Deitzler

Bilott

VIENNA – An independent panel of scientists has now linked exposure to PFOA — a chemical used in making non-stick coatings — to thyroid disease and ulcerative colitis in humans.

On Monday, the DuPont-approved panel released its third set of reports nixing the company’s objections that PFOA, also known as the chemical C8 or ammonium perfluorooctanoate, is harmless.

According to DuPont’s website, the chemical has been used by industry for many years as a processing aid in the manufacturing of some fluoropolymers.

These fluoropolymers often possess “unique properties,” including heat and chemical resistance, and are used to make Teflon and other non-stick products, such as fast-food packaging and microwave popcorn bags.

The C8 Science Panel was selected in 2005 to determine whether a link exists between PFOA and any human disease as part of a class action settlement of a lawsuit involving releases of the chemical from DuPont’s Washington Works in Wood County.

The panel is made up of three epidemiologists jointly selected by the company and residents of several communities in West Virginia and Ohio.

MONDAY’S FINDINGS

In its most recent set of reports, the panel added thyroid disease and ulcerative colitis to the growing list of diseases that are linked to the chemical, which the company released into Parkersburg area drinking water sources.

Thyroid disease affects the butterfly-shaped gland in a person’s neck, located just above the collarbone.

The thyroid is an endocrine gland and makes hormones. It helps set a person’s metabolism — how the body gets energy from the foods a person eats.

A person who has a thyroid disease — there are different types — uses energy more slowly, or quickly, than he or she should.

Meanwhile, ulcerative colitis is a disease that causes ulcers in the lining of the rectum and colon.

It is one of a group of diseases called inflammatory bowel disease. Ulcers form where inflammation has killed the cells that usually line the colon.

The panel previously linked exposure to PFOA to kidney and testicular cancer in its second set of probable link reports released in April.

In December, it released its first set of reports, focusing on reproductive outcomes only.

At that time, the panel found a probable link between PFOA exposure and pregnancy-induced hypertension, including preeclampsia.

“The findings announced by the panel are not surprising based on the current state of scientific literature and studies of health effects associated with exposure to PFOA,” Harry Deitzler of Charleston law firm Hill, Peterson, Carper, Bee and Deitzler PLLC said in December.

“We are pleased that our class members and the community now have some initial answers to their concerns about whether they are at risk for adverse reproductive health effects as a result of their exposure to PFOA.”

The company, which plans to stop making and using the chemical by 2015, said in a statement at the time it doesn’t believe the chemical causes pregnancy-induced hypertension.

In its third set of reports Monday, the panel also eliminated several diseases from the list of possible PFOA-linked diseases.

The dismissed diseases include: stroke, influenza, asthma, chronic obstructive airway disease, lupus, type 1 diabetes, Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis and neurodevelopmental disorders in children, including attention deficit disorders and learning disabilities.

The panel is expected to submit its final report on the other health endpoints still under investigation, including but not limited to lipids and heart disease, in October.

“As attorneys for the affected residents, we commend the science panel for their continuing hard work to resolve these very important and difficult scientific questions for the community,” said Robert Bilott of Cincinnati law firm Taft Stettinius and Hollister LLP.

“We are confident that the panel is working diligently to alert the community by the end of October regarding any additional serious health risks that they may face because of their exposure to PFOA-contaminated drinking water.”

ABOUT THE SETTLEMENT

A settlement was reached with DuPont in the original class action lawsuit, Leach v. E. I. DuPont, in February 2005.

That settlement provided for payment of $70 million for the health project. With interest, the actual budget exceeded $71 million.

The settlement also mandated that DuPont pay for the installation of state-of-the-art water treatment technology for the six identified water districts to clean PFOA in the water supply to the lowest practicable levels.

Water in all six affected districts is now filtered to a level where the chemical is nearly non-detectable.

Also as a result of the settlement, DuPont is paying almost $20 million to fund the panel’s continued health study.

MEDICAL MONITORING

Now that PFOA has been linked to serious human diseases, DuPont must pay the $235 million to fund a medical monitoring program.

The program will help detect the onset of PFOA-linked diseases among the 70,000 to 80,000 residents who are class members as defined in the settlement agreement.

The parties announced in April that they jointly selected a C8 Medical Panel.

The members are Dr. Dean Baker, Dr. Melissa McDiarmid and Dr. Harold Sox.

The medical panel is now charged with determining what type of medical monitoring program would be appropriate for the class members given the science panel’s probable link findings on disease.

Beyond medical monitoring, class members who suffer from the linked diseases are now permitted to move forward with personal injury or related wrongful death claims against DuPont.

The company’s settlement agreement provides that it will not dispute that the chemical can cause the specific diseases that the science panel has linked to PFOA exposure.

The court-approved class attorneys are presently reviewing potential individual personal injury claims on behalf of affected residents who qualify as members of the class action litigation.

They include Hill Peterson Carper Bee and Deitzler, Taft Stettinius and Hollister, and the Charleston firm of Winter and Johnson PLLC.

To view all of the panel’s findings so far, click here.

