The Dupont logo is displayed on a board above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell in New York, December 22, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson - RTX1ZS46

(Reuters) - A U.S. jury in Ohio on Wednesday ordered DuPont (DD.N) to pay $2 million to a man who said he developed testicular cancer from exposure to a toxic chemical leaked from one of the company’s plants, according to the plaintiff’s lawyer Robert Bilott.

The federal jury also found DuPont acted with actual malice, raising the possibility of punitive damages, Bilott said. It is the third time jurors in Columbus, Ohio federal court have found DuPont liable for injuries linked to perfluorooctanoic acid, known as PFOA or C-8, which is used to make Teflon.

There are more than 3,400 lawsuits pending against DuPont over the chemical leak, which allegedly contaminated local water supplies. Chemours Co (CC.N), the performance chemicals unit which was spun off from DuPont last year, has an agreement to cover the costs of such lawsuits.

Chemours spokeswoman Cynthia Salitsky stressed in a statement that Dupont was the named defendant in the cases and would be directly liable. She also noted that the litigation would likely continue for many years and the final outcomes could be different from the interim results.

DuPont declined to comment on the verdict, citing the pending punitive damages phase of the trial.

The plaintiff, Kenneth Vigneron, claimed he was exposed to C-8 from drinking the water in Washington County, Ohio, which is along the border with West Virginia, where the Dupont plant was located.

DuPont has lost two other recent trials over C-8. The first ended in October 2015 with an award of $1.6 million to a woman who claimed the chemical caused her to develop kidney cancer.

In July 2016, a jury in a case involving a plaintiff with testicular cancer also found Dupont acted with actual malice. The jury returned a verdict of $5.1 million, which was later bolstered with $500,000 in punitive damages.

Those two trials were test cases, or bellwethers, meant to determine the major issues and gauge the scale of liability for the remaining litigation. Wednesday’s verdict comes in the first non-bellwether trial, with 39 more cases slated to go to trial in Columbus in the next year.</s>DuPont was ordered on Wednesday to pay $2 million after a jury found the company liable for diseases linked to a Teflon-making chemical, Reuters reported.

The multinational chemical giant will pay a man who said he developed testicular cancer from exposure to a toxic chemical leaked from one of the company's plants, according to the plaintiff's lawyer Robert Bilott.

Bilott said the Ohio jurors found "actual malice," raising a possibility of additional punitive damages in DuPont's case, according to Reuters.

The verdict is the third time DuPont has been found liable for diseases linked to perfluorooctanoic acid, known as PFOA or C-8, which is used to make Teflon, the nonstick coating on pots and pans.

"Additional trials are expected, and they will be defended on an individual basis under the facts and circumstances of each case," Cynthia Salitsky, Chemours spokesperson, said in a statement.

She continued: "This type of litigation typically takes place over many years, and interim results do not predict the final outcome of cases. It is important to note that DuPont is the named defendant in each of the cases and is liable for any judgment. We will have further comments when the trial is over."



DuPont is likely to face between 250 and 300 lawsuits brought by individuals who say they contracted kidney or testicular cancer from C-8. Lawsuits said the company used the chemical, which had been found in nearby drinking water, knowing it was toxic.



In October of last year, a jury awarded a woman $1.6 million after she sued DuPont over contamination of drinking water in Ohio River communities.

—Reuters contributed to this report.</s>DuPont (NYSE:DD) is ordered by an Ohio jury to pay $2M to a man who said he developed testicular cancer from exposure to a toxic chemical leaked from one of the company's plants, Reuters reports.

The jury also found DuPont acted with actual malice, raising the possibility of punitive damages, according to the plaintiff's lawyer.

It is the third time jurors in the Columbus, Ohio, federal court have found DuPont liable for injuries linked to perfluorooctanoic acid, which is used to make Teflon; more than 3,400 lawsuits are pending against DuPont over the chemical leak, which allegedly contaminated local water supplies.

DuPont spinoff Chemours (NYSE:CC) has an agreement to cover the costs of such lawsuits.</s>(Reuters) - A U.S. jury in Ohio on Wednesday ordered DuPont

to pay $2 million to a man who said he developed testicular cancer from exposure to a toxic chemical leaked from one of the company's plants, according to the plaintiff's lawyer Robert Bilott.

The federal jury also found DuPont acted with actual malice, raising the possibility of punitive damages, Bilott said. It is the third time jurors in Ohio federal court have found DuPont liable for injuries linked to perfluorooctanoic acid, known as PFOA or C-8, which is used to make Teflon.</s>COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – A federal jury says DuPont should pay $2 million to a Washington County man who says he got testicular cancer because of a chemical used to make Teflon.

Jurors in Columbus determined compensatory damages Wednesday in the lawsuit Kenneth Vigneron Sr. Court records show jurors determined DuPont was negligent and its conduct was malicious.

The lawsuit is among 3,000 lawsuits against DuPont Co. by Ohio and West Virginia residents.

Vigneron’s attorney argued DuPont knew the chemical known as C8, emitted by a plant near Parkersburg, West Virginia, could cause cancer. DuPont’s lawyers say Vigneron’s attorneys haven’t proven C8 causes cancer.

Jurors reconvene Jan. 4 to consider any punitive damages.

DuPont spokesman Dan Turner says the Wilmington, Delaware-based company won’t comment until after the trial’s next phase ends.</s>Sign up for one of our email newsletters.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal jury says DuPont should pay $2 million to an Ohio man who says he got testicular cancer because of a chemical used to make Teflon.

Jurors in Columbus determined compensatory damages Wednesday in the lawsuit of Washington County resident Kenneth Vigneron Sr. Court records show jurors determined DuPont was negligent and its conduct was malicious.

The lawsuit is among 3,000 lawsuits against DuPont Co. by Ohio and West Virginia residents.

