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Monsanto \ FROM V. ( N . . M E - L O C A T I O N - MHONL I D. R. Bishop - A3NB DATE : January 24, 1980 SUBJECT : Sturgeon Litigation REFERENCE CONFIDENTIAL cc W. J. McCarville - A3NC^ J. E. McKee - A3NB J. T. Nolan - D1A B. J. Wander - C2SA TO Mr. M. C. Throdahl - DID Bob Isham, MIC's advertising and PR director, called late yesterday to inform us that the lawyer(s) for the plaintiffs at Sturgeon have hired Drs. Selikoff and Moses and Barry Commoner as "expert" witnesses for the upcoming trial (expected to begin next fall). Bob was seeking advice as to who might be our best spokesman to respond to the charges and allegations that will likely be forthcoming from the "expert" witnesses as the trial approaches. Jim McKee and I suggested the following: 1) Sturgeon, Nitro, Agent Orange, WGK and the OSHA citations are all related and that MCT's advice and counsel should be sought at an early date. _ This is a corporate problem and must be orchestrated)!*** by EPS. 2) Ed Paget is probably our best internal spokesman to pit against the likes of Selikoff and Commoner. 3) Both Nitro health studies will have been completed by next fall and the results could likely be very helpful to our cause -- both with the news media and the litigation. 4) Since it's been reported from reliable sources that Selikoff was unable to find adverse health effects at either Nitro or Jacksonville, it's quite possible that his involvement won't present a serious problem. 5) I expressed the hope that MIC's lawyers are working closely with Bob Berendt, Monsanto's head litigation lawyer and our Agent Orange counsel, on the Sturgeon problem. This was happily confirmed this morning. 6) Jim Wilson, MIC's technical expert on Orthochlorophenol, should receive special training in spokesmanship and media confrontation to groom him for the battle. Mr. M. C. Throdahl --2 To Isham's credit, he does recognize the corporate nature of this problem and the need to coordinate and communicate with EPS and corporate PR. By the way, he is operating under management and legal restraints within his OpUnit that, in my opinion, make it awkward for him to carry out his communications responsibilities both internally and externally. DRB:ec C 0 9 8 0 3 Ml