The Doe Run CompanyPrivate▼ Negative
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Settles lead poisoning case for $150 million, admitting no wrongdoing but paying substantial damages.
A business controlled by billionaire Ira Rennert has reached a $150 million settlement with 1,373 Peruvians who claimed they were poisoned by lead and other toxic substances while growing up near a smelter in La Oroya, Peru. The settlement with Doe Run Resources, part of Rennert's Renco Group, was announced in St. Louis federal court on the day the first of four bellwether trials was set to begin in the 19-year-old case. The defendants did not admit wrongdoing, and the accord requires approval by U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry, with legal fees to be deducted from the settlement amount. Plaintiffs' lawyer Jerome Schlichter called the outcome extraordinary, noting that impoverished rural Peruvians were able to bring their case in an American courtroom.
Settles lead poisoning case for $150 million, admitting no wrongdoing but paying substantial damages.