Harry Deitzler

PARKERSBURG – Three more personal injury lawsuits have been filed against DuPont over a chemical known as “C8” allegedly released at the company’s Washington Works plant in Wood County.

The three plaintiffs – Arlie Rose, Ryan Balsley and Don Jeffers – filed their lawsuits on Nov. 5 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. They have since been transferred to a multidistrict litigation proceeding in a Columbus, Ohio, federal court.

The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys at Hill Peterson Carper Bee & Deitzler in Charleston.

The firm engineered a 2005 settlement that established both a medical panel and science panel to probe the effects of C8.

The Science Panel determined that C8 exposure could lead to kidney cancer, thyroid disease, testicular cancer, ulcerative colitis, pregnancy-induced hypertension and hypercholesterolemia.

The four new lawsuits allege the plaintiffs suffer from at least one of those diseases.

A multidistrict litigation proceeding has been created to process the personal injury claims. Judge Edmund Sargus of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in Columbus is overseeing the MDL.

Charleston attorney Kathy Brown, who has filed lawsuits on behalf of some claimants, said the first trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 15. She added that Sargus is scheduling monthly status conferences for the MDL.

Brown, working with the Alabama firm Cory Watson Crowder & DeGaris, filed the first C8 personal injury lawsuits in October 2012 in Wood Circuit Court.

The Alabama firm had lobbied for the cases to be consolidated in the Ohio court, arguing Charleston’s federal court is too busy. It already has five MDLs assigned to Chief Judge Joseph Goodwin, including a transvaginal mesh MDL that, as of February, was home to more than 11,000 cases, the firm wrote.

The order creating the MDL noted that 80,000 people live in the six water districts allegedly contaminated with C8.

In May, the C8 Medical Panel, which was also created as a result of the 2005 settlement engineered by the Hill firm, released its recommended medical monitoring protocols.

The value figure attached to the settlement was $107.6 million, with $72 million funding the C8 Health Project.

Deitzler said the medical monitoring protocols are the first phase of recommended medical screening and testing.

The C8 Medical Panel also mentioned plans to create educational materials that will help inform class members about the benefits and harms of screening, Deitzler said.

Affected residents who meet the class definition will be entitled to medical testing at DuPont’s expense.

Class members who suffer from linked diseases are also permitted to move forward with personal injury or related wrongful death claims against DuPont that arise from DuPont’s discharging C8 into the drinking water.

As part of the 2005 class action settlement, DuPont agreed it would not dispute that C8 can cause diseases the C8 Science Panel linked to C8 exposure.

From the West Virginia Record: Reach John O’Brien at jobrienwv@gmail.com.

Bryan

PARKERSBURG – Parkersburg police are again accused of excessive force when arresting a suspect.

Officers Jay Hart and Michael Bosley are named as co-defendants in a civil rights lawsuit filed Nov. 20 by John Sadler. In his complaint filed in U.S. District Court, Sadler, 24 and a Parkersburg resident, alleges Hart, Bosley, and another officer brutalized him this summer following his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence.

The suit alleges that officers using excessive force when arresting suspects is part of a “pattern and practice” within PPD that is condoned by the chain of command, including the current police chief and the mayor, a former police chief, and has resulted in the city settling three similar suits for more than $300,000.

According to his complaint, Sadler was arrested on Aug. 13 for DUI. Other than being charged by Hart and Bosley, no details of what led to the arrest are provided.

In the course of booking him, Sadler alleges Hart “suddenly and violently” began “choking him” and “punching him in the stomach.” After choking him almost to the point of unconsciousness, Sadler alleges Hart lifted him up onto a bench and began choking him again.

Though he did not choke or strike him, Sadler says Bosley aided Hart by “placing his hands on [him].” Also, he says, though they could have, neither Bosley nor another unidentified officer in the room intervened to stop Hart’s actions.

Sometime later, Sadler says he was taken to the emergency room, treated, released and incarcerated. A charge of obstructing an officer was also filed against him but later dismissed.

In his complaint, Sadler avers he showed no aggression toward Hart. However, he alleges reports Hart filed following the report indicated he did.

Hart’s excessive use of force is a common occurrence by PPD, Sadler alleges. In his complaint, he makes reference to a June 2, 2011, letter sent by John Triplett, an attorney representing Patrolman Nathan Deuley in a civil suit he has against the City, in which Newell, during a meeting on an unspecified date with most PPD officers, reportedly said it was okay to “beat their ass and send their ass to the hospital” if they ever got into a scuffle with a suspect.

Also, Newell allegedly told the officers not to worry about any resulting lawsuits as he knew how to “handle” insurance companies.

In his complaint, Sadler makes reference to at least three other lawsuits filed in the last four years against the City accusing officers of civil rights violations. The suits have ended with the City, via its insurance carrier, paying Timothy Mazza, Terry Ratliff and Jerry Seabolt, respectively, $100,000, $70,000 and $135,000.

