new york times magazine article the lawyer who became dupont’s worst nightmare

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Who is the lawyer who became DuPont's worst nightmare?

The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare. Rob Bilott was a corporate defense attorney for eight years. Then he took on an environmental suit that would upend his entire career — and expose a brazen, decades-long history of chemical pollution. Rob Bilott on land owned by the Tennants near Parkersburg, W.Va.

What was the settlement for the DuPont lawsuit?

That was in 1998. In 2001, Bilott filed a class-action lawsuit against DuPont on behalf of 70,000 people. In 2004, DuPont settled for more than $300 million. Trials in related cases continue today.

Who is included in Bilott’s lawsuit against DuPont?

Rob Bilott’s lawsuit against DuPont in West Virginia included anyone whose drinking water had levels above 0.05 parts per billion.

Can you sue DuPont for chemical waste?

Until the scientific study came back with its results, class members were forbidden from filing personal-injury suits against DuPont. The chemical site near Parkersburg, W.Va., source of the waste at the center of the DuPont class-action lawsuit.

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How much did Robert Bilott make from DuPont?

$671 million dollarsHis litigation efforts yielded more than $671 million dollars in damages for approximately 3,500 people. DuPont also settled with the EPA, agreeing to pay a mere $16.5 million fine for failure to disclose their findings about C8, a toxin that is now estimated to be present in 98 percent of the world's population.

What is Rob Bilott doing now?

Robert Bilott is a partner at the law firm Taft Stettinius & Hollister, LLP in Cincinnati, Ohio where he has practiced environmental law and litigation for more than twenty-eight years.

What did Rob Bilott do?

Rob has gained international prominence in connection with uncovering and disclosing the world-wide impact of environmental contamination by the “forever chemicals” known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkylated substances), particularly PFOA and PFOS.

Who does Rob Bilott work for?

Taft Stettinius & Hollister, LLPRobert Bilott is a partner at the law firm Taft Stettinius & Hollister, LLP in Cincinnati, Ohio where he has practiced environmental law and litigation for more than twenty-eight years.

What was Robert Bilott illness?

Bilott's health has taken a battering too. A mysterious neurological disorder struck him in 2008. He suffered tremors and a palsy on his right side which turned into violent shaking convulsions up and down the right side of his body. The episodes would return at unexpected moments, leaving Bilott incapacitated.

Is C8 in my blood?

According to a 2007 study, C8 is in the blood of 99.7% of Americans. It's called a "forever chemical" because it never fully degrades.

Is the DuPont lawsuit still going?

In 2018, Bilott filed a lawsuit against corporate entities tied to DuPont — which became defunct in 2017 — as well as 3M and other major chemical companies. The suit seeks to explore the health effects of these alternative PFAS.

Did Wilbur Tennant get money from DuPont?

Wilbur Tennant and his wife, Sandra, won a legal settlement from DuPont two years ago after they accused the company of sickening their family and killing their cattle by dumping C8 into a landfill near their farm.

Is C8 still in Teflon?

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), also known as C8, is another man-made chemical. It has been used in the process of making Teflon and similar chemicals (known as fluorotelomers), although it is burned off during the process and is not present in significant amounts in the final products.

What happened to the lawyer that sued DuPont?

In March of 2022, the federal court overseeing the case certified the case to proceed as a class action on behalf of millions of people with PFAS in their blood.

How true is the movie Dark Waters?

"Dark Waters" is extremely accurate when compared to the true events, which makes it all the more upsetting. The script is based on the 2016 New York Times article "The Lawyer Who Became DuPont's Worst Nightmare," written by journalist Nathaniel Rich.

Is PFOA in my blood?

Yes. Studies show that human exposure to PFOA is widespread, and that most people in the U.S. have PFOA in their blood.

What is the New York Times v. Sullivan case?

Sullivan. In it, the United States Supreme Court established the " actual malice " standard for press reports about public officials or public figures to be considered defamatory or libelous. The malice standard requires the plaintiff in a defamation or libel case to prove the publisher of the statement knew the statement was false or acted in reckless disregard of its truth or falsity. Because of the high burden of proof on the plaintiff, and difficulty proving malicious intent, such cases by public figures rarely succeed.

Why was the New York Times not printed?

Because of holidays, no editions were printed on November 23, 1851; January 2, 1852; July 4, 1852; January 2, 1853; and January 1, 1854. Because of strikes, the regular edition of The New York Times was not printed during the following periods: September 19, 1923, to September 26, 1923.

How many newspapers have been published under the name New York Times?

^ Seven different newspapers have been published under The New York Times name, with the earliest being published by a David Longworth and Nicholas Van Riper in 1813, but they all died out within a few years.

Who did the New York Times support in 1884?

In 1884, the paper supported Democrat Grover Cleveland (former mayor of Buffalo and governor of New York) in his first presidential campaign.

Who owns the New York Times?

It is ranked 18th in the world by circulation and 3rd in the U.S. The paper is owned by The New York Times Company, which is publicly traded.

What were the Pentagon papers?

In 1971, the Pentagon Papers, a secret United States Department of Defense history of the United States' political and military involvement in the Vietnam War from 1945 to 1967, were given ("leaked") to Neil Sheehan of The New York Times by former State Department official Daniel Ellsberg, with his friend Anthony Russo assisting in copying them. The New York Times began publishing excerpts as a series of articles on June 13. Controversy and lawsuits followed. The papers revealed, among other things, that the government had deliberately expanded its role in the war by conducting airstrikes over Laos, raids along the coast of North Vietnam, and offensive actions were taken by the U.S. Marines well before the public was told about the actions, all while President Lyndon B. Johnson had been promising not to expand the war. The document increased the credibility gap for the U.S. government, and hurt efforts by the Nixon administration to fight the ongoing war.