In re Agent Orange Product Liability Litigation

Decision Date29 December 1980
Docket NumberMDL No. 381.
Citation506 F. Supp. 762
PartiesIn re "AGENT ORANGE" PRODUCT LIABILITY LITIGATION.
CourtU.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York

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Victor J. Yannacone, Jr., Yannacone & Yannacone, Patchogue, N. Y., Schlegel & Trafelet, Ltd., L. Steven Platt, Daniel C. Sullivan, Sullivan Associates, Ltd., Chicago, Ill., Hy Mayerson, Spring City, Pa., David Jaroslawicz, New York City, Newton B. Schwartz, P. C., Benton Musslewhite, Inc., Houston, Tex., Dorothy Thompson, Los Angeles, Cal., W. T. McMillan, W. T. McMillan & Co., associated counsel for Australian plaintiffs, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, Jerry G. Wieslander, Frank G. Wieslander, Altoona, Iowa, Lewis A. Royal, Samuel Zelden, Des Moines, Iowa, David C. Anson, Deconcini, McDonald, Brammer, Yetwin & Lacy, Tucson, Ariz., Phillip E. Brown, Hoberg, Finger, Brown, Cox & Molliga, San Francisco, Cal., Melvin Block, Brooklyn, N. Y., Marshall A. Bernstein, Bernstein, Bernstein & Harrison, Philadelphia, Pa., Louis B. Merhige, New Orleans, La., Dennis M. O'Malley, Grant & Artesani, Boston, Mass., Leslie Hulnick, Wichita, Kan., Sidney W. Gilreath, Knoxville, Tenn., Stephen J. Cavanaugh, Bellaire, Tex., Robert P. Schuster, Spence, Moriarty & Schuster, Jackson, Wyo., Alton C. Todd, Brown & Todd, Alvin, Tex., Jules B. Olsman, Southfield, Mich., Gerald J. Adler, Crow, Lytle, Gilwee, Donoghue, Adler & Weninger, Sacramento, Cal., Jack E. London, Miami, Fla., David J. Ghilardi, Madison, Wis., William G. Morgan, Denver, Colo., Dante Mattioni, Philadelphia, Pa., Elgin L. Crull, Louisville, Ky., Charles J. Traylor, Grand Junction, Colo., Victor L. Marcello, Talbot, Sotile, Carmouche, Waquespack & Marchand, Donaldsonville, La., Janet T. Phillips, Rodgers, Monsley, Woodbury & Berggreen, Las Vegas, Nev., William D. Nelsch, William A. Cohan, Denver, Colo., William J. Risner, Tucson, Ariz., James L. Witzel, McKelvey, Cottom & Witzel, East Lansing, Mich., Robert I. P. Pasternak, Jane R. Kaplan, Berkeley, Cal., Norton Frickey, Denver, Colo., Robert C. Huntley, Jr., Racine, Huntley & Olson, Pocatello, Idaho, Jacque B. Pucheu, Pucheu & Pucheu, Eunice, La., Jeffrey M. Stopford, Litvin, Blumberg, Matusow & Young, Philadelphia, Pa., Joseph D. Jamail, Jamail & Kolius, Houston, Tex., Leonard W. Schroeter, J. Kathleen Learned, Schroeter, Goldmark & Bender, P. S., Seattle, Wash., Bennett, DiFilippo, Davison, Henfling & Alessi, East Aurora, N. Y., James A. George, George & George, Baton