In re Agent Orange Product Liability Litigation

• Citation: 534 F. Supp. 1046
• Decision Date: 24 February 1982
• Docket Number: MDL No. 381.
• Parties: In re "AGENT ORANGE" PRODUCT LIABILITY LITIGATION.
• Court: United States District Courts. 2nd Circuit. United States District Court (Eastern District of New York)

534 F. Supp. 1046

In re "AGENT ORANGE" PRODUCT LIABILITY LITIGATION.

MDL No. 381.

United States District Court, E. D. New York.

February 24, 1982.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

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.

GEORGE C. PRATT, District Judge.

This memorandum and order addresses the following subjects:

I. Dow's Motion for Reargument.

II. Defendants' Motion for Entry of Final Judgment or Certification.

III. Dow's Motion to Amend its Third Party Complaint Against the Government.

IV. Motions by Defendants Riverdale, Ansul, Hooker & Occidental.

V. Motion by Some Plaintiffs' Counsel for a Steering Committee.

VI. Dow's Motion to Decertify the Class.

VII. Statute of Limitations.

VIII. The Government Contract Defense.

IX. Narrowing Claims.

X. Discovery.

XI. Class Notice.

I. Dow's Motion for Reargument.

Dow Chemical Company moves for reargument of that portion of the court's December 29, 1980 order which dismissed defendants' third party complaints against the United States. 506 F.Supp. 762. Much of what Dow argues on this motion has been considered and explicitly rejected by the court's earlier rulings, and the arguments are equally unpersuasive the second time around. Nor is the court persuaded to change its view by the subsequent cases brought to its attention by the parties. E.g., Broudy v. U. S., 661 F.2d 125 (CA9 1981) (independent post-service torts actionable including, in some circumstances, post-discharge failure to warn claim); Laswell v. Brown, 524 F.Supp. 847 (W.D.Mo.1981); Hinkie v. U. S., 524 F.Supp. 277 (E.D.Pa. 1981). Cf. Monaco v. U. S., 661 F.2d 129 (CA9 1981); Jaffee v. U. S., 663 F.2d 1226 (CA3 1981); Lombard v. U. S., 530 F.Supp. 918 (D.D.C.1981).

Finally, contrary to defendants' assertions, the court anticipates no unusual difficulty in obtaining discovery from the government as a non-party. The government has unequivocally promised complete cooperation and liberal discovery, and despite some apparent misunderstandings, the government has done nothing to date to cause the court to doubt its willingness and ability to keep that promise. The motion is denied.

II. Defendants' Motion for Entry of Final Judgment or Certification.

On December 26, 1980 this court granted the government's motion to dismiss defendants' third party claims. Defendants now move for entry of a final judgment of dismissal of the government pursuant to FRCP 54(b) or, in the alternative, for an order pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b) certifying for interlocutory appellate review questions concerning the dismissal of the United States on defendants' third party complaint.

FRCP 54(b) prohibits interlocutory appeals on multiple claims or by multiple parties without court certification, but provides that when more than one claim for relief is presented in an action,

the court may direct the entry of a final judgment as to one or more but fewer than all of the claims or parties only upon an express determination that there is no just reason for delay and upon an express direction for the entry of judgment.

FRCP 54(b).

Such certification rests in the sound discretion of the court:

The District Court may, by the exercise of its discretion in the interest of sound judicial administration, release for appeal final decisions upon one or more, but less than all, claims in multiple claims actions. The timing of such a release is, with good reason, vested by the rule primarily in the discretion of the District Court as the one most likely to be familiar with the case and with any justifiable reasons for delay.

Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Mackey, 351 U.S. 427, 437, 76 S.Ct. 895, 900, 100 L.Ed. 1297 (1956) (emphasis in original).

Section 1292(b) of 28 U.S.C., the other statute upon which defendants rely in their quest for interlocutory review, provides that:

When a district judge, in making in a civil action an order not otherwise appealable under the

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