Jury Rules in Favor of Local Farmers, Finds Bureau of Land Management and DuPont Negligent in Use of Herbicide

BOISE (August 26, 2009) – A federal jury has found the Bureau of Land Management and E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Co. negligent in the use of Oust, an herbicide blamed for damaging thousands of acres of crops across a broad swath of southern Idaho.

Approximately 118 farmers in southeastern Idaho faulted federal land managers for misusing Oust, which should not make contact with crops. The verdict, reached Monday in U.S. District Court in Boise, found the Bureau of Land Management negligent in its decision to use the powerful herbicide to control invasive weeds on public lands burned by wildfires, and found DuPont responsible for selling a product that was defective, unreasonably dangerous, and lacking adequate warnings.

The verdict came following a 16-week trial and will compensate farmers, represented by attorneys from the law firm of Holland & Hart LLP, whose crops were destroyed for several years when winds blew the herbicide on to their lands.

Plaintiffs’ attorney, Steven Andersen of Holland & Hart LLP, said the verdict settles the fundamental legal issues of the case and clears the way for the damages phase. “These are people who were seriously harmed and seriously wronged, and the jury has agreed,” Andersen said. “We are very pleased to obtain such a favorable outcome for these hardworking people and our clients.”