Rouge, La., Robert M. Salzman, Pfeffer, Becker, Gabric & Cerveny, Chicago, Ill., Arden C. McClelland, McClelland Law Offices, Missoula, Mont., Daniel E. Becnel, Jr., Becnel & Faucheux, Reserve, La., Don S. Willner, Willner, Bennett, Bobbitt & Hartman, Portland, Or., Robert A. Taylor, Jr., Ashcraft & Gerel, Washington, D. C., John J. Lowrey, Chicago, Ill., Donald H. Dawson, Harvey, Kruse & Westen, P. C., Detroit, Mich., Jonathan N. Garver, Cleveland, Ohio, Dennis B. Francis, Gillenwater, Whelchel & Nichol, Knoxville, Tenn., Russell L. Cook, Jr., Fisher, Roch & Gallagher, Houston, Tex., Irwin E. Schermer, Schermer, Schwappach, Borkon & Ramstead, Minneapolis, Minn., David D. Noel, Jenkins & Jenkins, Knoxville, Tenn., Thomas E. Allen, Curtis, Crossen, Hensley, Allen, Curtis & Altman, St. Louis, Mo., Kenneth N. Molberg, Dallas, Tex., Phil M. Cartmell, Jr., Gage & Tucker, Kansas City, Mo., Wayne B. Harbarger, III, Littlefield, McDermand & Harbarger, Sacramento, Cal., William T. Jorden, Erie, Pa., Devine & Morris, Atlanta, Ga., Byron N. Fox and Gary K. Hoffman, Brown & Fox, Kansas City, Mo., Ernest L. Caulfield, New Orleans, La., Thomas E. Connolly, Schneider, Reilly, Zabin, Connolly & Costello, P. C., Boston, Mass., Gary W. Anderson, Erler, Taylor & Anderson, Louisville, Ky., John F. Vecchio, Houston, Tex., Caenen & Niederhauser, Mission, Kan., John T. Golden, Robert F. Stein and William J. Stradley, Stradley, Barnett & Stein, Houston, Tex., Douglass D. Hearne & Associates, Austin, Tex., Lawrence M. Ludwig and Kirby G. Upright, Scranton, Pa., Epstein & Kesselman, Chicago, Ill., Brenda S. Jenkins, Werner & Rusk, Houston, Tex., Richard R. Ravreby, Ravreby & Connolly, Carlsbad, Cal., Robert A. McNess, III, and Robert W. Knolton, Layton & McNess, P. C., Oak Ridge, Tenn., Henry E. Weil and Ronald S. Canter, Belli, Weil & Jacobs, Rockville, Md., Cletus E. Amlung and J. Michael Poole, Louisville, Ky., Synchef & Synchef, Chicago, Ill., Percy J. Blount, Saul, Blount & Martin, P. C., Augusta, Ga., Richard C. McLean, Denver, Colo., Carlton T. Wynn, Hare, Wynn, Newell & Newton, Birmingham, Ala., Owen J. Bradley, New Orleans, La., Elliot E. Brown, Metairie, La., James R. Dawson, Johnston, Thornton, Dawson & Hunter, Shreveport, La., Roger J. Larue, Jr., Metairie, La., William M. Beasley, Mitchell, Eskridge, Voge, Clayton & Beasley, Tupelo, Miss., Avram G. Adler, Adler, Barish, Levin & Creskoff, Philadelphia, Pa., Ned W. Johnson, Benckenstein, McNicholas, Oxford, Radford, Johnson & Nathan, Beaumont, Tex., Paul D. Rheingold, New York City, Fred D. Shapiro, Shapiro, Turoff & Gisser, Cleveland, Ohio, for plaintiffs.

