Shares of Chemours Co. (CC) closed up 17% on the day on a report that a jury decided that E.I. DuPont de Nemours (NYSE:DD) should pay only $500,000 in punitive damages to a man who developed testicular cancer after drinking water polluted with the company’s Teflon chemical. DuPont shares closed on the day up 2.81%
The decision exponentially helps out both DuPont and Chemours, whose stocks declined Wednesday – Chemours fell 21% on Wednesday – after the same jury awarded $5.1 million for negligence. Lawyers for the parties involved argued during a hearing on Thursday whether DuPont should be ordered to pay as much as $1.2 billion in additional punitive damages.
“The jury saw that DuPont acted with pure conscious disregard and now DuPont knows they have to face this,” plaintiff attorney Mike Papantonio said on Friday, per a report from Bloomberg. Lawyers for DuPont had no comment and referred questions to the company’s corporate office.
For those not too familiar with the case, the damages will go to 56-year-old David Freeman who has lived near the DuPont’s Washington Works plant in Parkersburg, West Virginia, since 1993. Freeman claimed DuPont used toxic C-8 to formulate Teflon at the plant and knowingly dumped it into local waterways, exposing him and thousands of others through their drinking water.
Chemours Co. and DuPont both have a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
DU PONT (EI) DE (DD): Free Stock Analysis Report
CHEMOURS COMPNY (CC): Free Stock Analysis Report
Original post
Zacks Investment Research