June 12
Federal National Mortgage Association vs. Scott E. and Stephanie L. McPherson
PA – Steven Sluss; J – Beane
* The plaintiff is seeking a court order ejecting the defendants from property FNMA acquired at 42 Mt. Pleasant Estates on Aug. 17, 2010, for $93,211.63 following a trustee sale. They also seek a declaration they are now owners in fee-simple of the property.
Case number: 12-C-246

June 15
Jody S. Young vs. Tim Horton’s USA, D. KAF, Inc. and John Athey
PA- Drew M. Capuder; J – Waters
* The plaintiff, a Williamstown resident, is suing the defendant, the American subsidiary of a Canadian business, for wrongful termination when she was fired on July 10, 2010, after lodging multiple allegations of sexual harassment against Athey, manager of three Tim Horton’s franchises in Parkersburg, and Marietta, Ohio. Along with unspecified damages, court costs attorneys fees and interest, she seeks reinstatement to her job.
Case number: 12-C-251

June 18
Richard Curry vs. the Parkersburg Narcotics Task Force and the Wood County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office
PA – William B. Summers; J – Waters
* The plaintiff is petitioning the court for return of his 2004 Ford Expedition, and $14,900 seized by the Task Force on Dec. 30, 2011, but has yet to be forfeited in a civil action filed by the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Case number: 12-C-254

June 26
West Virginia State Police vs. Craig Lucas, individually, and as owner of Extreme Dirt Series
PA – John A. Hoyer; J – Beane
* The plaintiff is suing the defendant, a Washington business, for breach of contract in failing to pay them for crowd control services performed on May 29, 2008 in Elizabeth. They seek judgment against Lucas for $1,663 to include the unpaid invoice of $770, accumulated interest of $308, the filing fee of $155 and $400 in legal fees.
Case number: 12-C-273

July 9
Bondina Stone, individually and on behalf of her children, Landon and Laci Stone vs. Ida M. Hickman, executor of the estate of Jackie B. Dawson
PA – George Cosenza; J – Beane
* The plaintiff, a Mineral Wells resident, is petitioning the court to declare Dawson’s will recorded in the Wood County Clerk’s Office on Jan. 9 as fraudulent, and they are the rightful heirs of the estate.
Case number: 12-C-287

PARKERSBURG – A former Parkersburg Police officer is suing to get his job back.

The city of Parkersburg and Police Chief Joe Martin are named as co-defendants in a wrongful termination suit filed by David Taylor. In his complaint filed July 17 in Wood Circuit Court, Taylor, a Washington resident, alleges Martin fired him two years ago for alleged excessive absences, but without giving him any warning or an opportunity to defend himself in a disciplinary hearing.

According to his suit, Taylor was hired as a police officer on Sept. 12, 2006. In a letter dated July 14, 2010, Taylor was notified by Martin that his employment as an officer was immediately terminated.

On a date not specified, Taylor applied to Workforce West Virginia for unemployment compensation. Despite the city’s objections, an administrative law judge on May 17, 2011 approved Taylor’s claim.

According to the suit, the administrative law judge determined Martin terminated Taylor “for alleged excessive absences due to medical issues” in which the one prior to his termination “was due to circumstances beyond his control and would have been excused under normal circumstances.” Because he “failed to present sufficient evidence of misconduct,” and did not provide Taylor “prior warning that another occurrence would result in disciplinary action or discharge,” the judge ruled Martin “did not have just cause to terminate [Taylor].”

Because the city opted not to appeal the judge’s decision, Taylor says the ruling is sufficient evidence to prove he not only had “a property and a liberty interest” in his job, but also Martin fired him without due process.

Along with an order restoring his position to the department, Taylor seeks unspecified damages to include either back pay or future pay from the date of his termination, court costs and attorneys fees. He is represented by John E. Triplett, Jr. with the Marietta, Ohio law firm of Theisen Brock.

The case is assigned to Judge Robert A. Waters.

Wood Circuit Court case number 12-C-293

PARKERSBURG – Despite being the victim, a Wood County man alleges an anti-domestic violence service agency provided assistance to his abuser.

The Family Crisis Intervention Center is named as a co-defendant in a sexual discrimination suit filed by Eric Starcher. In his complaint filed July 11 in Wood Circuit Court, Starcher, 36, of Parkersburg, alleges after filing a domestic violence protective order against his estranged wife, Kathy Swearingen Starcher, FCIC aided her strictly on the basis of gender.

According to his suit, Starcher sought an emergency protective order against Kathy on June 5 in Wood Magistrate Court. Though the details of why he was seeking the protective order are not stated, it was, nevertheless, granted, and set for a final hearing on June 14 in Wood Family Court.

The day prior to the hearing, Starcher says he went to FCIC for assistance, and was referred to Leigh Marcham, a legal advocate. When he approached her, Marcham declined to speak with Starcher saying “‘I’m really busy today.’”

However, Marcham was aware the hearing was scheduled for 1 p.m. the next day, and pledged to meet with him 20 minutes before it. When he did, Starcher says he was shocked to discover Marcham meeting with Kathy.

Once the hearing started, Starcher says he was further dismayed when Marcham began acting as Kathy’s advocate, and not his, going as far as to sit at her side of the table, and “introducing and handing evidence to the judge.” In his suit, Starcher avers that Kathy has not “made any accusations of abuse of any kind, through the police, sheriff, magistrate or any other court.”

Following the hearing, Starcher maintains Marcham continued to “coach up” Kathy by taking her to Legal Aid of West Virginia to get free legal assistance on how to file for divorce, and petition for child custody. This was done despite Kathy failing to meet Legal Aid’s financial guidelines.

According to his suit, Starcher says he sought assistance from FCIC to help resolve the issues both he and their child have with Kathy. Instead, he says FCIC, and Marcham has not only driven their family further apart, but also has created victims instead of representing them.

Sometime following the hearing, Starcher says he spoke with Sharon Lynch, FCIC’s interim director, about taking Kathy’s side instead of his. According to the suit, Lynch admitted “she could not recall Marcham ever representing a male in the same capacity as an advocate of a victim.”

