Settlement in Agent Orange Case Affirmed by Federal Appeals Court

NEW YORK — A class-action settlement for Vietnam veterans who claimed the chemical Agent Orange caused medical problems was substantially affirmed Tuesday by a federal appeals court.

There had been scores of appeals of the $180-million settlement, reached in May, 1984, and the plan for distributing the money, which has grown to more than $220 million with interest.

“The court will make every effort to get the money to the veterans as soon as possible, subject to further appeals,” said U.S. District Judge Jack B. Weinstein, who had approved the distribution plan.

Weinstein previously had ruled that no money could be paid to Vietnam veterans or their families until the appeals process is concluded.

In an 87-page document, the U.S. 2nd Court of Appeals stated: “In the light of hindsight, some 15 to 20 years after the fact, the weight of present scientific evidence does not establish that personnel in Vietnam were injured by Agent Orange.”

Since plaintiffs would have faced “formidable hurdles” in proving their case in a trial, the out-of-court settlement was reasonable even though some veterans argued that it was too low, the court said.

The class action, first brought in 1979, claimed the chemical defoliant, widely used in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, was responsible for a host of medical problems, including cancer and birth defects, suffered by Vietnam veterans and their children.