Leonard L. Rivkin, Rivkin, Leff & Sherman, Garden City, N. Y., for Dow Chemical.

Morton B. Silberman, Clark, Gagliardi & Miller, White Plains, N. Y., Baker & McKenzie, Chicago, Ill., for Thompson-Hayward.

Wendell B. Alcorn, Jr., Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, New York City, for Diamond Shamrock.

Townley & Updike, New York City, for Monsanto.

Bud G. Holman and William Krohley, Kelley, Drye & Warren, New York City, for Hercules, Inc.

Joan Bernott, Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., for third-party defendant U. S Roy L. Reardon, James P. Barrett and Michael V. Corrigan, Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, New York City, for Ansul Co.

Armand E. Capanna, Lewis, Overbeck & Furman, Chicago, Ill., for Riverdale Chemical Co.

Lawrence D. Lenihan, Thomas B. Kinzler and Alfred H. Hemingway, Jr., Arthur, Dry & Kalish, P. C., New York City, for Uniroyal.

Les J. Weinstein, McKenna & Fitting, New York City, for Occidental Petroleum Co.

William H. Sanders, William A. Lynch and Paul G. Lane, Blackwell, Sanders, Matheny, Weary & Lombardi, Kansas City, Mo., for N. A. Phillips.

John M. Fitzpatrick, Dilworth, Paxson, Kalish, Lelvy & Kauffman, Philadelphia, Pa., for Hooker Chemical Co.

                              TABLE OF CONTENTS
                                                                    Page
                       INTRODUCTION                                 768
                   I.  SUMMARY OF CLAIMS                            769
                  II.  GOVERNMENT'S MOTION TO DISMISS THIRD
                       PARTY COMPLAINTS                             769
                       A.  FTCA AS A GENERAL WAIVER OF SOVEREIGN
                           IMMUNITY                                 769
                       B.  THE FERES DOCTRINE                       770
                       C.  THIRD PARTY ACTIONS AGAINST THE
                           GOVERNMENT                               772
                       D.  FERES/STENCEL IN THE CONTEXT OF
                           THIS ACTION                              772
                       E.  SHOULD FERES/STENCEL APPLY TO
                           THIS ACTION?                             773
                       F.  DID PLAINTIFFS' INJURIES ARISE OUT
                           OF OR INCIDENT TO MILITARY
                           SERVICE?                                 774
                           1.  General Principles                   775
                           2.  Application of Feres/Stencel to
                               Plaintiffs' Claims                   776
                              (a)  Plaintiff Veterans' Claims of
                                   Exposure                         776
                              (b)  Post-Discharge Failure to Warn   777
                              (c)  The Australian Veterans' Claims  779
                              (d)  Derivative Claims of Spouses
                                   Parents and Children             780
                              (e)  Claims of Direct Injury to
                                   Veterans' Children               781
                       G.  DEFENDANTS' REMAINING CLAIMS
                           AGAINST THE UNITED STATES                781
                       H.  OTHER CLAIMS OF IMMUNITY                 782
                 III.  THE CASE MANAGEMENT PLAN                     782
                  IV.  CLASS ACTION                                 787
                       A.  PREREQUISITES OF RULE 23(a)              787
                           1.  Numerosity                           787
                           2.  Commonality                          787
                           3.  Typicality                           787
                           4.  Adequacy                             788
                           5.  Additional Requirements              788
                       B.  THE REQUIREMENTS OF RULE 23(b)           788
                           1.  Rule 23(b)(1)                        789
                           2.  Rule 23(b)(2)                        790
                           3.  Rule 23(b)(3)                        790
                       C.  NOTICE                                   791
                   V.  SUMMARY JUDGMENT                             792
                       A.  THE GOVERNMENT CONTRACT DEFENSE          792
                       B.  THE POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES             794
                       C.  SUMMARY JUDGMENT DENIED                  795
                  VI.  DISCOVERY                                    797
                 VII.  STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS                      797
                VIII.  CONCLUSIONS                                  798
                       FOOTNOTES                                    798
                

INTRODUCTION

GEORGE C. PRATT, District Judge.

Plaintiffs, Vietnam war veterans and members of their families claiming to have suffered damage as a result of the veterans' exposure to herbicides in Vietnam1, commenced these actions against the defendant chemical companies.2 Defendants, seeking indemnification or contribution in the event they are held liable to plaintiffs, then served third party complaints against the United States.3 Five motions are now considered: (1) the government's motion to dismiss the third party complaint on grounds of sovereign immunity; (2) plaintiffs' motion for class action certification; (3) defendants' motion for summary judgment; (4) plaintiffs' motion to proceed with "serial trials"; and (5) plaintiffs' motion to serve and file a fifth amended verified complaint.

I. SUMMARY...

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    ...Stencel Aero Engineering Corp. v. United States, 431 U.S. 666, 97 S.Ct. 2054, 52 L.Ed.2d 665 (1977). In re "Agent Orange" Product Liability Litigation, 506 F.Supp. 762 (E.D.N.Y. 1980). No order of dismissal was, however, Defendants have moved for reconsideration of the dismissal, arguing th......
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