Michigan Golf Club and several others file lawsuit against DuPont’s Imprelis
Michigan Golf Club has filed a legal lawsuit against the herbicides manufacturing giant DuPont, alleging that their new herbicide “Imprelis” has actually been a major cause in the destruction of some of it’s oldest and evergreen trees on the course. The
lawsuit was filed on Friday, July 15 and will be taken up by the district court of Wilmington Delaware.
Imprelis was rolled out recently by DuPont after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the initial sales of the herbicide in the open market. Michigan Golf Club claims that the product has destroyed some of its oldest Norway and Colorado Spruce,
White Pines and several other evergreens. The suit was filed jointly by Michigan Golf Club and Polo Fields Golf & Country Club in Southfield, Michigan.
“Had DuPont tested Imprelis appropriately before distributing it to the marketplace, it would have found that these widely used trees were susceptible to being killed,” said Christopher Keller, a partner at Labaton Sucharow representing the plaintiffs.
“There are certainly at least tens of millions of damages from the forestry that is being killed. My understanding is that this is the first lawsuit, and certainly the first seeking class-action status,” he added.
DuPont came out vehemently opposing the charges and stated that the product was put through a string of tests before it was marketed and advertised in the local market.
Kate Childress, a DuPont spokeswoman said that the suit is fabricated and is aimed at destroying the company’s goodwill among its users. She, however, also advised the consumers to stop using the product for the moment until the charges are dealt with in
the court and final verdict is given against the lawsuit.
DuPont claims that the new Imprelis is “the most scientifically advanced turf herbicide in over 40 years.”
The EPA spokesman confirmed that they have been receiving numerous reports of the after effects of the herbicides from various states and is reconsidering its decision of allowing DuPont to market the product. Imprelis is designed specifically for a better
weed control on the turf in the cool season and also helps provide nutrition to the broadleaf turf in the warm season.
Michigan Golf Club claims that the wherever the herbicide was used, it had badly affected the adjoining trees. One of the major ingredients includes Aminocyclopyrachlor and according to Dupont the herbicide went through 400 trial sessions before its commercial
launch. Imprelis is instructed to be used only by lawn care professionals and the company bars California and New York for using the herbicide.
Dupont is one of the mainstream insecticide manufacturers in the world topping a colossal $31.51-billion of sales volume last year. With the news of the lawsuit breaking the headlines, its shares went down by 10 cents at $53.92 the same day.
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