Mealey's Toxic Torts : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Toxic Torts

May 09, 2024
Kimberly-Clark Seeks Dismissal Of ‘Illogical’ Claims It Caused PFAS Contamination

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Kimberly-Clark Corp. has moved in Connecticut federal court to dismiss a putative class action on grounds that the plaintiffs’ allegations that the company is the source of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in the local groundwater supply are “illogical and contradictory on their face.”
May 09, 2024
11th Circuit Denies Monsanto’s Bid For Rehearing En Banc In Roundup Labeling Case

ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 8 issued a one-paragraph order denying Monsanto Co.’s second petition for hearing en banc in a long-running dispute over the labeling of the herbicide Roundup and the preemption provision of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The Circuit Court said no judge in regular active service on the court requested that the court be polled on the petition.
May 08, 2024
COMMENTARY: A Primer On PFAS/Forever Chemical Claims: Regulation, Litigation, Large Losses & Insurance Coverage Issues

By Scott M. Seaman and Gar N. Lauerman
May 08, 2024
Insurers Say Coverage Barred In AFFF PFAS Cases Because Harm Arises Out Of ‘Waste’

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A group of insurers has filed a sur-reply brief in South Carolina federal court arguing that the majority of lawsuits against a maker of the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), for which the insurers are being asked to provide coverage, allege harm arising out of “waste,” rather than harm associated with a product put to its intended use, and, therefore, coverage is not owed.
May 07, 2024
School Districts: ‘Pending Disaster’ Of Train Derailment Was ‘Willfully Ignored’

PITTSBURGH — School districts and affiliated parties filed a brief in Pennsylvania federal court on May 6 arguing that it should deny a motion to dismiss their lawsuit for damages related to the derailment of a train operated by Norfolk Southern Corp. and Norfolk Southern Railway Co. (collectively, Norfolk Southern) that spilled toxic chemicals, contending that Norfolk Southern “willfully ignored the obvious pending disaster about to unfold” before the incident.
May 06, 2024
Receiver’s Asbestos Claims Process Survives Benzene Defendant’s Objection

MONROE, N.C. — A receiver’s proposal of how to handle thousands of asbestos and benzene claims of the now defunct Radiator Specialty Co. Inc. survived challenges by a sometime co-defendant claiming that the arrangement might leave it holding the bag in Pennsylvania litigation and where joint and several liability applies when a judge in North Carolina turned away the objections and adopted the suggested process.
May 03, 2024
Couple Appeals Dismissal Of Chemical Injury Birth Defects Case To 5th Circuit

NEW ORLEANS — A husband and wife have appealed to the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals a ruling by a lower court that dismissed their case against multiple chemical companies and oil refineries for exposure to chemicals that they say result in their son’s birth defects. The lower court held that the statute of limitations had run on the claim.
May 03, 2024
Counsel Seeks To Resolve Dispute Over Representation In Camp Lejeune Water Case

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Plaintiffs Leadership Group (PLG) has filed a brief in North Carolina federal court in the lawsuit over drinking water contamination at the U.S. Marine Corps Base at Camp Lejeune in support of a motion for partial summary judgment to resolve recurring disputes regarding the “requirements, procedure, and timing of identifying legal representatives” pursuing claims under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act (CLJA).
May 02, 2024
Appeals Panel Overturns $185M PCB Verdict Against Monsanto In Washington State

SEATTLE — A divided Washington state appeals court on May 1 overturned a $185 million verdict against Monsanto for injuries from exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at a Seattle area school and remanded the case to the trial court for an assessment of whether the plaintiffs’ claims are subject to the statute of repose in the Washington Product Liability Act (WPLA).
May 02, 2024
Insurers Seek Dismissal Of BASF’s Coverage Action Tied To AFFF Injury Claims

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Multiple insurers have filed a brief in support of a motion to dismiss an insurance coverage action filed by BASF Corp. in South Carolina federal court related to claims arising from exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), arguing that there is a “more comprehensive” action BASF has already filed in New Jersey state court.
May 01, 2024
Man’s Knowledge Of Railway Toxins Started FELA Clock, Ohio Court Says

TOLEDO, Ohio — A laryngeal cancer sufferer’s admission that he knew that he worked around potentially hazardous chemicals during his time at a railway and the available information on the hazards of asbestos and other toxins created a duty to investigate the cause of his disease and started the statute of limitations, an Ohio appeals court said in finding a Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) claim time-barred.
May 01, 2024
Panel Dismisses Oil Company’s Appeal Of Zoning Ruling For Lack Of Jurisdiction

LOS ANGELES — A panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has dismissed for lack of jurisdiction an appeal by an oil company that sought to overturn a California federal judge’s ruling that a decision by municipal authorities that nullified the company’s zoning clearance to conduct drilling operations was valid. The panel did not elaborate on its reasoning for dismissing the appeal.
May 01, 2024
Homebuilders Group’s Amicus Brief Supports 3M In PFAS Dispute With Michigan Agency

LANSING, Mich. — The Home Builders Association of Michigan (HBAM) has filed an amicus curiae brief in the Michigan Supreme Court in support of 3M Co., arguing that a lower court correctly invalidated the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy’s (EGLE) new rules changing the permissible levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water because EGLE failed to prepare and publish a Regulatory Impact Statement and Cost Benefit Analysis (RIS) that complied with the Michigan Administrative Procedures Act (MAPA).
April 30, 2024
Plaintiffs Say Claims Against Railcar Owners In Ohio Train Case Are Not Preempted

