The Memory Hole releases internal DuPont docs re: C8 lawsuit

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A year before it was sued, a DuPont lawyer warned the chemical giant that it could be found liable in a class-action lawsuit alleging a chemical contaminated drinking water, according to company documents unsealed by the West Virginia Supreme Court.

The court voted 5-0 Thursday to unseal the internal documents, which include a November 2000 memo written by in-house DuPont lawyer John R. Bowman that recommended "getting out in front and acting responsibly (to) undercut and reduce the potential for punitives." The ruling upholds a decision by the trial court judge.

Residents of southeast Ohio and West Virginia claim the plant along the Ohio River contaminated water supplies with a chemical called sperfluorooctanoate, also known as C8. They filed a class-action lawsuit in 2001 against DuPont on behalf of up to 50,000 people who live nearby.

DuPont argued that the documents are privileged and should not been unsealed. The company claimed the documents were inadvertently released to lawyers for area residents.

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the documents can be found at
http://www.thememoryhole.org/corp/dupont/dupont_c8.htm