Because they “lied to and manipulated” him, Starcher says FCIC, and Marcham, who is named as a co-defendant in the suit, have failed in their mission of “support[ing] social change that will result in non-violent relationships, homes and communities.” Also, the services FCIC provides are “clearly geared for female assistance and not for male assistance, and, by omission, makes it clear that there [sic] stance is that a male involved in any situation involving violence or abuse is always the offender.”

Along with sexual discrimination, Starcher makes claims against FCIC and Marcham for fraudulent misrepresentation, breech of verbal contract and constitutional violations. He seeks unspecified damages, attorneys fees and court costs.

Starcher is representing himself. The case is assigned to Judge J.D. Beane.

According to its Web site, FCIC was founded in 1977 to provide domestic violence services, including legal advocacy, counseling and support, to people in Calhoun, Jackson, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Tyler, Wirt and Wood counties. In 1981, it expanded its services to include a shelter.

Though a non-profit organization, FCIC’s programs are partially funded though state and federal funds. It is one of 15 programs licensed by the state Department of Health and Human Resources to provide domestic violence services.

Wood Circuit Court case number 12-C-295

July 11
Carissa and Daniel Hammonds vs. Peoples/Perdew, Inc. d/b/a Cawley and Peoples Funeral Home d/b/a Riverview Cemetery
PA- David M. Adkins; J – Reed
* The plaintiffs, residents of Stephens City, Va., are suing the defendants, a Marietta, Ohio-based business for injuries Carissa sustained on July 14, 2010 while attending a funeral at property the defendant owns in Williamstown, after falling into an uncovered hole. Daniel makes a claim for loss of consortium. They seek unspecified damages, interest and court costs.
Case number: 12-C-292

David Taylor vs. the city of Parkersburg and Joseph Martin
PA- John E. Triplett, Jr.; J – Waters
* The plaintiff, a Washington resident, is suing the defendants for wrongful termination after Martin, the city’s police chief, notified Taylor via letter on July 14, 2010, he was being fired for excessive absences, but failed to previously warn him about it, and give him an opportunity to take corrective action. Along with an order reinstating him as police officer, Taylor seeks unspecified damages to include back pay and front pay from the date of his termination, court costs and attorneys fees.
Case number: 12-C-293

Eric Starcher vs. Leigh Marcham and Family Crisis Intervention Center
PA – Pro se; J – Beane
* The plaintiff, a Parkersburg resident, is suing the defendants, a non-profit agency that provides domestic services, and one of its employees, for sexual discrimination when after he filed for a domestic violence protective order against his wife on June 5, Marcham, gave advice and assistance to his wife during a hearing in Wood Family Court on June 14. He seeks unspecified damages, court costs and attorneys fees.
Case number: 12-C-295

Dils

Vanhoose

PARKERSBURG – A Wood County attorney has taken no for an answer in her attempt to collect legal fees and expenses from two former clients.

Records show, after filing them on May 14, 2010, Jan Dils, and one of her associates, Heather Vanhoose, took little to no action in pursing their breach of contract suits against John Doak and Gregory Scott Lang II. In the suits, Dils and Vanhoose alleged Doak and Lang owed them $27,078.65, and $20,450, respectively, for legal fees, and expenses in helping them obtain disability claims through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

After he was served with a summons, Doak, 65, of Parkersburg, filed a pro se answer on June 4, 2010 disputing Dils’ and Vanhoose’s allegations. In it, he says he hired them in 2008 to help him with is claim, which he originally filed in 1993, after receiving a 10 percent disability rating.

According to Doak, Vanhoose in a letter dated Feb. 26, 2010 said she did not disagree with the VA’s finding. In his answer, Doak sought a counterclaim for Dils’ and Vanhoose’s fees and court costs in the amount of $200,000 “for misrepresentation and harassment of a veteran of the United States of America upon which I have been fighting since 1993.”

Records show, Judge J.D. Beane dismissed the suit on Oct. 13, 2010 following a motion filed by Dils and Vanhoose stating they “no longer wish to pursue the claims in the above-styled action and jointly move the Court to dismiss all claims and counterclaims with prejudice.”

After he was served with a summons on May 20, 2010, Lang, 32, of Ravenswood, filed no answer in his suit. When Dils and Vanhoose failed to take any further action, including filing a motion for default judgment, Judge Jeffrey B. Reed dismissed it on Feb. 15 due to inactivity.

Dils, 44, who in addition to Parkersburg, has offices in Charleston, Logan and Beckley, specializes in personal injury, and disability benefits cases. Her television and radio commercials tout her as being an attorney who “won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

According to the firm’s website, Vanhoose has been an associate since 2007.

Wood Circuit Court case numbers 10-C-191 (Doak) and 192 (Lang)

July 17
Tammac Holding Corporation vs. Amie Jo Dilly
PA – Marc Lazenby; J – Reed
* The plaintiff, a Delaware business, is seeking a court order granting it possession of property located at 164 Lake George Rd. in Mineral Wells after defendant along with Deborah A. Madden and Nicholas Luksiak defaulted on a $95,066.30 loan given to them by Tammac via a deed of trust which was sold at a trustee sale on May 3 for $30,000.
Case number: 12-C-309

Aug. 6
West Virginia University Medical Corporation d/b/a University Health Associates vs. Christopher Daniels
PA – Ward D. Stone, Jr.; J – Beane
* The plaintiff seeks judgment against the defendant for $20,594.42 in unpaid medical bills plus seven percent interest.
Case number: 12-C-311

Acusport Corporation vs. High Caliber Guns & Ammo, Inc. and Stacy Sears
PA – Robert S. Fluharty; J – Beane
* The plaintiffs are seeking judgment against the defendants for $33,027.55 in unpaid goods and services delivered on Nov. 2. They also seek court costs and attorneys fees.
Case number: 12-C-312

PARKERSBURG – The West Virginia State Police allege a Wood County motocross promoter stiffed them on paying for security they provided at one of his events.

