use of this product, have resulted in a multitude of lawsuits and jury verdicts against DuPont."
Partner, Walter G. "Skip" Campbell says, "Large corporations have responsibilities to all people and the environment. This verdict should resonate in the corporate board room in Wilmington that you can't put a product in the stream of commerce without making sure that it is safe."
The law firm of Krupnick Campbell sued Dupont on behalf of farmers worldwide, including Florida, for damages to crops in 1994 as a result of a defect in BenlateŽ DF. 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.
Aquamar is a leading aquaculture company from Ecuador, leading the way in sustainable farming of fisheries products, including shrimp and tilapia.
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