Because of a “policy, custom and practice” of using excessive force of police making arrests of suspects, Sadler’s suit names Newell and Police Chief Joe Martin as co-defendants. Along with unspecified damages, attorneys fees and court costs, Sadler seeks a court order finding that Hart’s, Bosley’s, Newell’s and Martin’s actions violated his constitutional rights, and they, and all PPD officers, take the necessary training to alleviate further complaints excessive force.

He is represented by John H. Bryan and Martha J. Fleshman of Union and Paul V. Morrison II of Harrisville. The case is assigned to Judge Joseph R. Goodwin., Jr.

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number 13-cv-11111

Headley

PARKERSBURG – A woman is alleging that a debt collecting company harassed her with daily phone calls.

Teri Robert filed a lawsuit Nov. 22 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia at Parkersburg against Portfolio Recovery Associates LLC and unknown persons, citing violations of the fair debt collection practices act, violations of the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act and violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

The plaintiff says she incurred a debt to Capital One and the debt was assigned to PRA for collection.

Robert alleges that in the past year, the defendants have attempted to collect the debt by placing daily calls to both her cellular and residential phones by use of an automated telephone dialing system and/or artificial and prerecorded messages.

She states when she was finally able to speak to a live representative, she disputed the debt stating she had already paid off the debt.

Robert is seeking actual damages pursuant to the applicable code sections, statutory damages of $1,000, damages between $100-$1,000 for each violation of the Consumer Credit and Protection Act as well as costs, attorneys fees and any other damages determined by the court.

She is being represented in the case by attorneys Brian J. Headley of Lemberg & Associates LLC.

United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia at Parkersburg Civil Action No. 6:13-29857

DuPont’s Washington Works plant

PARKERSBURG – An Ohio man has filed a personal injury lawsuit over DuPont’s alleged release of a chemical known as “C8” into the water system surrounding its Washington Works plant in Ohio County.

William Waldo Hill, 75 and of Belpre, Ohio, filed the lawsuit on Nov. 19 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia in Parkersburg.

The complaint says Hill lived in Little Hocking, Ohio, from 1985-2004 and now suffers from ulcerative colitis, which is one of the diseases a panel established by a prior settlement with DuPont has linked to C8 exposure.

Complaints like Hill’s are being transferred to a multidistrict litigation proceeding in federal court in Columbus, Ohio.

The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys at Hill Peterson Carper Bee & Deitzler in Charleston.

The firm engineered a 2005 settlement that established both a medical panel and science panel to probe the effects of C8.

The Science Panel determined that C8 exposure could lead to kidney cancer, thyroid disease, testicular cancer, ulcerative colitis, pregnancy-induced hypertension and hypercholesterolemia.

Judge Edmund Sargus of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in Columbus is overseeing the MDL.

Charleston attorney Kathy Brown, who has filed lawsuits on behalf of some claimants, said the first trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 15. She added that Sargus is scheduling monthly status conferences for the MDL.

Brown, working with the Alabama firm Cory Watson Crowder & DeGaris, filed the first C8 personal injury lawsuits in October 2012 in Wood Circuit Court.

The Alabama firm had lobbied for the cases to be consolidated in the Ohio court, arguing Charleston’s federal court is too busy. It already has five MDLs assigned to Chief Judge Joseph Goodwin, including a transvaginal mesh MDL that, as of February, was home to more than 11,000 cases, the firm wrote.

The order creating the MDL noted that 80,000 people live in the six water districts allegedly contaminated with C8.

In May, the C8 Medical Panel, which was also created as a result of the 2005 settlement engineered by the Hill firm, released its recommended medical monitoring protocols.

The value figure attached to the settlement was $107.6 million, with $72 million funding the C8 Health Project.

Affected residents who meet the class definition will be entitled to medical testing at DuPont’s expense.

Class members who suffer from linked diseases are also permitted to move forward with personal injury or related wrongful death claims against DuPont that arise from DuPont’s discharging C8 into the drinking water.

As part of the 2005 class action settlement, DuPont agreed it would not dispute that C8 can cause diseases the C8 Science Panel linked to C8 exposure.

From the West Virginia Record: Reach John O’Brien at jobrienwv@gmail.com.

PARKERSBURG — A woman claims her former employer failed to pay her overtime.

Judith Dalton filed her lawsuit Jan. 13 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, naming Parkersburg-based Winans Sanitary Supply Co., James F. Winans III and Joseph Winans as the defendants.

According to Dalton, she was employed by the defendants at Winans before she was forced out. Dalton claims she started working at Winans in October of 2011 and was paid on a hourly basis. Dalton goes on to say she worked more than 40 hours a week, but Winans failed to compensate her the overtime.

Dalton allegedly told the defendants she was not being adequately compensated for her overtime. She says she was treated poorly after complaining and was eventually forced to quit.

Dalton maintains the defendants’ actions violate the Fair Labor Standards Act. She is seeking an undisclosed amount in damages and is being represented by attorney Mark Goldner.

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of W. Va. Case No. 2:14-1392.