The State Police on June 26 filed a breach of contact suit against Craig Lucas in Wood Circuit Court. In their complaint, WVSP alleges Lucas, 33, of Washington, owner of Extreme Dirt Series, failed to reimburse them for their assistance at a motocross race four years ago in Wirt County.

According to the complaint, Lucas contracted with WVSP to provide crowd control services at a dirt bike event EDS was hosting in Elizabeth on June 1, 2008. Under the terms of the contract, which was signed three days before, Lucas agreed to pay WVSP $35 per hour, and tender payment within five days of receiving an invoice.

The day of the event, two unidentified troopers each worked 11 hours. The next day, WVSP sent Lucas a bill for $770.

When Lucas failed to tender payment by the next five days, WVSP sent him a certified letter dated Aug. 15, 2008 to contact their attorney about non-payment. Records show Lucas signed for the letter.

For reasons not immediately clear, WVSP took no additional action on the unpaid invoice for the next 18 months when they sent him another certified letter dated Feb. 9, 2010. The letter was later returned as unclaimed.

Shortly thereafter, WVSP filed a consumer protection complaint against Lucas with the state Attorney General’s Office. They received a letter from the AG’s Office dated April 27 saying Stephanie Groom was appointed to help mediate the dispute.

According to the suit, Groom sent WVSP a letter dated June 25 saying she had no success in attempting to contact Lucas, and would be referring the matter back to the AG’s Office for further action. Two months later, Deputy Attorney General Jill Miles sent Lucas a letter asking him to contact her by Sept. 3.

When he failed to respond, Miles, in a letter dated Sept. 7 gave WVSP authorization to file a civil suit against Lucas. On Oct. 19, 2010, Miles closed their complaint.

WVSP seeks judgment against Lucas for $1,663 to include the past-due amount, costs associated with filing the suit and 10 percent accumulated interest. They are represented by assistant attorneys general John A. Hoyer and Virginia Grottendieck Lanham.

The case is assigned to Judge J.D. Beane.

Wood Circuit Court case number 12-C-273

July 25
Robert M. Barglech vs. Loyal Order of the Moose Lodge #1118, Mark Mace, Elden Kerns, Jeff Morgan, Mike Swackhammer, Paul Davis, Calvin Carpenter, Howard Todd and Tony Burke
PA – Charles E. Stalnaker; J – Beane
* The plaintiff is suing the defendants for defamation after they suspended his social privileges and filed suit against him in Wood Magistrate Court on Sept. 23 to collect a $450 check that was returned for insufficient funds. Along with judgment for $2,291.15, the proceeds he says he’s owed for organizing a bowling tournament, Barglech seeks $100,000 in damages, interest, court costs and attorneys fees.
Case number: 12-C-324

Joyce and Walker Foster vs. REN, Inc. d/b/a Pike Street Lanes
PA – James R. Leach and Victoria J. Sopranik; J – Reed
* The plaintiffs, residents of Parkersburg, are suing he defendant for injuries Joyce sustained on Aug. 6, 2011 when she lost her balance and fell when exiting the door. Walker makes a claim for loss of consortium. They seek unspecified damages.
Case number: 12-C-325

Genevieve Corra vs. Nationwide Insurance Company and Lee May
PA – Todd Reed; J – Beane
* The plaintiff, a Vienna resident, is suing the defendants, a Columbus, Ohio-based insurance firm, and its local adjuster, for breach of contract when they twice denied her claim for damage to her roof following a hail storm on March 23, 2011. She seeks unspecified damages, court costs and interest.
Case number: 12-C-326

Aug. 7
Graham Cochran vs. David Debord and the West Virginia State Police
PA – Richard Dunbar; J – Reed
* The plaintiff, a Parkersburg resident, is suing the defendants for injuries he received on Aug. 9, 2010 following a collision between him and Debord. He seeks unspecified damages, including $40,000 in medical expenses, interest and court costs.
Case number: 12-C-347

Aug. 10
Air Gas USA, LLC vs. Hemlock Fleet Services, Inc.
PA – Gerald M. Titus III; J – Waters
* The plaintiff, a Bowling Green, Ken.-based business, is suing the defendant, a Belpre, Ohio-based business, for failing to properly perform maintenance on a 2005 Freightliner truck which caused one of the front wheels to come off on Aug. 11, 2010 resulting in injuries to both the driver, Roger Cowdery, and Tyler Parker, Nathan Trippett and Coty Rogers whose vehicle was struck by the tire. They seek unspecified damages to include recover of $34,657.73 to settle Parker’s, Trippet’s and Rogers’ insurance claims, interest, court costs and attorneys fees.
Case number: 12-C-354

PARKERSBURG – A Charleston attorney has filed three personal injury lawsuits against DuPont on behalf of individuals who lived in Wood County and its surrounding areas following a Science Panel study that established probable links between cancer and other illnesses after exposure to the chemical C8.

Brown

“This is an off-shoot of the class action lawsuit filed in Parkersburg in 2001 that settled in 2005,” Brown said. “The Science Panel’s findings are the basis for these personal injury lawsuits. They’re separate from the class action lawsuit.”

