DuPont Seeks Further Cut in West Virgina Pollution Damage Award

The West Virginia Supreme Court has already slashed a nearly $400 million lawsuit damage award against DuPont, but the company wants it cut further.

Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont has filed a motion asking the court to reconsider its ruling last month in the case involving pollution at a longtime zinc-smelting plant in Spelter.

The court cut in half the jury’s $196 million punitive damages award but affirmed Harrison County Circuit Judge Thomas Bedell’s ruling that residents exposed to toxins deserve a medical monitoring program.

DuPont’s lawyers contend the justices gave too much weight to the medical monitoring issue.

They believe the damages intended to punish the company for its behavior should be about $39 million, not the nearly $100 million DuPont is currently ordered to pay.