Terms reached before closing arguments
By Jeff Wells
Globe Staff Writer
CARTHAGE, Mo. - A settlement with undisclosed terms has ended the fifth legal case against the manufacturers of a butter flavoring used at the Jasper popcorn plant.
Attorneys for plaintiff Samantha Taffner and defendants International Flavors and Fragrances and Bush Boake Allen told Jasper County Associate Judge Stephen Carlton they reached a deal about 1:15 p.m. Friday.
Taffner, 28, is among the current and former workers at the plant who have sued the companies contending that diacetyl, an ingredient in the butter flavoring made and sold by the firms, caused lung damage.
"The terms of the settlement are confidential, but my client is very pleased that the settlement will allow her to take care of her health and family in a way that will attempt to minimize future suffering," said Ken McClain, an attorney for Taffner, said at the Jasper County Courthouse in Carthage.
Mike Patton, an attorney representing International Flavors, declined to comment. "I'm sorry I can't," Patton said while exiting the courtroom. "Not to make your job hard, but I can't."
McClain said discussions leading to a settlement were ongoing throughout the trial.
Court records say Taffner, a mother of two, worked at the plant owned by Gilster-Mary Lee from 1996 through 1998. Her job required that she take packages of popcorn off an assembly line and place them in boxes.
Taffner claimed that exposure to the butter flavoring reduced her lung capacity to 26 percent and left her in need of a lung transplant.
The 12-person jury with two alternates heard more than a dozen witnesses during a 10-day trial. The lawyers reached the settlement after the defendants ended their case and the plaintiffs recalled David Egilman, a Massachusetts physician who specializes in the study of occupational disease.
Egilman testified Friday morning that labels on the flavors failed to adequately warn workers about its potential hazards.
On Thursday, Sam Spagnolo, a pulmonary specialist based in Washington, D.C., testified for the companies and disputed the claim that Taffner contracted bronchiolitis obliterans, an irreversible lung disease that obstructs the lungs' airways, while working at the Jasper popcorn plant.
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Settlement concludes fifth popcorn trial
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