Brown said there are only three complaints so far, but she expects there to be several more.

“There is no way of knowing right now how many there will be,” Brown said. “The class contains 80,000 people and since I began advertising in Parkersburg in September, I’ve received hundreds of phone calls.”

The three complaints were filed Oct. 19 in Wood Circuit Court and each have been assigned to a separate Wood circuit judge, Brown said.

One of the plaintiffs, Virginia Morrison, filed on behalf of her husband, who died of injuries related to kidney cancer in 2008.

“We lived in DuPont for years,” Morrison said. “Only this year did we find out that the water we were drinking may have made my husband sick.”

The two other lawsuits claim injuries involving thyroid disease and ulcerative colitis.

Exposure to C8 has been determined as a probable link to each of the serious and life-altering medical conditions.

A class-action suit was filed previously against DuPont related to medical monitoring and a Science Panel was formed to study the effects of C8 on humans and find whether it causes certain diseases.

The Science Panel is scheduled to release further findings on Oct. 29, which are expected to be the final findings of the panel.

“Potentially, there can be more diseases linked to exposure from C8,” Brown said. “We won’t know until the Science Panel releases further findings on Oct. 29.”

Between Dec. 5, 2011, and July 30, the Science Panel established probable links between C8 exposure and kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease, ulcerative colitis and pregnancy-induced hypertension.

“This is entirely different from the earlier class-action lawsuit,” Brown said. “This is so different that these personal injury claims were specifically separated and carved out from the class-action seven years ago.”

Brown said the lawsuits are for people who have had one of the reported diseases and are seeking justice.

“My co-counsel and I are continuing to screen cases and talk to people throughout the area about their injuries and what remedies they may have,” Brown said.

J.C. Conlin, the lead attorney handing the matter on behalf of Cory Watson, said the firm is happy that Brown brought the injuries to their attention.

“We previously worked with her on similar multi-plaintiff litigations and found that she is both an effective trial lawyer and a strong advocate for injured people and families,” Conlin said.

People who lived along the Ohio River near the DuPont plant in Washington, W.Va., until December 2004 are at a high risk of personal injury because of the prolonged exposure caused by the C8 release into the air and water.

Based on a previous settlement agreement entered into by DuPont, people may be eligible to pursue individual personal injury claims for compensation if they lived in that area and regularly drank water from any of the following systems: Little Hocking, Ohio; Lubeck Public Service District, W.Va.; City of Belpre, Ohio; Mason County Public Service District, W.Va.; Tuppers Plains, Ohio; and Village of Pomeroy, Ohio.

Conlin said where you now live does not matter if you were exposed to the potentially contaminated water from any of those areas for at least one year prior to Dec. 3, 2004.

“If you did live there and you have suffered or are suffering from any of the conditions which the Science Panel has linked to C8, you should contact a lawyer to explore your rights,” Conlin said.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuits, Morrison, Sandra Tennant and Scott Blackwell, are seeking a judgment against Du Pont that it is liable to them in an amount to be determined at trial and compensatory and punitive damages with pre- and post-judgment interest.

Brown and Conlin will be holding town hall meetings on Oct. 28 and Oct. 29 to give more information to residents about their legal rights.

The four scheduled meetings are Oct. 28 at 1 p.m. in Point Pleasant, W.Va., at the Lowe Hotel on Main Street; Oct. 28 at 4 p.m. in Pomeroy, Ohio, at the Riverside Golf Club; Oct. 29 at 2 p.m. at the Belpre Volunteer Fire Department on Stone Road; and Oct. 29 at 6 p.m. at the Lubeck Volunteer Fire Department on Harris Highway.

For more information, visit www.kathybrownlaw.com.

PARKERSBURG – The litigants in the West Virginia and Ohio class action lawsuit filed the science panel’s final set of reports on Oct. 29 that conclusively link DuPont’s PFOA in drinking water to serious human diseases.

Deitzler

In its final report, the science panel added hypercholesterolemia to the list.

The panel’s work is now completed and for the purposes of the pending class action lawsuit, any diseases that the panel has not linked to C8 cannot be the subject of PFOA-based exposure claims by the lawsuit’s class members.

The class action suit was filed against DuPont related to medical monitoring and the science panel was formed to study the effects of C8 on humans and find whether it causes certain diseases.

“The panel’s combined reports leave no doubt that the past levels of C8 in drinking water has caused serious disease among many local residents,” said Harry Deitzler of Hill Peterson Carper Bee & Deitzler. “The significant probable link findings are a sad indictment of DuPont’s corporate credibility in the community, particularly in light of the company’s longstanding claims that C8 contamination of drinking water would have no adverse impact on humans.”

Deitzler said the law firm’s immediate next step will be to move forward with the medical monitoring component of the court-approved settlement agreement.

“Through that process, we hope to ensure that every patient’s doctor can identify each linked disease before it is too late to begin effective treatment,” Deitzler said.

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

“As attorneys for the class members, we are proud to have uncovered the truth and forced the company to remove the poison from the water,” Deitzler said. “Unfortunately, we cannot change the fact that DuPont’s actions have already caused diseases to occur unnecessarily among class members in the six affected water districts, nor the fact that DuPont’s conduct will certainly cause additional diseases to occur among class members in the future.”

The testing, which is referred to in the class actions suit as medical monitoring, will allow doctors to conduct procedures to identify PFOA-linked diseases in the population, which can result in earlier diagnosis and more effective treatment for the affected individuals.

