Dow, Monsanto to Get Agent Orange Hearing

Dow Chemical Co. and Monsanto Co., the two biggest makers of Agent Orange, won Supreme Court review of their effort to stop a new round of suits over the cancer-causing defoliant used in Vietnam. The case may help businesses settle group personal injury claims.

The justices agreed to hear an appeal by Dow, Monsanto and 11 other companies that a 1984 settlement is binding on two men seeking to sue them. A federal appeals court allowed the suit by Daniel Stephenson and Joe Isaacson, who developed cancer after the 1994 deadline for seeking payment from the $180-million settlement fund.

Dow’s shares fell 48 cents to $26 while Monsanto’s shares climbed 30 cents to $17.15, both on the NYSE.