Newsletter RSS

Mealey's Toxic Torts

  • February 04, 2025

    Judge Grants Initial OK To $1M PFAS Deal Between Chemical Company And Class Members

    ROME, Ga. — A federal judge in Georgia has granted preliminary approval to a partial class action settlement that requires a chemical company that manufactures and supplies products containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to a northwest Georgia textile mill to pay $1 million to a group of water subscribers and ratepayers who have been detrimentally affected by the company’s contamination of their drinking water supply.

  • February 04, 2025

    Toxic Exposure, Contamination Suit Stayed To Allow Settlement Talks To Continue

    GREENBELT, Md. — A Maryland federal judge granted a joint motion to stay proceedings in an insured’s suit seeking coverage for underlying toxic exposure and environmental contamination lawsuits to allow the insured and its insurer to continue settlement negotiations.

  • February 03, 2025

    Texas Demands Jury Trial In PFAS Case Against 3M, Others

    DALLAS — Texas has filed a demand for a jury trial in Texas federal court for its lawsuit against 3M Co. and other makers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in which it argues that the defendants manufactured and marketed consumer products that contain PFAS and “profited immensely” while they knew that the products posed risks to human health and the environment.

  • January 31, 2025

    Hair Relaxer Defendants: Medical Record Redaction Not Needed, Privilege Lacking

    CHICAGO — Companies sued over allegations that their hair relaxer products contain toxic chemicals have filed a brief in the multidistrict litigation for product injury claims in Illinois federal court arguing that the plaintiffs “cannot carry their burden to justify” their request to redact their mental health history from medical records in the case because the psychotherapy-patient privilege does not apply.

  • January 31, 2025

    High Court Review Of Peruvian Lead Smelter Case Is Not Needed, Claimants Say

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Catholic clergywomen and Peruvian children who sued the operators of a lead smelter for injuries have filed an opposition brief in the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that it should deny a petition for certiorari asking whether Peru’s sovereignty is protected by the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA), which the companies say requires all litigation to be conducted in Peru. The respondents contend that “the petitioners cite no decision barring state common-law claims in comparable circumstances” and therefore the lawsuit they filed in Missouri is valid.

  • January 30, 2025

    Nearly 500 Plaintiffs Say Chemical Companies Knowingly Exposed Them To Mercury

    CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Hundreds of plaintiffs filed an amended complaint against a corporation and its affiliates on Jan. 29 in Tennessee federal court contending that they are liable for “willfully using a toxic substance in their manufacturing processes, despite knowing that workers were being harmed,” and that they were “driven by profit, with full knowledge of the harm their actions would cause” as they exposed the plaintiffs to mercury.

  • January 30, 2025

    Monsanto Seeks Exclusion Of Plaintiffs’ Causation Expert In Roundup Cancer Case

    SAN FRANCISCO — Monsanto Co. on Jan. 29 moved in California federal court to exclude a plaintiffs’ expert in litigation over allegations that the herbicide Roundup causes cancer on grounds that his general causation opinion is inadmissible because he “simply parrots selected epidemiological studies whose conclusions he has not independently analyzed” and because he failed to employ a reliable methodology when reaching his opinion on specific causation.

  • January 30, 2025

    2 Alabama Municipalities Seek Remand Of AFFF Cases, Say 3M’s Removal Was Untimely

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — Two municipalities in Alabama have filed a joint motion to remand their respective cases against the 3M Co. and other makers of the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), which contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), to state court on grounds that “3M waited too long to remove, based on a defense it never had to begin with.”

  • January 30, 2025

    Couple Says Bid For Punitive Damages For Lung Injury From Stone Cutting Is Valid

    LOS ANGELES — A couple that contends that artificial stone manufacturers are liable for causing the husband to develop lung disease as a result of his work as a cutter, fabricator and/or installer of stone countertops has filed a brief in California state court arguing that, with regard to one defendant in particular, the couple has established their rights to seek punitive damages because they have alleged specific facts that are sufficient to make that claim.

  • January 29, 2025

    Judge: Discretionary Function Exception Does Not Apply To Flint Tort Claims Case

    DETROIT — A federal judge in Michigan on Jan. 28 denied the U.S. government’s motion to dismiss the Flint water crisis Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) lawsuit pursuant to the discretionary function exception (DFE), ruling that the DFE is inapplicable to the “actions and inactions” of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in response to the Flint water crisis.  The judge’s ruling addressed only the applicability of the DFE to the lawsuit.

  • January 28, 2025

    Ohio Village, Norfolk Southern Settle Train Derailment Claims For $22 Million

    EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The village of East Palestine, Ohio, and Norfolk Southern Corp. on Jan. 27 jointly announced a $22 million settlement to resolve all claims brought by the village arising from the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in 2023 that released toxic chemicals into the environment, according to a news release posted on the village’s website.  Litigation involving other parties in the train derailment remain active.

  • January 28, 2025

    Insurers Owe Defense, Indemnity For Underlying PFAS, AFFF Suits, Insured Says

    SAN FRANCISCO — An insured maintains in its reply in support of its partial motion for summary judgment, filed in California federal court, that its insurers owe coverage for underlying bodily injury and property damage lawsuits related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) allegedly contained in aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) that were manufactured, sold and distributed by the insured because the underlying suits are potentially covered under the policies and the insurers failed to prove that their policies’ pollution exclusion bars coverage.

