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

Mealey's Toxic Torts

July 31, 2024
Former Firefighter With Cancer Says PFAS Manufacturers Are Liable For His Injury

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A former firefighter has sued 3M Co., E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. and other makers of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in South Carolina federal court alleging that they are liable for causing him to develop cancer as a result of exposure to PFAS in the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) and the protective clothing worn by firefighters.
July 31, 2024
Plaintiffs: PCB Contamination Of School ‘Undisputed,’ Expert Testimony Admissible

SEATTLE — The plaintiffs who sued Monsanto Co. over injuries from exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at a Seattle area school have filed a brief in Washington state court opposing Monsanto’s motion for summary judgment dismissal and arguing that it is “undisputed” that the school was contaminated with PCBs and that the school buildings underwent “extensive cleaning and remediation” to remove “toxic chemicals from the premises.”
July 31, 2024
Delaware Judge Clarifies Which Documents Are Discoverable In Paraquat Coverage Suit

WILMINGTON, Del. — Two companies that make paraquat and face underlying claims from individuals who contend that the herbicide causes Parkinson’s disease must produce any documents with legal analysis as long as those documents do not include legal recommendations from the insureds’ law firm, a Delaware judge said in enforcing a prior ruling on which documents are discoverable.
July 30, 2024
Federal Magistrate: Some Investor Claims Over 2023 Derailment Should Be Tossed

NEW YORK — Investors failed to show that railroad company Norfolk Southern Corp. and certain of its executives had an obligation to disclose previous federal compliance failures in the company’s strategic plan, which meant that the investors failed to show that the plan was false or misleading, a federal magistrate judge said in a report recommending that some claims related to the strategic plan be dismissed from a putative class complaint alleging that the company misled investors leading up to a February 2023 train derailment in Ohio.
July 30, 2024
Fire Products Company Seeks Declaration That Insurer Owes Coverage For AFFF Claims

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A fire products manufacturer that is a defendant in the ongoing litigation related to the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) on July 29 moved in a South Carolina federal court for partial summary judgment that Travelers Casualty and Surety Co. has not satisfied its duty to defend the company from “thousands of claims seeking damages.”
July 30, 2024
Cosmetics Company Denies Claims Its Product Has Toxins That Caused Injuries

CHICAGO — A cosmetics company has filed an answer in Illinois federal court denying all allegations of wrongful conduct and contending that the plaintiffs who say they have been injured by toxic chemicals in hair relaxer products fail to state a claim because the plaintiffs cannot identify with reasonable specificity the products they purchased or used.
July 29, 2024
Ohio Panel Says Award Of More Than $1.65M Proper In Jet Fuel Injury Case

TOLEDO, Ohio — An Ohio appellate panel on July 26 affirmed a trial court’s total award of $1,659,707 to a couple, the husband of which was injured when he was covered in jet fuel when a valve on a pipeline malfunctioned during repairs. The panel ruled that the trial court did not err when it applied Ohio’s comparative fault statutes before applying the statutory cap on noneconomic damages.
July 29, 2024
Man Sues Deepwater Horizon Defendants For ‘Wanton Acts’ He Says Caused His Cancer

WILMINGTON, Del. — A man with cancer sued BP Exploration & Production Inc. and its affiliates in Delaware federal court on July 26, arguing that they are liable for punitive and compensatory damages because their “reckless and/or willful and wanton acts” related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and its cleanup are the “direct and proximate cause” of his injury.
July 29, 2024
Plaintiffs, Chemical Companies Move Jointly For Approval Of Injury Settlement

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Some plaintiffs on July 26 filed a joint motion in Illinois federal court with chemical companies seeking approval of a confidential settlement in a lawsuit brought by workers who contended that the defendants were liable for injuries from toxic chemicals that were sprayed on the workers while they were detasseling corn in Illinois fields.
July 26, 2024
Monsanto Says Appellate Ruling In Related Case Dooms Chances Of PCB Plaintiffs

SEATTLE — Monsanto Co. has moved in Washington state court for summary judgment dismissal of a lawsuit for injuries from polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at a Seattle area school on grounds that in light of a state appellate ruling in a different but similar case, the plaintiffs in the case at hand lack evidence of sufficient exposure to cause their alleged injuries.
July 25, 2024
Monsanto Hires Plaintiff Attorney To Get Customers To Pay PCB Litigation Costs

WASHINGTON, D.C. —Monsanto Co. on July 25 announced that it has retained plaintiff’s attorney Mark Lanier to be counsel of record in its lawsuit against companies that formerly purchased polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from Monsanto but that now refuse to defend or indemnify it in litigation pending throughout the country pertaining to alleged PCB contamination. The case is currently on appeal at the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals after a Missouri federal judge granted a motion to remand the case to Missouri state court.
July 24, 2024
3rd Circuit Nixes Chemours’ PFAS Drinking Water Advisory Case, Citing Jurisdiction

PHILADELPHIA — A panel of the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 23 issued a precedential ruling that dismissed a petition by The Chemours Co. FC LLC that sought review of a drinking water health advisory for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), concluding that because the health advisory is not a final agency action, the case is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
July 24, 2024
North Carolina And Dupont Resolve Discovery Dispute In PFAS Contamination Case

