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Mealey's Toxic Torts

  • November 06, 2024

    AFFF Defendant Settles Claims With Water Providers, Airports For $190 Million

    WILMINGTON, Del. — Kidde-Fenwal Inc., which is proceeding in Chapter 11 bankruptcy as KFI Wind Down Corp., has filed notice in federal bankruptcy court in Delaware that it has reached a $190 million settlement resolving claims with water providers and airports over contamination caused by the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foam (AFFF).

  • November 06, 2024

    Glyphosate Cancer Plaintiffs: Lower Court ‘Committed A Fundamental Error’

    SAN FRANCISCO — Plaintiffs who contend that Monsanto Co. is liable for their cancer because it manufactured and sold the herbicide Roundup, which contains the active ingredient glyphosate, on Nov. 5 filed a reply brief in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals arguing that the trial court “committed a fundamental error” when it refused to accept their allegations as true and resolved factual disputes at the pleading stage.

  • November 04, 2024

    Michigan Attorney General Sues Paper Mill For PFAS Pollution After Many Violations

    MASON, Mich. — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has sued a paper mill and a paper making company in state court contending that they are liable for contaminating the local water supply with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in violation of state environmental laws.

  • November 01, 2024

    Split Panel: Silicosis Case Fails Due To Plaintiff’s Unreliable Experts

    HOUSTON — A split Texas appeals court panel on Oct. 31 affirmed a lower court’s ruling in favor of Exxon Mobil Corp. in a silica injury lawsuit brought by a worker who sandblasted railcars and contended that he developed pulmonary fibrosis because the company created a situation in which he had to perform an “intrinsically unsafe and ultrahazardous activity.”  The panel held that the worker’s experts were not reliable.

  • November 01, 2024

    Judge Says PFAS Drinking Water Contamination Claims Against 3M, Others Are Valid

    CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — A federal judge in Missouri has ruled that plaintiffs in a putative class action have established a cause of action against 3M and others for contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as well as other chemicals related to manufacturing waste that has seeped into the drinking water supply.

  • October 31, 2024

    Connecticut Residents: Company Knowingly Sold Drinking Water Tainted With PFAS

    WATERBURY, Conn. — Residents have filed an amended class action against a water provider in Connecticut state court arguing that it knowingly sold them water that was contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in violation of common law and the state’s unfair trade practices statute.

  • October 30, 2024

    Class Seeks To Burst Hershey’s Bubble, Says Gum Increases Risk Of PFAS Exposure

    LOS ANGELES — A man in California has filed a putative class action against the Hershey Co. in state court contending that its bubble gum called “Bubble Yum” contains organic fluorine, which places consumers at risk of exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in violation of state codes, including those pertaining to false advertising.

  • October 29, 2024

    Nonparty: Confidentiality Designation Needed For Testimony In Paraquat MDL

    EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — A nonparty to the multidistrict litigation (MDL) over liability for injuries allegedly caused by the pesticide paraquat has filed a reply brief in Illinois federal court arguing that it should maintain confidentiality designations for certain deposition testimony and exhibits that have been previously designated as confidential because they pertain to “business sensitive information, including competitively-sensitive contract terms, financial information, and client information.”

  • October 29, 2024

    Norfolk Southern: Opposition To Supplementing Third-Party Train Case Is ‘Meritless’

    YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Norfolk Southern Corp. on Oct. 28 filed a reply brief in Ohio federal court arguing that one of the third-party defendants in the litigation over the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that released toxic chemicals into the air and soil has opposed the railway company’s bid to supplement its third-party lawsuit in what amounts to “a meritless effort to introduce delay and complication into what should be a simple process.”

  • October 29, 2024

    No Coverage Owed For Contamination Suits, Insurer Says In Amended Complaint

    ROME, Ga. — Following the transfer of an environmental contamination coverage suit from Alabama to Georgia federal court, an insurer filed a second amended complaint, reiterating its contention that no coverage is owed for contamination caused by wastewater and perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) stemming from an insured’s manufacturing facilities.

  • October 23, 2024

    DuPont Seeks Judgment On PFAS Claims, Says Plaintiffs Lack Evidence Of Injury

    WILMINGTON, N.C. — In the long-running lawsuit brought by residents against E.I. Dupont de Nemours & Co. and two affiliates in North Carolina federal court over alleged contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the companies have filed a reply brief arguing that they are entitled to partial summary judgment on a variety of issues. DuPont says it is entitled to judgment on the bulk of the plaintiffs’ damages claims on grounds that the plaintiffs “fail to show any actual impairment of their properties capable of sustaining a nuisance, trespass, or negligence claim.”

  • October 23, 2024

    Government, Again, Moves To Dismiss Tort Claims Case Involving Flint Water Crisis

    DETROIT — The U.S. government has filed a brief in Michigan federal court in support of a motion to dismiss a $722.4 million Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) lawsuit against it related to the lead-contaminated water crisis in Flint, Mich., contending that the plaintiffs’ claims do not satisfy the FTCA’s requirement that a private person would be liable under Michigan’s Good Samaritan doctrine under similar circumstances, and arguing that the FTCA’s misrepresentation exception deprives the district court of subject-matter jurisdiction.

  • October 22, 2024

    3M Insists Removal Of PFAS Case Was Timely, Says Vermont ‘Misstates The Law’

    NEW YORK — The 3M Co. filed a brief in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals arguing that Vermont’s argument that 3M’s removal of the state’s lawsuit for alleged contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) was untimely “misstates the law and misconstrues the facts.”

