Dow Jones Business News

More Damages Awarded In Alabama Solutia PCB Case > SOI

Thursday April 3, 5:42 pm ET 
By Desiree J. Hanford, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 


ST.  LOUIS (Dow Jones)--An Alabama  jury  awarded  more  property
cleanup  and  mental anguish damages on Thursday in the Abernathy
PCB lawsuit against Solutia Inc.  (NYSE:SOI  -  News)  ,  but  it
didn't  award  any  damages  for  reduction in property value,  a
Solutia spokeswoman said.  

The jury  has  now  returned  property  cleanup,  lost  value  of
property  and mental anguish damages totaling $4.4 million for 11
of the 17 plaintiffs.  

One female plaintiff was awarded $45,190  for  property  cleanup,
and  she  was  awarded  $125,000  for  mental  anguish,   Solutia
spokeswoman Beth Rusert said.  

A couple was awarded $15,778 for remediation  of  their  property
and  the  wife  was  awarded  $100,000  for  mental anguish.  The
husband wasn't awarded any mental anguish damages.  He worked  at
the  plant  involved  in  the  lawsuit  and so he is eligible for
worker's compensation if needed, Rusert said.  

Another plaintiff was awarded $1.9 million to clean up a  40-acre
farm and $ 150,000 for mental anguish.  

Two people who own three commercial parcels that are more than 40
acres  in  size  were awarded $1.2 million to clean the property.
One of the pair was awarded  $100,000  in  mental  anguish.   The
other  person,  who  didn't have any detectible levels of PCBs in
the body, wasn't awarded mental anguish damages, Rusert said.  

Solutia is  facing  several  polychlorinated  biphenyl,  or  PCB,
lawsuits.  Abernathy vs.  Monsanto involves 3,500 Anniston, Ala.,
residents  who  are  suing Pharmacia Corp.  (NYSE:PHA -  News)  ,
Solutia and the Monsanto  that  existed  before  it  merged  with
Pharmacia.   The residents claim that PCBs were dumped into creek
and open- pit landfills and that those actions made them sick and
lowered their property values.  

The "old"  Monsanto spun off Solutia  in  September  1997.   That
Monsanto,  which traded under the ticker symbol MTC,  merged with
the former Pharmacia &  Upjohn Inc.  in March 2000  to  form  the
current  Pharmacia.   Pharmacia  eventually  spun off the current
Monsanto Co.  (NYSE:MON -  News)  that focuses on agriculture and
biotechnology.  

Monsanto  made  PCBs at the Anniston plant between 1935 and 1971.
The Anniston plant was part  of  the  spin-off  of  Solutia  from
Monsanto.  

The  Abernathy  lawsuit  went to trial in January 2002.  The jury
found in favor of the  plaintiffs  a  month  later,  but  damages
weren't  determined at the time.  Abernathy is the name of one of
the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.  

-By Desiree  J.   Hanford,  Dow  Jones  Newswires;  314-588-8443;
desiree.hanford@dowjones.com