By Jonathan Stempel
June 24 (Reuters) – A business controlled by the American billionaire Ira Rennert reached a $150 million settlement in the United States with 1,373 Peruvians who claimed they were poisoned by lead and other toxic substances while growing up near a Peruvian smelter, lawyers for the plaintiffs said on Wednesday.
The settlement with Doe Run Resources, part of Rennert’s New York-based holding company Renco Group, was announced in St. Louis federal court on Tuesday, when the first of four so-called bellwether trials in the 19-year-old case was scheduled to begin.
• Doe Run and the other defendants did not admit wrongdoing in agreeing to settle, the plaintiffs’ lawyer Jerome Schlichter said in a phone interview.
• The plaintiffs accused Doe Run of releasing lead, arsenic, cadmium and other hazardous substances from a smelter in La Oroya, Peru, which a subsidiary purchased in 1997.
• They said some of the mismanagement occurred in the United States, entitling them to damages for physical injuries, learning impairments, emotional distress, lost income and other consequences.
• Doe Run said the smelter polluted the La Oroya area for decades while under private ownership and later by Peru’s government, but that the government “abdicated” its contractual responsibility to clean up the damage.
• “We elected to put this behind us and focus on what matters — running our business, serving our customers, and investing in new technologies,” Doe Run Chief Executive Matt Wohl said in a statement.
• Schlichter expects to file a settlement agreement with the St. Louis court in about seven to 10 days. The accord requires approval by U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry. Legal fees will be deducted from the settlement amount.
• “A 19-year battle can result in success when clients persevere,” Schlichter said. “It’s also extraordinary in that people in rural, impoverished Peru can find their way to an American courtroom to bring their case.”
• Rennert, 92, is worth $3.8 billion according to Forbes magazine.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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