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 the known carcinogen into the drinking water.

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

Deitzler said DuPont’s statement that all the diseases are caused by family history and lifestyle choices, instead of C8 exposure ignores scientific data.

“DuPont’s statement ignores the undisputed scientific fact that the science panelists took into account all external factors, including family history and lifestyle choices when it concluded that C8 exposure caused serious adverse health consequences,” Deitzler said.

Wood Circuit Court approved the appointment of Hill Peterson Carper Bee & Deitzler; Taft Stettinius & Hollister; and Winter & Johnson as counsel for the class members in 2005. The court-approved attorneys continue to represent class members on class-wide claims.

In addition, the attorneys are representing several thousand individual class members who have contracted with them to potentially seek compensation for linked diseases.

DuPont is obligated to continue to find the state-of-the-art water treatment systems that were installed as a condition of the 2005 settlement to reduce PFOA levels in the impacted public and private drinking water supplies, based on the combined probable link findings.

The C8 Science Panel was charged with independently and comprehensively evaluating all of the available scientific data relating to PFOA to determine whether it was more likely than not that PFOA exposure was linked to serious human disease. To qualify for membership on the panel, the panelists had to be well-qualified epidemiologists who were independent of either side to the lawsuit.

The panel’s reports were filed in Wood Circuit Court in Parkersburg and are available online at www.hpcbd.com/c8probablelink.html.

Aug. 20
Margaret Snider vs. Speedway LLC
PA – William O. Merriman; J – Reed
* The plaintiff, a Vienna resident, is suing the defendant, a Delaware corporation, for injuries she sustained on Sept. 1, 2008, when she stepped onto an uneven sidewalk after exiting her car at the defendant’s Vienna location, causing her to fall, and fracture her left ankle. She seeks unspecified damages, interest, court costs and attorneys fees.
Case number: 12-C-364

Aug. 30
Virginia Pearl Simmons vs. Wal-Mart Stores East LP
PA – Jay Gerber; J – Waters
* The plaintiff is suing the defendant, a Bentonville, Ark.-based business, for injuries she sustained on Sept. 1, 2010, after stepping onto a hazardous condition caused her to fall onto the floor. She seeks unspecified damages, interest, attorneys fees and court costs.
Case number: 12-C-382

Sept. 28
Kimberly and Mark Thompson vs. 21 Country Market, Inc.
PA – Bradley H. Lane; J – Evans
*The plaintiffs, residents of Gallipolis, Ohio, are suing the defendant, a Millwood business, for injuries Kimberly allegedly sustained on Oct. 1, 2010, when she says she fell after stepping on broken concrete in the parking lot. Mark makes a claim for loss of consortium. They seek unspecified damages, interest, court costs and attorneys fees.
Case number: 12-C-132

Oct. 3

S.R. Parsons, Jr., as administrator of the estates of Brayleigh Dale and Dominic Michael Parsons vs. Robert M. Parsons, administrator of the estate of Renea Parsons
PA – Kevin Harris and Eric Holmes; J – Evans
*The plaintiff is suing the defendant, his son, for the wrongful death of his grandchildren allegedly caused by his daughter-in-law when she lost control of her 1999 Volkswagen Jetta while travelling northbound on Interstate 77 on Oct. 3, 2010, crossed over the median and collided with a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta operated by Amy VanDorp. He seeks unspecified damages, interest, court costs and attorneys fees.
Case number: 12-C-134

PARKERSBURG – The owners of a Wood County daycare are denying they are responsible for the death of toddler in their care.

Lester and Linda Rockhold are named as co-defendants in a wrongful death suit filed by Shawna Wise. In her complaint filed in Wood Circuit Court on Sept. 13, Wise, 29 and of Parkersburg, alleges her four-year-old daughter, Mercedes, died two weeks earlier after prolonged exposure to heat while left unattended in the Rockhold’s car.

According to the suit, Lester, 64, picked Shawna and Mercedes up the morning of Aug. 30 to take Shawna first to WVU-Parkersburg, then Mercedes to Lynn’s Little Wonders Daycare on Dempsie Avenue After dropping her off at WVU-Parkersburg about 9:10 a.m., Lester departed with Mercedes to the daycare.

After arrival, Wise alleges Lester left Mercedes in the car for the remainder of the day that topped 89 degrees. By the time she was discovered in the car around 5 p.m., the suit says Mercedes “had already sustained fatal injuries.”

According to her death certificate, Mercedes’ cause of death was presumed sepsis, an illness in which the body has a severe response to bacteria or other germs that causes blood pressure to drop and results in shock and acute pyelonephritis, a bacteria infection in the kidneys. Her death was ruled accidental.

In their answers filed Oct. 3, the Rockholds individually and on behalf of Lynn’s Little Wonders denied any wrongdoing. Though they admit Mercedes was found in the car that afternoon, she was there only a short time, they say.

According to the Rockholds, Lester, also known as Kenneth, did pick-up Shawna and take her to WVU-P. However, they maintain he dropped her off “closer to 9:20-9:25.”

After stopping for fuel, the Rockholds say Kenneth arrived at the daycare around 10 a.m. They aver that “at no time did he see or hear the child” that morning.

They were not alarmed by Mercedes’ absence that morning, the Rockholds say, because she “was sick the day prior.”

The Rockholds admit they received a call from Shawna about 5:20 p.m. inquiring as to Mercedes’ whereabouts. After being told Mercedes was not there, Wise inquired if she was in the car where the Rockholds say, “That’s when Mercedes was found.”