Vigneron's attorney argued DuPont knew the chemical known as C8, emitted by a plant near Parkersburg, W.Va., could cause cancer.

Jurors reconvene Jan. 4 to consider any punitive damages.

DuPont spokesman Dan Turner says the Wilmington, Del.-based company won't comment until after the trial's next phase ends.</s>An Ohio man who says he got testicular cancer because of a chemical used to make Teflon is the latest plaintiff to have his case against DuPont Co. considered by a jury in federal court.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Progress.</s>COLUMBUS — An Ohio man who says he got testicular cancer because of a chemical used to make Teflon is the latest plaintiff to have his case against DuPont Co. considered by a jury in federal court.

The Columbus Dispatch reports jurors in Columbus are deliberating after a four-week trial in the case of a Washington County resident, Kenneth Vigneron Sr. It’s among 3,000 lawsuits against DuPont by Ohio and West Virginia residents.

At issue is a chemical known as C8 that was emitted by a plant near Parkersburg, West Virginia. Vigneron’s attorney argued DuPont knew the chemical could cause cancer.

DuPont’s lawyers say Vigneron’s attorneys haven’t proved C8 causes cancer and that the company spent significant money and time creating a system to capture and recycle C8, succeeding in 2002.</s>The federal jury also found DuPont acted with actual malice, raising the possibility of punitive damages, Bilott said. It is the third time jurors in Columbus, Ohio federal court have found DuPont liable for injuries linked to perfluorooctanoic acid, known as PFOA or C-8, which is used to make Teflon.

There are more than 3,400 lawsuits pending against DuPont over the chemical leak, which allegedly contaminated local water supplies. Chemours Co ( ), the performance chemicals unit which was spun off from DuPont last year, has an agreement to cover the costs of such lawsuits.

Chemours spokeswoman Cynthia Salitsky stressed in a statement that Dupont was the named defendant in the cases and would be directly liable. She also noted that the litigation would likely continue for many years and the final outcomes could be different from the interim results.

DuPont declined to comment on the verdict, citing the pending punitive damages phase of the trial.

The plaintiff, Kenneth Vigneron, claimed he was exposed to C-8 from drinking the water in Washington County, Ohio, which is along the border with West Virginia, where the Dupont plant was located.

DuPont has lost two other recent trials over C-8. The first ended in October 2015 with an award of $1.6 million to a woman who claimed the chemical caused her to develop kidney cancer.

In July 2016, a jury in a case involving a plaintiff with testicular cancer also found Dupont acted with actual malice. The jury returned a verdict of $5.1 million, which was later bolstered with $500,000 in punitive damages.

Those two trials were test cases, or bellwethers, meant to determine the major issues and gauge the scale of liability for the remaining litigation. Wednesday's verdict comes in the first non-bellwether trial, with 39 more cases slated to go to trial in Columbus in the next year.</s>A federal jury said Wednesday DuPont should pay both compensatory and punitive damages for dumping into the Ohio River one of its chemicals used in the production of Teflon. The case involves a man who blames those actions for his testicular cancer.

The chemical is known as C8 and it is linked to a handful of cancers. There are more than 3,500 pending. The compensatory verdict was for $2 million and the hearing to determine the punitive award is set for for next month.

“Additional trials are expected, and they will be defended on an individual basis under the facts and circumstances of each case. This type of litigation typically takes place over many years, and interim results do not predict the final outcome of cases. It is important to note that DuPont is the named defendant in each of the cases and is liable for any judgment. We will have further comments when the trial is over,” says Cynthia Salitsky, Chemours Spokesperson.

DuPont subsequently spun off its chemical division into a company called Chemours that is supposed to be free from those liabilities that DuPont may suffer as a result of this case.

The case, heard in the US District Court in Columbus, is one of a handful selected by all sides as test cases to try and determine the extent to which DuPont may be liable. In July, a federal jury awarded $5.6 billion in compensatory damages and $500,000 in punitive damages to a different man who blamed the chemical agent for his testicular cancer. In October 2015, an Ohio woman got $1.6 million in compensatory awards for her kidney cancer but she got no punitive damages. DuPont is appealing that one.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs have argued that while DuPont first learned of the harmful effects of C8 in the 1960s, it did not inform the citizens of Ohio and West Virginia of those until 2012. They add that DuPont did know that the C8 led to certain cancers as early as 1988. It was then that its own scientists had run tests on rats and found that it produced a “slight” but “statistically significant” increase in the odds of getting testicular cancer.

DuPont, conversely, argued that it put in place safeguards to capture and isolate the C8 compound — and that it cannot be definitively and directly linked to the cancers for which DuPont is now accused.

The case decided Wednesday is the third of six so-called bellwether cases – three from the plaintiffs and three from the defense — to try and resolve what will happen to the remaining 3,500 law suits.

A lawyer who had once represented DuPont told this writer that the company absolutely does not believe there is a connection between C8 and the cancers. In fact, C8 is in nearly every human, in negligible amounts. Where DuPont “screwed up,” the lawyer adds, is that it had agreed to let a panel of independent scientists draw conclusions based on “statistics” and not “science.”

DuPont was first sued over this issue in 2001. As part of a settlement that occurred in 2005, both sides agreed that the C8 chemical would be studied by three scientists. Beginning in 2011 and throughout 2012, those experts concluded that C8 was “more likely than not” to cause such conditions as ulcerative colitis, kidney cancer, thyroid disease and testicular cancer.

For example, the attorney says that the scientists concluded that there is a link between C8 and high cholesterol. But yet, it found no connection between C8 and heart disease.
A federal jury orders DuPont to pay $2 million to a man with testicular cancer after finding the company liable for diseases linked to C8, a Teflon-making chemical.