U.S. Declared Not Liable in Agent Orange Lawsuits

NEW YORK — The U.S. government does not have to contribute to the multimillion-dollar settlement of the Agent Orange class action suit by Vietnam veterans and their families, a federal judge ruled today.

In a six-page decision, U.S. District Judge Jack B. Weinstein dismissed a third-party suit against the government by seven chemical companies that manufactured the herbicide and had agreed to a $180-million settlement with veterans.

The ruling does not affect the amount of money to be dispensed in the settlement, but means it will be funded solely by the companies.

The government sought dismissal of the case, and the judge agreed that it “was and is within its legal rights in refusing to contribute.”

High Price Ahead

However, he said the Justice Department’s “benign detachment from this aftermath of the Vietnam War may be cruel to the veterans who served their country. . . . Undoubtedly, the United States will pay a high price for its present position.”

The judge said future war contractors “will require indemnification, and increased insurance costs will be added to the price of goods the government purchases.”

The judge also predicted “lingering resentment by veterans and their families who believe that the government has let them down.”

The Agent Orange makers sought to have the government contribute to the portion of the settlement fund “which may be used for the wives and children.”

Not Liable to Firms

“Even assuming that there were some validity to the claims of the members of the class . . . there is no way, at the present time, the government can be found liable to plaintiffs (the chemical companies). Thus, there can be no basis for a third-party claim,” Weinstein wrote.

Vietnam veterans claimed that Agent Orange, a chemical defoliant widely used in Southeast Asia during the war, was responsible for a host of ills they and their families suffered, including cancer, miscarriages and birth defects.

Earlier, veterans’ suits against the government were dismissed by Weinstein, citing the Feres doctrine, which stipulates that military personnel cannot sue the government for civil wrongs or injuries incurred during their service.