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Roberto T. Cast
05-24-03, 06:34 PM
Agent Orange Lawsuit - Reopen???
This e-mail was sent to me. If there is anyone out there that this happen to, perhap now you can join in the lawsuit. If you have any question e-mail me and I will give you the e-mail address.


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Dear Mr. Castillo,

This letter is written to update you on your rights, as a Vietnam veteran, to bring suit against the chemical companies who manufactured Agent Orange.

As you may know, I began this process by representing the Agent Orange Coordinating Council, which was founded by the late Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, and assisted Admiral Zumwalt in getting governmental benefits for Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange. These efforts resulted in certain Vietnam veterans being able to obtain disease-related benefits that were previously unavailable to them. In large part, these efforts were successful due to the determination of the Admiral and many veterans’ service organizations who were members of the Agent Orange Coordinating Council, such as the American Legion and the Vietnam Veterans of America. The Admiral had originally asked me to represent the Council, in part because I had represented the citizens of Times Beach, Missouri where Agent Orange residue had been sprayed on the town’s streets to keep the dust down during the summertime.

A little over five years ago we began this current attempt to show that the Agent Orange settlement unconstitutionally deprived Vietnam war veterans of their rights. This was done after numerous prior attempts had proven unsuccessful. We initially were heard by Judge Weinstein, the judge in New York who had approved the original Agent Orange settlement in 1984. Judge Weinstein ruled that the Agent Orange class action settlement was final and no one could bring another lawsuit against the chemical companies who manufactured Agent Orange, even though the chemical companies knew at the time that it caused adverse health effects and that there was no more money available for veterans who became sick after the beginning of 1995. We then appealed to the court at the next level, which is the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, sitting in New York City. There we received an unprecedented unanimous victory that Vietnam veterans who first discovered their injuries after the beginning of January 1995 could bring new lawsuits against the manufacturers of Agent Orange.



After this victory in the Court of Appeals, the chemical manufacturers appealed to the United States Supreme Court. The manufacturers argued that it was extremely unfair to THEM that their 1984 settlement was going to be reopened. The Supreme Court accepted the case for hearing and on February 26, 2003, I argued our position to the United States Supreme Court. I argued that the settlement was unfair to Vietnam veterans and should never have been entered into in the first place. This is especially true since at the time the money ran out only a small percentage of veterans had received anything. In our argument and briefing we were supported by "friend of the court" briefs from over twenty veterans advocacy organizations, including the American Legion, VVA, VFW, and DAV. Other "friend of the court briefs" supporting us were written by Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, Public Citizen, the American Trial Lawyers Association, a group of prominent law school professors, six state attorney generals led by the attorney general of Louisiana, and a group of preeminent scientists, along with the Lymphoma Foundation of America. For the other side, the National Association of Manufacturers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Insurance Association, and the Washington Legal Foundation wrote legal briefs supporting the chemical manufacturers of Agent Orange, which argued that no further veterans should receive any compensation regardless of any injury the veteran might have received from Agent Orange. We now await the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, which will determine whether any veterans can file a further lawsuit. Which veterans we will be able to represent, if any, will be determined in large part by the US Supreme Court decision. You will be hearing back from us with an update after the Supreme Court decides.


In the meantime, we are maintaining the information you have submitted to us. From what you have submitted, we understand that you have been diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. We would like you to fill out the questions below regarding your Type II Diabetes and get the answers back to us as soon as you can. While you may have previously given us some of this information, we would like you to provide us with the answers to these questions in the format below


If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask them and we will try to address them.



With Truly Best Wishes,



Gerson H. Smoger, J.D., Ph.D.





NOTICE: This message contains legally privileged and confidential information intended solely for the use of the addressee. Thank you.




NAME:

WHEN WERE YOU FIRST DIAGNOSED WITH DIABETES:

PLEASE FILL OUT THE CHART BELOW AND NAME ANY BLOOD RELATIVES OF YOURS WHO HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH DIABETES AND THE ROUGHLY ESTIMATED AGE AT WHICH THEY WERE DIAGNOSED.

YES NO DON’T KNOW AGE AT

ONSET

MATERNAL GRANDFATHER

MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER

PATERNAL GRANDFATHER

PATERNAL GRANDMOTHER

FATHER

MOTHER

AUNTS AND UNCLES BY BLOOD (FILL IN BELOW)





CHILDREN BY BLOOD (FILL IN BELOW)





PLEASE STATE ALL MEDICATIONS YOU HAVE TAKEN FOR DIABETES





PLEASE DESCRIBE ANY ADVERSE REACTIONS YOU HAVE HAD TO ANY

MEDICATIONS?








NOTICE: This message contains legally privileged and confidential information intended solely for the use of the addressee. Thank you.


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