| Robert Bilott | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | New College of Florida (BA) Ohio State University (JD) |
| Occupation | Environmental lawyer |
| Known for | Class action lawsuit against DuPont on behalf of plaintiffs from Parkersburg, West Virginia |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah Barlage ( m. 1996) |
$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.
In the first case, a jury ruled that DuPont was responsible for the kidney cancer of a plaintiff and ordered the company to pay $1.6 million in compensatory damages. In the second, a jury found that DuPont acted with malice and ordered the company to pay $5.6 million in punitive damages and compensatory damages.
In a follow-up case in 2017, he won a $671 million settlement on behalf of more than 3,500 plaintiffs in personal-injury claims against DuPont. And here's where the story could end, the hero with his fist aloft.
In 2014, DuPont was the world's fourth-largest chemical company based on market capitalization and eighth-largest based on revenue. On August 31, 2017, it merged with the Dow Chemical Company to create DowDuPont.
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.
"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.
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.
Sign up to our free breaking news emails Judge Jan Jurden ruled Richards needed treatment and noted that child molesters are often targeted by other inmates in prison. Richards won't serve jail time unless he violates his probation.
Secret tests conducted in 1984 by the DuPont chemical company found a Teflon-related contaminant (C8) in the tap water of the Little Hocking Water Association in Ohio, just across the river from the company's Teflon plant in Parkersburg, West Virginia.
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.
For decades, DuPont dumped PFAS into the Ohio River in West Virginia, killing farm animals and poisoning the water of surrounding communities. The contamination in Parkersburg and subsequent lawsuit were the subject of an acclaimed feature film released last year.
Du Pont died in prison while serving a sentence of thirty years for the murder of Dave Schultz. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.