The Rockholds add that “[a]ll involved in this horrible and senseless ordeal are left to wonder what really happened.” Following trial, the Rockholds say they are confident they will be absolved of any responsibility in Mercedes’ death.

“There are several things that we have found very odd about that day given time to think about the shock and numbness has ease,” they say. “I guess those thought’s [sic] will have to be addressed in court, but we are fully convinced the truth will come out.”

In her suit, Wise seeks unspecified damages, interest, attorneys fees and courts costs. She is represented by Vienna attorney Todd Wiseman.

The case is assigned to Judge Robert A. Waters.

Wood Circuit Court, case number 12-C-404

Beane

CHARLESTON – The state Supreme Court of Appeals has affirmed a $450,000 punitive damages award in a Wood County employment discrimination case.

Laura Cain worked for REM Community Options, LLC for more than 10 years ending Dec. 29, 2008. On Dec. 10, 2007, she had been involved in an automobile accident while on the job.

Due to injuries received in the accident, Cain filed a workers’ compensation claim, but she continued working until the physical limitations from her injuries prevented her from performing her job, forcing her to go on medical leave on June 30, 2008.

On Dec. 23, 2008, REM mailed Cain a certified letter, upon its stated belief that she had been released to return to work, requiring her to respond before Dec. 29, 2008, or she would be considered to have “voluntarily resigned.” Cain received the letter on Jan. 6 and called the company to let them know it was not her intention to resign.

After being unable to get her job back, she filed an action alleging both workers’ compensation discrimination and handicap discrimination in the Circuit Court of Wood County.

The Wood County jury returned a verdict in favor of Cain in the amounts of $75,000 in lost wages, $100,000 for emotional distress, and $450,000 for punitive damages. Defendant REM then challenged the punitive award at the circuit court level.

Wood Circuit Judge J.D. Beane listed several findings that the jury could have reasonably determined would have justified punitive damages. Among these were:

-REM required Cain to continue work after she presented a doctor’s slip stating that her physical condition precluded her from working;

-REM declined to reduce Cain’s billable hour requirement;

-REM resisted Cain’s request to be paid accrued sick leave and she had to have several discussions with management before it was paid to her;

-The company admitted that during Cain’s employment there was “not one shred of documentation of any type of disciplinary action of any kind in Laura Cain’s personnel file…”;

-REM denied that Cain was terminated, maintaining she “didn’t return from leave” and “didn’t bother coming back to work”; and

-The testimony from REM employees was “contradictory, and at times the witnesses were evasive and combative.”;

Beane determined that findings such as these could have led the jury to conclude that REM “was motivated by malice and indifference to the Plaintiff’s rights and without regard to any basic notion of fairness.”

Additionally, the Judge noted that the ratio of punitive damages to compensatory damages ($450,000 to $176,000) was 2.5 to 1 “which is well within the acceptable range prescribed by the West Virginia Supreme court of Appeals.”

The Supreme Court affirmed Judge Beane, stating, “In its “Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law with Respect to Punitive Damages” order… the circuit court found that plaintiff did present sufficient evidence to support the award of punitive damages. Upon a de novo review of the record on appeal, the parties’ arguments, and the circuit court’s well-reasoned order, we agree with the circuit court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law.”

REM had argued that they were prejudiced by “statements and argument of plaintiff’s counsel.” To this argument the Court said “we find that even if counsel had not made the complained-of statements and argument, there was still more than sufficient evidence to warrant the imposition of punitive damages.”

CHARLESTON – The State Police has agreed to both a payout and to make certain policy changes to settle a Wirt County woman’s “sexually intrusive” warrantless arrest suit.

U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin on June 28 ordered the case of Glenna Sue Conley v. Sgt. A.D. Nichols, et. al. placed on the inactive docket after U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary E. Stanley announced the sides mediated a settlement. The terms were not disclosed in court records.

When contacted, Georgia Lee Gates, Conley’s attorney, referred questions to the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia’s office in Charleston. Brenda Green, ACLU-WV’s executive director, said the settlement included a payout, which she was not at liberty to disclose due to a confidentiality agreement, and a commitment by the State Police to revise its policies and procedures when dealing with female suspects.

According the state Board of Risk and Insurance Management, Conley received a settlement of $110,000, of which $10,000 went to pay Gates’ fees and expenses. Also, BRIM paid the State Police’s $23,503.65 legal bill, the lion’s share of which went to the law firm of Steptoe and Johnson.

A Freedom of Information Act sent by the West Virginia Record to the State Police for the settlement terms remains open. In an interview conducted Nov. 30, Virginia G. Lanham with the State Police’s legal division said the attorneys “were still working on it.”

In her suit, Conley said Nichols and Cpl. G.W. McCullough arrived at her home in Elizabeth around 11 p.m. on June 28, 2010, to question her about a petty theft she witnessed more than a week earlier. The then-boyfriend of Conley’s daughter was suspected of lifting $76 from the purse of Eydie Elizabeth McVeigh, an agent for McGrady Jones Insurance.

According to her suit, Conley answered Nichols’ questions when he twice visited her at work after he “learned through uninvolved individuals” about the theft. When she refused to answer any more of questions during his nighttime visit to her home, Nichols declared “You’re going to jail,’” and placed Conley under arrest, the suit claims.

Before leaving her home, Conley maintains Nichols ignored her repeated pleas to allow her to get dressed, the suit says. In the course of taking her from her home to the awaiting police cruiser, Conley alleges her robe, the only garment she was wearing, came undone, exposing her breasts.