  • October 22, 2024

    Fracking Operator To Pay $9.4M To Settle Emissions Case Brought By EPA, New Mexico

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced a $9.4 million settlement with a hydraulic fracturing operator to resolve violations of new federal standards under the Clean Air Act (CAA) related to toxic emissions from crude oil and natural gas facilities and to settle claims brought under the state administrative code of New Mexico.

  • October 21, 2024

    Causation Experts In Deepwater Injury Case Properly Excluded, 11th Circuit Says

    ATLANTA — A district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding two experts retained by men who allege that they were injured as a result of exposure to crude oil and dispersants during the cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and granting summary judgment in favor of BP Exploration & Production Inc. and its affiliates, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Oct. 18.

  • October 21, 2024

    Hair Relaxer Plaintiffs Sue L’Oreal’s Parent Company For ‘Wrongful Practices’

    CHICAGO — The plaintiffs liaison counsel (PLC) in the litigation over allegations that hair relaxer products contain toxic chemicals on Oct. 18 filed a master long form complaint in Illinois federal court against L’Oréal S.A., the French company that is the parent of the L’Oreal entities in the United States, arguing that the plaintiffs have been injured by L’Oréal S.A.’s defective products “and other wrongful practices.”

  • October 18, 2024

    Monsanto, Plaintiffs Debate Dangers Of PCBs In Seattle School As Trial Starts

    SEATTLE — Attorneys gave opening statements in Washington state court on Oct. 17 in a case in which 15 plaintiffs contend they were poisoned at a Seattle area school by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that were manufactured by Monsanto Co.  The plaintiffs’ attorney said Monsanto “manipulated science” and “hid the truth” in promoting PCBs for public use, while the company’s counsel said that there is a “lack of scientific consensus” about the dangers of PCBs and that Monsanto worked to “safeguard” the public against possible hazards.

  • October 18, 2024

    California Reaches $35M Settlement With Biotech Corporation Over PCB Pollution

    LOS ANGELES — The state of California, through the Los Angeles city attorney and city of Los Angeles, has reached a $35 million settlement with an agricultural biotechnology and agrochemical corporation over the company’s alleged decades-long pollution of state waterways and stormwater and wastewater systems with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

  • October 17, 2024

    Residents Tell 5th Circuit That City Introduced ‘Poison’ In Jackson, Miss., Water

    JACKSON, Miss. — Residents of Jackson have filed an opening appeal brief in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals seeking reversal of a lower court’s dismissal of some of the claims in their drinking water contamination lawsuit against the city on grounds that the court erred in its conclusion that the plaintiffs’ allegations do not shock the conscience.  The residents argue that “the City introduced a poison into the water supply, pumped that water into residents’ homes, and then coerced them to drink it by lying about its safety.”

  • October 17, 2024

    6th Circuit Mandate Denies Rehearing Of Ruling In Drinking Water Immunity Case

    CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has issued a mandate affirming its decision to reverse a ruling by a federal judge that denied qualified immunity to two defendants in one of three lead-contaminated water lawsuits being litigated in Michigan federal court by residents against Benton Harbor, Mich.  The Sixth Circuit, which reached a split decision, issued the mandate after it denied a petition for rehearing sought by Benton Harbor city officials.

  • October 17, 2024

    Counsel Seeks Final Approval Of $316.5M PFAS Deal Between Water Providers And BASF

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — Class counsel for public water systems (PWS) in numerous municipalities has moved in South Carolina federal court for final approval of a $316.5 million class settlement between multiple drinking water providers and BASF Corp. related to BASF’s manufacture of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are ingredients in the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foam (AFFF).

  • October 14, 2024

    Jury Awards $78M To Couple In Roundup Case; Monsanto Plans Supreme Court Petition

    PHILADELPHIA — A jury in Pennsylvania state court has awarded a couple $78 million against Monsanto Co. for injuries related to exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup.  In a statement responding to the verdict, which was officially posted to the docket on Oct. 11, Bayer Corp., Monsanto’s parent company, said the verdict “conflicts with the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence” and contended that the claim in the case is preempted by the ruling of the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Schaffner v. Monsanto, warranting review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • October 11, 2024

    3rd-Party Defendants: ‘Norfolk Southern Alone’ Is Liable For Ohio Train Derailment

    YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Two of the third-party defendants being sued by Norfolk Southern Corp. over the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that released toxic chemicals into the air and soil have filed a brief in support of a motion for summary judgment on two claims against them, arguing that “Norfolk Southern — and Norfolk Southern alone — is responsible for the derailment it caused and the consequences of its erroneous vent-and-burn decision.”

  • October 11, 2024

    Government Moves To Enter $311M Consent Decree In Ohio Train Derailment Case

    YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The U.S. government on Oct. 10 asked a federal court in Ohio to enter a proposed consent decree under which Norfolk Southern Corp. and Norfolk Southern Railway Co. (collectively, Norfolk Southern) agree to pay $311,175,000 to settle claims related to the release of toxic chemicals from the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.  The payment includes a $15 million civil penalty, as well as money to improve rail safety and pay for health monitoring in the community.

  • October 11, 2024

    Washington High Court Will Hear Appeal In Dispute Over $185M PCB Verdict

    OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal of teachers who had their $185 million verdict against Monsanto for injuries from exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at a Seattle area school overturned.  The Supreme Court denied the teachers’ motion for accelerated review, however.