Spray victims to decide use of $180M payment

Press, 9 May 1984, Page 10

Spray victims to decide use of $180M payment

NZPA-Reuter New York American, Australian, and New Zealand war veterans who said that they had been poisoned by the defoliant Agent Orange in Vietnam must now decide how to use their ?USIBO million (about $273.6 million) worth of compensation. Seven American chemical companies agreed in an out-of-court settlement yesterday to pay the record liability settlement into a fund for the veterans. Under the settlement, the companies denied any liability for the veterans’ health problems, but lawyers for the veterans said that the sum had amounted to an admission that the companies bore responsibility. How the seven defendant companies split up the payment and how much was put up by insurance carriers was not announced. It could take up to two years for the veterans to find a way of managing the money and establishing scientific protocols to evaluate claims against the fund, which with interest is expected to grow to about SUS2SO million (about 380 million) by then. Steven Schlegel, one of the veterans’ lawyers, said that the defendants would have no control over the money. “The veterans can recommend the amount of money that can be set aside to grow as a reserve for probable claims that might arise in the future,” he said. Some of those claims are expected to come from children that the veterans say may be bom to them with horrible birth defects. Up to 50,000 veterans from the three countries have said that they have cancer, nerve disorders, and other illnesses arising from exposure to Agent Orange. Agent Orange, named

after orange identifying bands around the drums in which it was stored, was sprayed on millions of hectares of South Vietnam in an effort to destroy crops and cover for the enemy. Yesterday’s agreement ended a six-year-old lawsuit. “We wanted to get a settlement that would last 25 years,” said Gene Locks, another lawyer for the veterans. “Meanwhile, the money is accumulating about SUS6I,OOO ($92,720) a day in interest.” He said that Australian and New Zealand veterans, whom he estimated at 5000, would have their claims treated exactly the same as the Americans’. The lawyers said that any veteran could make a claim after he discovered a problem for the first time. About 250,000 letters had been mailed in an effort to find veterans who served in Vietnam from 1961 to 1973 and who may have suffered from the effects of Agent Orange, Mr Locks said. Firms named in the lawsuit were Dow Chemical Co., Monsanto Co., Diamond Shamrock Corporation, T. H. Agriculture and Nutrition Co., Thompson Chemical Corporation, Uniroyal Inc., and Hercules Inc. “The New York Times” said that the settlement had averted a long-scheduled trial. Lawyers for the veterans had dropped damage claims against the seven defendant companies that had amounted to the billions of dollars. The surprise settlement was announced in the Federal District Court in Brooklyn and was the largest won for wrongful injury, said lawyers for the veterans. The terms are still subject to court approval and some veterans said that they would challenge the settlement as inadequate. Those who did not wish to be covered by the settle-

ment could exempt themselves, but they would in effect have to litigate the case from the beginning. In Washington, the “Times” reported, Federal officials said that despite the settlement the Government remained liable for claims of the Vietnam combat veterans and it had recognised that chemical bullets were just as deadly as lead bullets—“ They just take longer to kill.” An Australian spokesman for Vietnam veterans said yesterday that he was happy with the principle of the settlement. The Federal president of the Australian Vietnam Veterans’ Association, Phil Thompson, said that his group was not pleased about the amount to be paid out by the companies. “One hundred and eighty million dollars sounds like a lot to pay out, but it’s not that much when you equate it to how many people are claiming,” he said. Wall Street reacted favourably yesterday to the news about the settlement. Dow and Diamond Shamrock said that the settlement would have no impact on their financial condition and Wall Steet analysts reported that the companies were insured for such damages. On the New York Stock Exchange Dow’s shares rose 50c to ?U532.125 even though the market was generally down yesterday. Monsanto rose SUS2 a share to ?U595.375, Diamond Shamrock rose 25c to ?U521.75, and Hercules rose 25c to ?U533.375. Leslie Ravitz, an analyst with Salomon Brothers, said that the settlement “for investment purposes was a non-event. “Most of the cost is covered by insurance. And the margin of error in computing these companies’ earnings is larger than the cost of the settlement anyway,” he said.