Sarah Barlage is the wife of the famous attorney Robert Bilott who fought against the DuPont company by representing West Virginia and Ohio. Both Barlage and her husband were attorneys working for big companies.
However, after meeting with one of the local farming families in West Virginia and knowing that Dupont was dumping tons of chemicals nearby, her husband decided to file a case against DuPont on behalf of the locals. He stood with the affected people for many years before pleading DuPont guilty in court. Bilott was highly appreciated and praised, and even the movie Dark Waters was made based on his story.
Though Barlage gets overshadowed by her husband Robert Bilott, she is also an established attorney. She initially worked for companies to fight against compensations for the workers. But, now she has changed her ways and is currently working for a non-profit organization called ProKids.
Summary
Popular Name | Sarah Barlage |
Real Name | Sarah Barlage Bilott |
Date of birth | Unknown |
Age | Unknown |
Place of birth | Tommerup, Funen, Denmark |
Father | Not disclosed |
Mother | Not disclosed |
Siblings | Not disclosed |
Status | Married |
Spouse | Robert Bilott |
Children | Three |
Sons | Teddy Bilott, Charlie Bilott and Tony Bilott |
Occupation | Attorney |
Net worth | 15 Million USD |
Nationality | American |
Ethnicity | White Caucasian |
Religion | Christianity |
Zodiac | Unknown |
Height | Unknown |
Weight | Unknown |
Measurement | Unknown |
Hair color | Brown |
Eye color | Blue |
Complexion | Fair |
Sarah Barlage Net Worth
Like her husband, Barlage is also an attorney. She used to work for big companies before quitting to raise her three sons.
But after her sons were all grown up, she went back to her job and is currently working as a staff attorney in ProKids.
She has a good salary herself. But by her association with her husband, her net worth is the same as his, which is 15 Million USD.
Sarah Barlage’s Personal Life And Family
Barlage hasn’t let out any information about her personal life. So, no one knows anything about her parents or her hometown. However, she has been in the limelight because of her husband, Robert Bilott.
Her husband started his career as an attorney after joining Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP. He worked there for eight years and became one of its partners in 1998.
While working there, he used to defend chemical companies for years, but all of this changed when he met Wilbur Tennant, a farmer in Parkersburg, West Virginia.
It changed his life forever as he filed a case against the chemical company DuPont. Bilott represented Tennant as his cattle were dying because of the chemicals dumped in the locality.
DuPont denied all allegations and suggested forming an investigating committee of six people, where three will be from DuPont and three from the Environment Protection Agency.
Court agreed to it and formed a committee. The committee investigated the reason behind the death of cattle. When it was complete, the committee declared that the cattle died due to poor care of the cattle instead of any chemical effects.
However, Bilott didn’t buy it nor the locals of West Virginia. So, they again filed a case in 2001. But this time, locals of both West Virginia and Ohio were involved. Bilott kept his case forward, along with the sample of drinking water with PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid).PFOA was the same chemical dumped by DuPont.
The case had solid proof. So, DuPont was found guilty. It was settled only in 2004 after DuPont declared the installation of Filtration Plants in the affected areas. DuPont also agreed to provide 300 Million USD class benefits and 70 Million USD cash.
DuPont also agreed to the provision of 235 Million USD for future medication if PFOA harmed human health.
To fight this criterion, an independent panel investigated the case. It declared that PFAO indeed caused many deadly human diseases too. After this discovery, Bilott started filing for individual personal injury lawsuits.
The number of lawsuits reached 3,500 by the time it was 2005. DuPont compensated the first three cases with a 19.7 Million USD settlement, but as the number kept increasing, they dealt with the upcoming cases with 671.7 Million USD.
However, the cases kept growing and growing. Finally, the case got settled just this year with a settlement amount of 4 Billion USD.
When Bilott was going through all this, Barlage was there with him supporting his struggles and his agendas.
Bilott and his wife worked to fight for the people of West Virginia and Ohio who were suffering from the effects of chemical dumping nearby.
Sarah Barlage Bilott’s Husband Robert
Barlage has been married to her husband, Robert Bilott, since 1996. They have three sons together who are all grown up now.
The couple went through many ups and downs during their twenty-five years of marriage. However, they stood beside each other and are still going strong to this day.
Education and High School
Though Barlage is in the limelight because of her husband, she has her share of successes. She is also an educated attorney like her husband.
She did her schooling at Notre Dame Academy in Park Hills, Kentucky. Once high school was over, she joined Thomas More College to study history.
She graduated in 1988 with her bachelor’s degree and then enrolled in the University of Cincinnati Law College to get her Juris Doctor degree (J.D.)
She got her J.D. in 1991 and finally became an attorney.
Career as an Attorney
Barlage started her career in 1991 by joining Thompson Hine LLP as an associate attorney. She worked there for seven years before moving to her old college, Thomas Moore College, to work as an adjunct instructor.
She worked as an adjunct instructor for four years but quit there to take care of her three sons.
She returned to work in 2015 when her sons were all grown up. After her return, she joined a non-profit organization, ProKids as a volunteer.
Initially, she was just a volunteer there, but in 2017, she took a job there as its staff attorney. She has been looking after the organization as its staff attorney ever since then.