Imprelis Discussion - it's damage, Dupont's Claim Process, Lawsuits filed, Experience

[bailter]

I think you are right. A lot of the maples in the neighborhood that have not had any imprelis are also sending out tons of seeds. I am from Minnesota. It's been a wild ride weatherwise here. A lot of snow two winters ago, followed by a normal summer but a very dry fall and a winter without hardly any snow. Then an early spring but no rain in March and April, but now lots of rain in May. The only thing consistent in Minnesota is it's inconsistency.

I have had all kinds of spruce die, arborvitae, stone pine, red pine, and white pine. No deciduous trees thank heaven.

No Dupont proposal yet. I have been meeting with tree suppliers to find out what replacements will cost so I have ammunition when it does finally arrive. I am probably going to have to get smaller B&B trees to replace larger ones so that I don't completely destroy my lawn.

Originally Posted by Starbuy

What state are you from? Here in NE Ohio, my Maples are also stressed and shedded a LOT of seeds which as you know is very annoying. But, this may have resulted from the warm March we had followed by cold in April which threw things out of cycle. I HOPE it isn't from more Imprelis migration from my neighbors property which had Imprelis used on it. It already killed 16 of mine near the border. At this point, looks weather related here. But, if you had Imprelis applied anywhere near your maples, watch very closely. It's been surprising what damage has been caused by this chemical to different trees including maples and even lilacs. If you had an unusually warm early spring followed by cold that could have stressed the upper areas of the tree.

[Starbuy]

My neighbor did have a couple deciduos trees die from Imprelis, but the damaged showed up last year. they are toast. Completely dead. We have not seen any improvement with any of the shrubs, evergreens or dec. trees in our area since the Imprelis damage last year. i think we should start seeing a lot of Dupont offers being sent out soon since they are seeing no improvement in the Michigan, Ohio, Penn areas. they were hoping by this time they'd see some improvement in some which would have lessened their compensation amounts, but they send out offers quickly in hopes some homeowners will be quick to accept while they think some of their least damaged ones might get treated for improvement. watch all the offers start coming in this month and no later than June. Once the dry season hits everything that had a little hope will be toast.

[cindyb]

Some of mine are putting out some new growth, deformed new growth.

I'm watching my tame blackberries. Blooming but no berries. Never happened before. I make blackberry jam and blackberry wine and brandy. Gonna be upset if they are affected.

[cindyb]

Originally Posted by Starbuy

Oceola Township in Michigan received their Dupont offer for $92,000 for 9 trees. The board is still determining if they will accept the offer or counter it. http://www.livingstondaily.com/artic...sey=nav%7Chead

So, your 20 should certainly see a larger first offer. They seem to be going by size more than type, since a large variety of evergreens are close to the same price from nurseries per foot. I'm hearing initial offers of between $3000 to over $10,000 per tree (includes replacement and warranty for only until 2013). According to Oceola that offer was in addition to removal cost, which was not specified in the report. Offers obviously can be much larger if the ground slopes into the damaged trees since removing just the soil around the dead tree may not be enough since the adjacent ground can still have Imprelis in it for over a year and can migrate into the slope. I've been warned it may be years before I can replant.

Wondering if they accepted?

[bailter]

I am see really non uniform growth on the lesser affected trees. Some branches have nice lush new buds, while other branches have a few weak buds, and others have none. Maybe the ones with none are just delayed, but I am fearful that the tree will have really irregular growth. This is on the spruce trees, even ones that were rated 1. Interestingly enough, some of the fir trees that were rated 3 and 4 and had the whole top dead and most of the rest stunted, has new buds all over the place even in the nearly dead areas. Really doesn't make much sense to me.

Does anyone have any idea if Dupont has stated how long they will have to respond to a rejection of their original proposal?

Originally Posted by Starbuy

My neighbor did have a couple deciduos trees die from Imprelis, but the damaged showed up last year. they are toast. Completely dead. We have not seen any improvement with any of the shrubs, evergreens or dec. trees in our area since the Imprelis damage last year. i think we should start seeing a lot of Dupont offers being sent out soon since they are seeing no improvement in the Michigan, Ohio, Penn areas. they were hoping by this time they'd see some improvement in some which would have lessened their compensation amounts, but they send out offers quickly in hopes some homeowners will be quick to accept while they think some of their least damaged ones might get treated for improvement. watch all the offers start coming in this month and no later than June. Once the dry season hits everything that had a little hope will be toast.

[cindyb]

Originally Posted by bailter

Does anyone know what is involved in rejecting a Dupont proposal? Such as how long dupont will have to reply to your rejection. I know my trees have SIGNIFICANTLY declined since they were rated last fall, but after waiting this long, I don't want to wait that long again. Is there anything in the proposal (for those of you lucky enough to have gotten one) that outlines what is required of both you and dupont for a rejection and new proposal? Any experience from anyone?

