Living Designs, Inc. v. E.I. Dupont De Nemours and Co.

In these consolidated cases, Plaintiffs Living Designs, McConnell, Inc., Anthuri-um Acres, Matsuura, and Fuku-Bonsai allege that Defendant E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company (“DuPont”) fraudulently induced the settlement of their prior products liability litigation. We reverse the district court’s grant of judgment on the pleadings in favor of DuPont on Plaintiffs’ claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961-1968 (“RICO”), and the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of DuPont on Plaintiffs’ state tort claims.

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Outside of the agricultural community, plant disease-causing fungi are rarely the subject of casual dinner conversation, much less contentious litigation. Yet to farmers worldwide, the problems posed by white mold, virulent black leg, foot rot, and scab are extremely serious matters. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, DuPont developed a systemic fungicide to combat these problems, which it marketed under the name of Benlate. At the zenith of its use, Benlate was one of DuPont’s most successful commercial products.

However, into every product’s life, a little rain must fall. In the case of Benlate, the…