After being put in the cruiser with her wrists handcuffed behind her back, Conley asked Nichols to close her robe, the suit says. According to her suit, he refused, telling her “to shut the (explitive deleted) up.”

It was only prior to booking did Nichols close, and tie her robe, Conley says.

After spending the night in jail, Conley was arraigned the next morning in Wirt Magistrate Court on charges of receiving stolen property, obstructing and providing false information to an officer and later released in bond. According to her suit, the charges were later dismissed on Sept. 1, 2010, on a motion by the Wirt County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

According to information provided by the State Police, McCullough, who became a trooper in 1995, is still assigned to the Wirt County detachment. However, Nichols, who became a trooper in 1998, was transferred on an unspecified date to the planning and research department in Dunbar.

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia (Parkersburg), case number 11-cv-413

Secoy

PARKERSBURG – The Wood County Commission has agreed to settle a woman’s claim she was sexually harassed by one of her counselors in the drug court program.

Wood Circuit Judge J. D. Beane on Aug. 8, 2011, dismissed Nikki Faye Secoy’s lawsuit against the Commission after the sides earlier announced they reached a settlement through mediation. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed in court records.

However, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request submitted by the West Virginia Record, the commission disclosed it paid Secoy $37,500. The payout was made by its insurance carrier, West Virginia Counties Risk Pool.

Also, WVCoRP paid a total of $62,557.50 in legal fees in expenses. The bulk, $33,974.04, to George J. Joseph with Bailey and Wyant, who represented the Commission, and nearly the rest went to Wendy E. Greve with Pullin, Fowler, Flanagan, Brown and Poe, who defended David W. Jeffrey, one of the co-defendants.

In her suit, Secoy, 39, alleged, Jeffrey, 59, while employed as a counselor for the Wood County Community Corrections Day Report Center, forced her to have “inappropriate and illegal sexual relations” with him. No specifics were provided as to the nature of the acts or when they took place.

According to court records, Secoy was placed into the county’s drug court program on Sept. 5, 2008, after pleading guilty to two counts of forgery and uttering. Though no action was initially taken against him after she reported their alleged encounter to the center’s staff, Secoy says Jeffrey was eventually terminated “for this inappropriate sexual conduct.”

According to the Wood County Clerk’s Office Jeffrey, was employed at the Center from Nov. 1, 2006, until Jan. 15, 2010. The center provides alternative sentencing for non-violent offenders in Wood, Jackson and Roane counties, and is partially funded from fees paid by offenders who then participate in substance abuse, anger management or G.E.D. programs.

An apparent criminal investigation was conducted into Jeffrey’s alleged misconduct as among the names her attorney Paul Stroebel submitted on his witness list for a possible trial were Wood County Prosecuting Attorney Jason Wharton and “all individuals involved in the investigation.” However, records show Jeffrey was never charged with any crime related to Secoy’s allegations.

Wood Circuit Court, case number 10-C-92

Sept. 21
Gregory T. Williams vs. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP d/b/a Wal-Mart, Daniel White and Waymon Cougar
PA–Walt Auvil; J–Reed
*The plaintiff is suing the defendants for wrongful termination after he was first transferred from the Vienna location to the Ripley location following a June 2010 on-the-job injury and subsequently fired in September 2011 on allegations he failed to follow policies in apprehending shoplifters. He seeks unspecified damages, court costs and attorneys fee.
Case number: 12-C-417

Oct. 9
William and Brenda Norris vs. Muse Associates, Inc., Youth Explosion, Inc. d/b/a Youth Explosion Ministries and Dunamis Concerts, Tim Smith, individually and d/b/a Youth Explosion, Inc. and Josh Collins, individually and d/b/a Bandwidth Company
PA–Arden J. Curry II; J–Beane
*The plaintiffs are suing the defendants for injuries William sustained to his left hand and fingers on Oct. 10, 2010, while allegedly helping set up loudspeakers for a contemporary Christian music concert. They seek unspecified damages, interest, attorneys fees and court costs.
Case number: 12-C-449

Oct. 10
Kimberly Sue Flinn vs. T.W.J., Inc. d/b/a Emerson Ave., Foodland
PA–G. Bradley Frum; J–Beane
*The plaintiff, a Parkersburg resident, is suing the defendant for injuries she allegedly sustained on Oct. 10, 2010, after falling on water that accumulated on the floor. She seeks unspecified damages, and interest.
Case number: 12-C-485

Oct. 18
West Virginia Human Rights Commission on behalf of Donovan White vs. Wharton Apartments, Inc. and Patricia J. Schultheiss
PA–Jamie S. Alley; J–Beane
*The plaintiff is suing the defendants for violations of the state Fair Housing Act for allegedly refusing to rent an apartment at their Liberty Street location in July 2011 and their 20th Street location in September 2011 because of his blindness. Along with unspecified damages, attorneys fees and court costs, it seeks an injunction ordering the defendants to cease and desist their discriminatory conduct.
Case number: 12-C-467

Oct. 19
Virginia Morrison, as the administratrix of the estate of Theodore Russell Morrison, Sandra Tennant and Scott Blackwell vs. E.I. DuPont de Nemours, Inc.
PA–Kathy Brown; J–Reed, Waters and Beane
*The plaintiffs, residents of Wood County, are suing the defendant, a Wilmington, Del.-based company, for health problems either they or a relative allegedly incurred from drinking water that contained C-8 beyond acceptable levels discharged from the Washington Works plant. They seek unspecified damages, court costs attorneys fees and interest.
Case numbers 12-C-470-472