Wondering if thats what they want, for you just to give in

Originally Posted by jconley

I don't think Dupont is handling this very well at all, a homeowner, as in my case, who would hire a lawn service to take care of their yard, with the added expense that entails, probably cares a great deal how their yard/home looks. I know it grates me every time I pull in the driveway and the longer it drags out, the madder I get.
Posted via Mobile Device

You aren't alone. My husband won't even look at the yard. All the time and care and one spray and our trees are toasted and deformed

Originally Posted by bailter

I definitely agree with your feelings. Looking at all these dead and dying trees that happened through no fault of my own, and to have the guilty party just drag out the restitution forever..............and we don't seem to be able to do anything about it. The lawn service says be patient (I have been for almost a year), and Dupont says "we're so sorry about that" or "I can certainly understand that" (their call center must sit with a list of stock answers for any comment made by the caller). And then everything I hear is the proposal will be way to low, and we may not be even able to replant without killing the new trees. Maybe we need more TV interviews as that seems to be the only thing that Dupont is concerned with.

I haven't seen that many claims or press for Kentucky so you'd think they could zip right through ours. Apparently not.

[Starbuy]

When I asked Dupont rep if rejecting their offer meant a 'take it or leave it' move, they said "No it is not take it or leave it, we understand there may be other factors and changed conditions that the homeowner can specify in their rejection letter that will be reviewed." And just like with the first offer they can't give a timeframe. For those with just 1 tree and small trees/shrubs in the claim they may not wish to wait, but for those of us with much more to lose it will be worth it to go through the second review, in my opinion, if the first offer is junk. We're talking about thousands of dollars on the line. And, if that doesn't work or the first offer is insulting then I'll just turn it over to a law firm and file a seperate case. You don't have to file in the class action. The individual cases, although being first under same district judge , once you reject the settlement your case moves back to state of origin. I suggest those in Ohio, which has very strong laws protecting landscape, consult a good attorney if the direct offer in this process is low (I did NOT say to hire an attorney before you're finished with the claims process). You also need estimates for ALL the work and replacement for size at time of planting if it's to match other trees/shrubs that were undamaged. Also, don't forget to include in your rejection letter (if you reject) any money you put into the care of the killed trees that is now wasted. It's amazing when I added up all the treatments I paid for over the years to help these grow, fertilizer, watering, insect control, now all wasted. Dupont owes me that too. It's all in my losses that they must compensate for.

[Starbuy]

Originally Posted by bailter

I definitely agree with your feelings. Looking at all these dead and dying trees that happened through no fault of my own, and to have the guilty party just drag out the restitution forever..............and we don't seem to be able to do anything about it. The lawn service says be patient (I have been for almost a year), and Dupont says "we're so sorry about that" or "I can certainly understand that" (their call center must sit with a list of stock answers for any comment made by the caller). And then everything I hear is the proposal will be way to low, and we may not be even able to replant without killing the new trees. Maybe we need more TV interviews as that seems to be the only thing that Dupont is concerned with.

Dupont is so big worldwide I don't think they are motivated to do anything out of feeling any threat from TV exposure or even a letter from your attorney. They've dealt with wrongful death cases (humans) and other tragedies and have lawyers out the wazoo. But, individual human beings work there and there are Dupont employees, I believe, who wish to right this wrong. At this point I'll give them the chance through this process they've set up and will continue to be friendly to whomever I speak to concerning my case. Not every company is evil, not every rep is just thinking about the company's bottom line. They have billions and billions in cash and their product hurt some of their very own shareholders' properties. I'll give them a chance to properly compensate me, all the while I continue to add to my documentation the continued suffering this has caused my property, my family and neighborhood in case I have to show everything to a jury. I will update everyone if I receive a proper letter and the outcome if able to. We'll get through this. Be patient.

[cindyb]

Originally Posted by Starbuy

I'll give them a chance to properly compensate me, all the while I continue to add to my documentation the continued suffering this has caused my property, my family and neighborhood in case I have to show everything to a jury. I will update everyone if I receive a proper letter and the outcome if able to. We'll get through this. Be patient.

How long ago did they do your site visit? My trees started dying and deforming in May of 2011.

I thought maybe they were doing the smaller claims first but my LCO only had 1 tree, 3 claims total.

[Starbuy]

Originally Posted by cindyb

How long ago did they do your site visit? My trees started dying and deforming in May of 2011.

I thought maybe they were doing the smaller claims first but my LCO only had 1 tree, 3 claims total.

The Imprelis app on my neighbor's lawn took place last May and we noticed damage to my property in about a month or so after. I had my first official site visit by Stericyle and Davey Tree (hired by Dupont) in September then a second site visit in late October showing continued death. Been receiving the continued "it's in review" since December.

Also, just heard from a journalist that I contacted that the Oceola Township officials that received the lowball offer from Dupont for their golf course trees have not yet decided whether they'll accept it or reject it and reply with their demands.