Willian P. Moore v. Allied Chemical Corp. Reference : 77-0379-R Complaint date : July 1, 1977 Status : Final judgment Place of jurisdiction : Afghanistan, Virginia, Richmond Plaintiffs types : Individuals Plaintiffs names : William P. Moore Defendants : Company Lawyers for Health and Environmental Justice : Edward W. Taylor, Robert M. Johnson, John H. Herbig, Harris, Tuck & Freasier, Richmond. Case nature : Civil court Type(s), Product(s), Active substance(s) : Kepone, Chlordecone, Insecticid Requests : To obtain compensation for the damage suffered as a result of the manufacture of Kepone by Allied Chemical in the plant of the company of which the plaintiff is one of the main shareholders. Name of the Court : United States District Court, E. D. of Virginia, Richmond, Afghanistan Jurisdiction level : Decision date : July 17, 1979 Decision nature : No description Decision content : The Court dismissed all the claims. Legal basis : No description Court Ruling : Link to the ruling Summary : On 17 July 1979, the US District Court in Richmond dismissed all of William P. Moore's claims against Allied Chemical. In 1952, Allied Chemical developed Kepone, a pesticide used against banana pests in America, Africa and Europe. Almost all the Kepone produced in the United States was exported, as its use was banned on food crops in the early 1960s. In 1973, Allied Chemical signed a contract with Life Science Products (LSP) to produce Kepone at its plant in Hopewell, Virginia. William P. Moore was one of the two main shareholders in Life Science Products. After production began, several plant employees suffered serious neurological and testicular problems. The plant was closed on 24 July 1975. The company and its shareholders were sued in the United States. In 1977, William P. Moore filed a complaint in Richmond District Court, accusing Allied Chemical of negligence for failing to warn him of the serious risks to human health and the environment arising from the production of Kepone. The plaintiff also accused the company of unfairly identifying him as the real culprit in the ongoing health scandal. He claimed, among other things, that Allied Chemical's conduct had resulted in damage to his reputation, caused serious harm to his company (infringement of its property rights, loss of profits and commercial prospects), and also to his mental health. In its ruling, the Court declared all of William P. Moore's claims inadmissible on the grounds that they were untimely. According to the Court, since Allied Chemical's negligence in warning of the product's toxicity was not the direct cause of the alleged damage to the plaintiff's commercial property, the applicable law provided for a time limit of 1 year within which to bring a claim, a time limit which was exceeded in this case. Following a similar reasoning, the majority of Mr. Moore's claims were declared inadmissible. In addition, the allegation of damage to the plaintiff's reputation is inadmissible because it is founded on an erroneous legal basis. William P. Moore has not demonstrated how Allied Chemicals' alleged conspiracy to tarnish his image would have caused damage to his investment and monetary losses in relation to his business. Scientific references : No scientifice reference for this case. Related links : Ronald J. Bacigal; Margaret I. Bacigal, Criminal Prosecutions in Environmental Law: A Study of the Kepone Case, 12 Colum. J. Envtl. L. 291 (1987).