Six Big Island and O'ahu nursery operators reached a confidential settlement with DuPont yesterday over their claims that the chemical giant hid evidence to get them to settle an earlier lawsuit at a lower cost.

The earlier settlement was for $10 million.

Yesterday's settlement came on the eve of jury selection for what was expected to be a two-month trial before U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway over the suit by the six operators growing plants and ornamental flowers.

The amount of money they will receive was not disclosed, but San Francisco attorney Stephen Cox, one of their lawyers, said his clients were pleased with the amount. He said they were seeking as much as $30 million if the case had gone to trial. "It was a good business decision for everyone concerned," he said.

Honolulu attorney Warren Price, one of DuPont's lawyers, said the company was also pleased with the settlement.

"DuPont thinks it's a win-win for all parties and we're glad it's resolved."

The six operators — five on the Big Island and one on O'ahu — were among hundreds of growers nationwide who sued DuPont in the early 1990s alleging that its Benlate fungicide caused widespread crop damage. The six settled for $10 million in 1994, but returned to court with a lawsuit in 1996 alleging what their lawyers called "settlement fraud."

Cox said information that was not disclosed included tests that showed Benlate had been contaminated with a powerful herbicide. His clients were seeking the difference between the $10 million and the fair amount of a settlement had the evidence been disclosed, he said.

Cox said one of their experts would have testified the fair amount was two or three times the $10 million. Another would have said it was three or four times the amount, he said.

The six operators included former state Sen. David Matsuura and his brother, Stephen Matsuura; Mueller Horticultural Partners; and Fuku-Bonsai Inc.

Cox said they learned about DuPont withholding evidence during a 1995 Big Island trial in a lawsuit against DuPont by two other Big Island farmers over the use of Benlate. In 1997, the Hawai'i Supreme Court upheld the jury's $23.9 million verdict in favor of Kawamata Farms Inc. and the Stanley T. Tomono family. The high court also upheld a $1.5 million fine imposed on DuPont for withholding information and documents.

Cox said yesterday's settlement ends more than 10 years of litigation that included three appeals to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Reach Ken Kobayashi at kkobayashi@honoluluadvertiser.com.