Agent Orange Makers Fight Suit

LITIGATION

Attorneys for chemical companies accused of poisoning millions of people with dioxin-tainted herbicides during the Vietnam War have asked U.S. District Court Judge Jack B. Weinstein to dismiss a class-action lawsuit filed against them by a group of Vietnamese plaintiffs. Weinstein is expected to decide in a few weeks whether the suit can proceed.

More than 30 companies and subsidiaries are listed in the suit, filed in January 2004, including Dow Chemical, Monsanto, Hercules, and Diamond Shamrock.

The lawsuit, filed by the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin, claims that plaintiffs' health problems stem from exposure to agent orange and other herbicides and to toxic 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin during and after the war. The suit claims that the U.S. companies knowingly provided products contaminated with dioxin and that they conspired with the U.S. government to commit war crimes and to violate international laws.

Constantine P. Kokkoris, an attorney for the Vietnamese plaintiffs, contends that the U.S. has treated these victims unfairly and that some compensation must be paid. In addition to compensation for health problems, Kokkoris wants the companies to pay for environmental cleanup of contaminated land.

The chemical companies argue that they violated no laws in providing herbicides to the government and that the scientific evidence doesn't support the human health problems claimed by the Vietnamese plaintiffs. In particular, the companies argue that U.S. courts have no power to penalize corporations for executing the orders of a U.S. president exercising his power as commander-in-chief. Scott Wheeler, a spokesman for Dow, says the U.S. courts are not the proper place to settle these matters and that "ongoing issues surrounding the war with respect to Vietnamese civilians should be resolved by their respective governments."