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Pruitt v. Allied Chemical Corp.

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
523 F. Supp. 975 (1981)

Written by Josh Lee, JD

Facts

A collection of commercial fishermen, seafood wholesalers, retailers, processors, distributors, and restauranteurs who derived income from marine life in Chesapeake Bay (plaintiffs) filed a class action lawsuit against Allied Chemical Corp. (Allied) (defendant) for polluting Chesapeake Bay with the chemical Kepone. Allied filed a motion to dismiss several of the claims because the claims were for indirect economic harm. Most of the plaintiffs did not suffer direct harm to their property or to their person. Rather, most of the plaintiffs sought recovery for a reduction of income from their businesses caused by the damage to the Chesapeake Bay marine life, such as an inability to sell seafood that was allegedly contaminated by Allied.

Rule of Law

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Issue

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Holding and Reasoning (Merhige, J.)

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