$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.
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.
Rob BilottDark Waters Tells the True Story of the Lawyer Who Took DuPont to Court and Won. But Rob Bilott's Fight Is Far From Over. Rob Bilott, a corporate lawyer-turned-environmental crusader, doesn't much care if he's made enemies over the years. “I've been dealing with this for almost three decades,” he says.
It wouldn't surprise anyone that a lawyer dogged as Bilott is continuing the same work. He remains at the same law firm he began at, Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, having become a partner back in 1998.
Bilott is known for the lawsuits against DuPont on behalf of plaintiffs from West Virginia. Bilott has spent more than twenty years litigating hazardous dumping of the chemicals perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)....Robert BilottSpouse(s)Sarah Barlage ( m. 1996)Children35 more rows
"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 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.
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.
As a result, DuPont is now required to pay for medical monitoring (testing) recommended for class members by the independent C8 Medical Panel. Also, if you are diagnosed with one of the six C8 linked diseases, a claim (lawsuit) for compensation may be pursued on your behalf against DuPont.
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. DuPont had been aware since at least the 1960s that C8 was toxic in animals and since the 1970s that there were high concentrations of it in the blood of its factory workers.