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — The state of North Carolina and affiliates of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. (referred to as Old DuPont) have filed a stipulation in state court resolving discovery disputes in litigation the state brought related to the use, manufacture and discharge of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which the state contends have contaminated local groundwater. The stipulation indicates that the parties will not pursue discovery disputes absent new information as to the documents’ whereabouts.
July 23, 2024
3M: Former Firefighter’s PFAS Case Belongs In MDL For Aqueous Film Forming Foam

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The 3M Co. has filed a brief with the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPMDL) contending that it should transfer to the multidistrict litigation in South Carolina federal court the case brought by a former firefighter who contends that he was injured by exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) because the case “substantially overlaps with myriad similar cases already pending in the MDL.”
July 23, 2024
New York Panel Reverses PFAS Ruling, Says Evidence Of Pollution Was Not Refuted

ALBANY, N.Y. — A New York appellate panel has reversed a trial court ruling that dismissed a lawsuit related to the contamination of groundwater from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), concluding that the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) did not provide evidence rebutting the allegations that leachate from a solid waste management facility would contain PFAS that would pollute Cayuga Lake.
July 23, 2024
Residents To Appeal Dismissal Of Jackson, Miss., Drinking Water Crisis Lawsuit

JACKSON, Miss. — Residents of Jackson filed a notice in Mississippi federal court, indicating that they will be appealing a judge’s ruling that dismissed their lawsuit against the city in their drinking water contamination case.
July 22, 2024
Judge Denies DuPont’s Bid To Be Excluded From Chloroprene Emissions Injury Lawsuit

NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in Louisiana has denied a motion for judgment on the pleadings in a chemical injury lawsuit involving carcinogenic chloroprene emissions from neoprene manufacturing operations sought by E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., ruling that DuPont’s motion “presented no new grounds to warrant its dismissal.”
July 22, 2024
In Consolidated Ruling, Panel Says Water Providers Not Liable For Contamination

TRENTON, N.J. — In a consolidated appeal of two class actions, a panel in New Jersey on July 19 ruled that there is no basis upon which municipal water providers may be held liable under a breach-of-contract theory for distributing water that contains a high level of contaminants.
July 22, 2024
Hair Relaxer Defendant Says Couple’s Claim Fails For Lack Of Factual Allegations

CHICAGO — A defendant who was sued by a couple that claims that the wife has developed cancer from using hair care products has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in Illinois federal court, contending that the plaintiffs fail to state a claim upon which relief can be granted because the complaint is “devoid of factual allegations” related to the defendant specifically.
July 19, 2024
Vermont: Schools’ PCB Case Should Be Stayed To Avoid ‘Piecemeal Litigation’

BURLINGTON, Vt. — The state of Vermont has filed a reply brief in Vermont federal court arguing that it should stay a lawsuit brought by 95 school districts against Monsanto Co. related to contamination from polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) because the state filed its case first and a stay is needed “to prevent inefficient, piecemeal litigation.”
July 19, 2024
Lockheed Martin Denies Claims In Wrongful Death Case Related To Toxic Exposure

ORLANDO, Fla. — Lockheed Martin Corp., which was sued by a widow who claims that the company is liable for her husband’s wrongful death from exposure to toxic chemicals, has filed an answer in Florida federal court denying all allegations and asserting affirmative defenses including that the claims are barred by the statute of limitations and that any alleged harm was caused by “intervening or superseding causes outside of Lockheed Martin’s control.”
July 19, 2024
Judge: Some Claims Are Valid Against DuPont In North Carolina PFAS Water Case

RALEIGH, N.C. — A federal judge in North Carolina has partially granted a motion to dismiss a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) lawsuit, ruling that claims brought by Aqua North Carolina Inc. against E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. Inc. and its affiliates for negligence, private nuisance and trespass are valid, but punitive damages and unfair and deceptive trade practices are not.
July 18, 2024
New Mexico Amends PFAS Case Against Government To Add Claim Under Superfund Law

CHARLESTON, S.C. — The state of New Mexico, which had previously sued the U.S. government related to contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the firefighting agent called aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), has amended its complaint to add claims under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act related to the costs associated with removal and remediation of the contamination.
July 18, 2024
Judge Denies Man With Cancer New Trial Against Monsanto In Roundup Lawsuit

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania state court judge has denied a plaintiff’s post-trial motion seeking a new trial after a jury ruled in favor of Monsanto Co. in his case in which he attempted to hold the company liable for his injury on grounds that it was caused by exposed to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup.
July 18, 2024
Man With Silicosis: Dispute Over Quartz Slab Manufacturing Is Defendant’s ‘Ruse’

LOS ANGELES — A stonecutter who alleges that he has developed silicosis from working with quartz countertops has filed a trial brief in California state court arguing that one of the defendants has engaged in a “ruse” that is a “grossly unethical attempt” to persuade the court that it is not the manufacturer of the artificial stone slabs that caused his injury.