  • January 24, 2025

    Man Sues Firm For Robocalls Attempting To Obtain Camp Lejeune Water Crisis Clients

    CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A man has filed a putative class action against a law firm and a legal conversion center in North Carolina federal court contending that they violated federal law pertaining to robocalls in an attempt to solicit him as a client in the lawsuit for injuries allegedly caused by contaminated drinking water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.

  • January 24, 2025

    Government Seeks More Time To Respond To Camp Lejeune Water Case At Supreme Court

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The acting solicitor general has asked the U.S. Supreme Court for more time to respond to a petition filed by plaintiffs who are challenging a lower court’s decision and seeking reversal of an appellate court’s subsequent refusal to entertain their appeal, that held that the plaintiffs are not entitled to a jury trial in their case against the U.S. government related to water contamination at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

  • January 23, 2025

    Plaintiffs Seeks Damages From Apple For Selling Smartwatch Bands That Contain PFAS

    SAN FRANCISCO — Plaintiffs have filed a putative class action against Apple Inc. in California federal court contending that its smartwatch bands contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which the plaintiffs argue constitutes fraudulent business practices because Apple “intentionally misrepresented and/or concealed material facts with the intent to deceive” customers.

  • January 23, 2025

    Consumers’ Claims Over Lead In Stanley Tumblers Inadequately Pleaded, Judge Says

    SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge dismissed putative class claims against the manufacturer of Stanley-brand drinkware for violating several states’ consumer protection laws, including California’s unfair competition law (UCL), by failing to disclose the presence of lead in its products, writing that the plaintiffs didn’t allege a “plausible risk” from lead’s “mere presence,” but granted the plaintiffs leave to amend.

  • January 23, 2025

    Split 8th Circuit Remands Monsanto’s PCB Coverage Case To District Court

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A split panel of the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 22 remanded to district court a case in which Monsanto Co. seeks, from General Electric Co. and others that formerly purchased polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), indemnification in current litigation related to alleged injuries from PCBs, ruling that, when the district court initially remanded the matter to Missouri state court it erred in finding that GE’s notice of removal to federal court was untimely.

  • January 22, 2025

    Jackson Residents Insist Their Water Crisis Claim For Bodily Integrity Is Valid

    NEW ORLEANS — Residents who sued the city of Jackson, Miss., for allegedly contaminating the local drinking water supply with lead have filed a reply brief in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals arguing that the rights asserted in the case are “clear and amply supported by historical precedent:  the right to bodily integrity and to be free from state-created dangers.”

  • January 17, 2025

    Couple Sues 3M, DuPont And Others For Cancer From Water Tainted With PFAS, AFFF

    SPOKANE, Wash. — A couple sued the 3M Co. and E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. in Washington federal court on Jan. 16, alleging that they are liable for contaminating the couple’s groundwater and with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are an ingredient in the firefighting agent known aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), and contending that the chemicals caused the husband to develop cancer.

  • January 16, 2025

    FDA Sets Action Levels For Lead In Processed Baby Food

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced action levels for lead in processed baby food, calling for 10 parts per billing (ppb) or 20 ppb, depending on the type of food.  The FDA’s action levels are not legally enforceable responsibilities; rather, they are recommendations based on the FDA’s current thinking on the topic of reducing lead in food for babies and young children, the agency said.

  • January 16, 2025

    Abandoned Wells, Groundwater Case Is Valid Based On Fraud Allegation, Judge Says

    DENVER — A federal judge in Colorado has denied two motions to dismiss a lawsuit over abandoned hydraulic fracturing wells that the plaintiffs contend pose a threat to human health and have the potential to contaminate groundwater, ruling that the plaintiffs have “sufficiently alleged fraud with particularity” against the company and its principals.

  • January 16, 2025

    3M: Connecticut PFAS Case Should Be Stayed Pending 2nd Circuit Appeal

    HARTFORD, Conn. — The 3M Co. has moved in Connecticut state court seeking a stay of the state’s lawsuit against it and E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. for contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pending 3M’s appeal of the federal judge’s order that remanded the case to state court, arguing that the case should not proceed until the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has a chance to decide whether the case will be litigated in federal court.

  • January 16, 2025

    Couple Seeks Judgment On Right To Recover CERCLA Costs For AFFF Contamination

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — A married couple that runs a dairy farm has moved for leave to file a motion for partial summary judgment in the litigation over contamination from the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), which contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), contending that they are entitled to recover the costs associated with compliance requirements related to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.

  • January 15, 2025

    Petitioner Asks High Court To Correct ‘Faulty Methodology’ In Drinking Water Case

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A power plant management company has filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate monitoring of underground injection wells with regard to groundwater under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), arguing that, in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling that overturned Chevron deference, it should “correct the Ninth Circuit’s faulty methodology and provide guidance” to courts “faced with similar claims of agency authority derived from the absence of express statutory limitations.”

  • January 15, 2025

    Seattle Jury Awards $100M To 4 Plaintiffs In School PCB Case Against Monsanto

    SEATTLE — A jury in Washington state on Jan. 14 awarded four plaintiffs a total of $100 million in compensatory and punitive damages against Monsanto Co. in a trial over injuries allegedly caused by exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at a Seattle-area school.  The plaintiffs had sought $4.14 billion in punitive damages.