Chemical Plant Wins Retrial

Nov. 26, 1999
Jury rules in favor of chemical company at retrial.

FMC Corp., a chemical company based in Chicago, that was once ordered to pay $38.8 million in damages over a 1995 leak won a retrial on Monday.

A federal jury ruled in favor of FMC, which last year lost a class-action lawsuit but was granted a new trial based on new evidence regarding the direction of the wind on the day of the leak.

The second verdict came after just 40 minutes of deliberations.

"Either they didn't follow the court's instructions and they discussed the case before closing arguments and all the evidence was in, or they simply didn't deliberate and wanted to get out of there," said former state Supreme Court Justice Richard Neely, who filed the lawsuit.

The suit was filed on behalf of 353 people alleging they were injured by a leak of 6,000 pounds of phosphorous trichloride from an FMC chemical plant about 15 miles west of Charleston, in an area known as Chemical Valley.

The leak forced thousands of residents indoors and led officials to close several highways. Evidence indicated faulty equipment in a reactor contributed to the leak of phosphorous trichloride, which combined with rain that day to form hydrochloric acid.

FMC spokesman Tom Kline said the Chicago-based company "believed all along that the facts of the case ran counter to the original lawsuit."

Neely said he may appeal the jury's decision.

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EHS Today Staff

EHS Today's editorial staff includes:

Dave Blanchard, Editor-in-Chief: During his career Dave has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeekEHS Today, Material Handling & LogisticsLogistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. In addition, he serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2021), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its third edition. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University.

Adrienne Selko, Senior Editor: In addition to her roles with EHS Today and the Safety Leadership Conference, Adrienne is also a senior editor at IndustryWeek and has written about many topics, with her current focus on workforce development strategies. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics. Previously she was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck?, which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list.

Nicole Stempak, Managing Editor:  Nicole Stempak is managing editor of EHS Today and conference content manager of the Safety Leadership Conference.

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