PITTSBURGH — School districts and individuals that sued Norfolk Southern Corp. and Norfolk Southern Railway Co. (collectively, Norfolk Southern) and railcar owners filed an opposition brief on April 29 in Pennsylvania federal court arguing that a motion to dismiss filed by two railcar owners should be denied because the plaintiffs have properly pleaded each of their claims and the Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA) does not preempt their claim for negligence.
April 30, 2024
Monsanto’s $336.15M Bond Sets In Motion Appeal Of $549.9M Roundup Punitive Award

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Monsanto Co. has filed a supersedeas bond valued at $336,150,000 in Missouri state court as part of its notice of appeal of a $549.9 million punitive damages award for three plaintiffs for injuries from exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup.
April 29, 2024
Plaintiffs Seek Approval Of $600M Settlement Of Train Derailment Lawsuit In Ohio

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The co-lead counsel for plaintiffs filed a brief in Ohio federal court on April 26 supporting a motion for preliminary approval of a $600 million settlement to resolve the class action against Norfolk Southern Railway Co. and Norfolk Southern Corp. (Norfolk Southern, collectively) pertaining to alleged injuries from the release of toxic chemicals at the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio; a third-party lawsuit among Norfolk Southern and railcar companies continues.
April 26, 2024
EPA Announces 4 Final Rules Aimed At Reducing Power Plant Pollution

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a press release issued April 25, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it has finalized a set of four rules that will reduce pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants by updating standards for coal combustion residual (CCR) storage, heavy metal emissions, wastewater discharges and coal ash storage.
April 26, 2024
Widow Sues Lockheed Martin For Husband’s Death From Toxins At Weapons Plant

ORLANDO, Fla. — A widow has sued Lockheed Martin Corp. in Florida federal court arguing that it is liable for her husband’s wrongful death from “dangerous and reckless mismanagement of extremely hazardous toxins, including but not limited to, heavy metals, persistent environmental pollutants, and volatile organic compounds” (VOCs) at a weapons manufacturing facility.
April 26, 2024
Monsanto Answers 2 Roundup Cancer Cases, Says Reliable Evidence Not Proffered

SAN FRANCISCO — Monsanto Co. filed two answers on the same day in the multidistrict litigation in California federal court related to alleged injuries from exposure to the herbicide Roundup, denying all claims in both lawsuits and asserting affirmative defenses that the claims in both cases are barred because neither of the plaintiffs, John Pawlowski and Ronald Bailey, can proffer any scientifically reliable evidence that the products at issue were defective or unreasonably dangerous.
April 26, 2024
Chemical Producer Fails To Invoke Federal Jurisdiction In Statewide Pollution Row

TRENTON, N.J. — Federal jurisdiction is not proper over claims brought by the New Jersey attorney general and a state agency against a chemical producer for its alleged contamination of the state’s natural resources with carcinogenic chemicals because the claims are based exclusively on state law, a New Jersey federal judge found in remanding the case to state court.
April 25, 2024
Judge Approves Combined Fees, Costs Of More Than $956.18M In AFFF Settlements

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A federal judge in South Carolina has approved a combined $956,187,560.75 in attorney fees and costs related to two settlements pertaining to the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foam (AFFF). One case involving claims against 3M Co. was settled for $12.5 billion, and the other involved claims against E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., which settled for $1.18 billion.
April 25, 2024
Insurers: Coverage Case In AFFF MDL Should Be Nixed In Light Of Wisconsin Action

CHARLESTON, S.C. — On April 24, insurers filed a brief in South Carolina federal court arguing that it should dismiss or stay a lawsuit brought by a company that makes the firefighting agent known as aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), arguing that a “first-filed, more comprehensive lawsuit” in Wisconsin state court involves the same insurance coverage issues should take priority.
April 24, 2024
Panel: Environmental Agency May Sue For Water Pollution Despite Prior Agreement

TRENTON, N.J. — In an unpublished opinion, a state appellate panel in New Jersey reversed and remanded a groundwater contamination case, ruling that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) did not forfeit its right to sue chemical companies as a result of a prior consent order to remediate the hazard.
April 24, 2024
$12.25M Settlement Approved In Neighborhood Class’s Case Over Smokestack Demolition

CHICAGO — A federal magistrate judge in Illinois granted final approval of a $12.25 million settlement between the companies that caused a smokestack to be demolished at a coal power plant in a Chicago neighborhood and a class of residents in that neighborhood who alleged that they were exposed to a “plume of toxic debris and particulate matter” as a result of the demolition, causing breathing issues.
April 24, 2024
Monsanto: School District’s Opposition To Motion To Quash Deposition Should Fail

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Monsanto Co. has filed a reply brief in Vermont federal court contending that the Burlington School District’s (BSD) opposition to Monsanto’s motion to quash the BSD’s notice of deposition in litigation related to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the school and the BSD’s challenge to Monsanto’s motion for a protective order related to testimony from a time period other than 1935 to 1977 constitute “a hidden attempt to argue a belated claim that [Monsanto] had a post-sale duty to warn.”