By Mark H. Anderson and Brent Kendall Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to intervene in litigation against E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. (DD) and General Electric Co. (GE) over radiation exposure claims by people who lived near the Hanford nuclear reservation in Washington State.
The two companies and other government contractors have been fighting liability for claims brought by people who say they were exposed to radiation during and after World War II when the site was used to manufacturer plutonium for nuclear weapons.
Last year the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals restored a jury award for one of the victims and opened the door for additional claims against the contractors.
DuPont and General Electric asked the Supreme Court to overturn the Ninth Circuit ruling, arguing they are shielded from legal claims through their role as government contractors. Since 1990, more than 2,000 people have sued over alleged exposure to radiation at the Hanford site.
The high court, without comment, refused to hear the company's appeal.
The case is E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. v. Stanton, 08-210.
In other news, the high court also turned away an appeal from Merix Corp. (MERX), which wanted to stop a securities lawsuit brought against it after it announced a downward revision of projected sales for its circuit board products in 2004. The company was sued in late 2004 for allegedly manipulating its share price ahead of a stock offering that preceded the sales projection announcement.
The class-action litigation was twice rejected by a federal trial judge, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in April 2008 revived the securities fraud claims.
The case is Merix Corp. v. Central Laborers Pension Fund, 08-374.
-By Brent Kendall, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9222; brent.kendall@dowjones.com
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Publié le 15 Décembre 2008 Copyright © 2008 Dowjones