Koch Industries' fabric company Invista went to trial in New York on Monday against DuPont to recover up to $744.6 million it says it is owed for dealing with problems at manufacturing plants it bought from the chemical company.

Kansas-based natural resources conglomerate Koch Industries bought Invista from DuPont for $4.4 billion in 2004 as it sought to expand into textiles and specialty chemicals. The Invista brand makes nylon, which DuPont invented in the 1930s.

Invista sued DuPont in 2008 in Manhattan federal court claiming that it should be repaid for losses it sustained in addressing safety and environmental problems at factories in Texas, Canada and other locations.

U.S. District Court Judge Sidney Stein is hearing the case without a jury and the trial is expected to last up to eight weeks.

Invista's lawyer Martin Gaynor told a crowded courtroom that his client had warned DuPont as early as June 2004 about "the cascade of violations Invista was forced to deal with."

David Boies, who gained national attention when he represented then-Vice President Al Gore in Gore v Bush before the U.S. Supreme Court, is representing DuPont.

He argued that Invista had deliberately sought out problems it wanted fixed and for DuPont to pay for.

"They said 'let's go out and see how much of a plant upgrade we can get DuPont to pay for," Boies told the judge. "They sent their people out all over the world to find problems that 'we can get DuPont to pay for.'"

DuPont argues it is not liable for any of the costs Invista is suing to recover because Invista violated contract terms governing environmental indemnification spelled out in the purchase agreement. Invista maintains that DuPont is liable under environmental laws and misled Koch about the health and safety conditions at its plants.

DuPont sold the Invista business to cull debt, and fuel growth in its agricultural and food units.

Today, DuPont's Pioneer seed unit is the second-largest producer of genetically modified seeds in the world, competing against Monsanto.

Invista says it has lost $357.9 million to date, including $68.5 million in attorneys' fees. With interest and future losses, Invista says the sum balloons to $744.6 million. Invista is also seeking unspecified punitive damages.

The case is Invista B.V. et al, v. E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 08-3063.