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

Mealey's Toxic Torts

February 13, 2024
EPA Says Claims Are ‘Too Vague And Ambiguous’ In Water Fluoridation Case

SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Feb. 12 filed an answer in a case that is currently in trial in California federal court, arguing that the claims against it for causing an “unreasonable risk of injury” due to the artificial fluoridation of drinking water are “too vague and ambiguous” for the agency to “formulate a response.”
February 12, 2024
Residents Say Their Water Case Against City Of Benton Harbor Was Wrongly Dismissed

CINCINNATI — Michigan residents have filed an opening appeal brief in the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals arguing that a lower court erred when it dismissed their groundwater contamination lawsuit against federal agencies and Michigan state agencies related to lead pollution in drinking water in the city of Benton Harbor.
February 09, 2024
North Carolina State Judge Rules Affiliates Assumed DuPont’s PFAS Liabilities

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — A state court judge in North Carolina has ruled that affiliates of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. (referred to as Old DuPont) contractually assumed Old Dupont’s liabilities related to the use, manufacture and discharge of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which the state contends have contaminated local groundwater.
February 09, 2024
$1.18B Firefighting Foam Deal Between Water Providers, DuPont Gets Final Approval

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A federal judge in South Carolina on Feb. 8 gave final approval to a $1.18 billion class settlement in the multidistrict litigation for the firefighting agent aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), which contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), ruling that a class action is the “superior method” of settling the case because the alternative would be for federal judges in 94 judicial districts to adjudicate the claims.
February 09, 2024
EPA Proposes Listing 9 PFAS As Hazardous Substances Under RCRA

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a proposed rule published in the Federal Register on Feb. 8, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency suggests amending its regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to include nine specific per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as hazardous waste for the purposes of the law.
February 08, 2024
Monsanto Seeks To Quash Deposition In Vermont School PCB Contamination Case

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Monsanto Co. on Feb. 7 moved in Vermont federal court seeking to quash the Burlington School District’s (BSD) notice of deposition in the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) lawsuit it has filed related to alleged contamination of school buildings and moved for a protective order to the extent that the BSD seeks testimony from a time period other than 1935 to 1977, when Monsanto made PCBs.
February 07, 2024
Debate Continues Over Statute Of Repose In Monsanto’s $185M PCB Verdict Appeal

SEATTLE — Teachers who won a total award of $185 million against Monsanto Co. in 2021 for injuries from exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at a Seattle area school where they taught and Monsanto have each filed additional supplemental briefs in Washington state appeals court in their ongoing debate over the applicability of the statute of repose in the Washington Product Liability Act (WPLA). The teachers contend that the Washington Supreme Court has struck down the statute, and Monsanto insists that the decision upon which the teachers rely for that conclusion involves a case that is “fundamentally different.”
February 06, 2024
Michigan High Court Will Hear Case About PFAS Drinking Water Standards

LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Supreme Court granted a petition for review filed by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), which argues that an appeals court erred in holding that EGLE violated the Michigan Administrative Procedures Act when it issued new rules changing the permissible levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water without preparing a regulatory impact statement that included a sufficient “estimate of the actual statewide compliance costs of the proposed rule on businesses and other groups.”
February 06, 2024
11th Circuit Reverses Roundup Ruling, Says Man’s Claim Not Preempted By FIFRA

ATLANTA — A panel of the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 5 vacated and remanded to a federal district court a labeling dispute involving Roundup, ruling that state law failure-to-warn claims related to the herbicide are not preempted by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) or any action of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
February 05, 2024
Washington Federal Judge Denies Monsanto’s Summary Judgment Motion In PCB Case

SEATTLE — Monsanto Co. and several other companies are not entitled to summary judgment on claims arising from the alleged contamination of Seattle’s waterways with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) brought by the city because there are significant questions of material fact regarding causation, liability and damages, a Washington federal judge found Feb. 2 in denying the companies’ motion for summary judgment.
February 05, 2024
PFAS Makers Seek Dismissal Of Amended Complaint For Failure To State A Claim

NEW BERN, N.C. — Corteva Inc. and other affiliates of the company formerly known as E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. on Feb. 2 moved in North Carolina federal court to dismiss a first amended complaint in a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination case, arguing that it fails to state any legally cognizable claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6).
February 01, 2024
Man: Judge Disregarded Law In Granting Monsanto Directed Verdict; New Trial Needed

ST. LOUIS — A man who lost his glyphosate cancer trial against Monsanto Co. when the presiding judge granted Monsanto a directed verdict has moved in Missouri state court for a new trial on grounds that the judge disregarded Missouri law that requires trial courts to “give the non-movant the benefit of all reasonable inferences in deciding a motion for directed verdict.”
February 01, 2024
Flint Plaintiffs Seek Final Approval Of $8M Settlement With 3 Engineering Firms

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The plaintiffs in the Flint water crisis litigation have filed a brief in Michigan federal court seeking final approval of an $8 million class settlement with three firms that provided engineering and consulting services to the city of Flint in its decision to switch its water supply to the Flint River, a move that precipitated the lead contamination of the city’s drinking water.
February 01, 2024
Company Denies Liability, Says Other Defendants Should Indemnify It In PFAS Case

BOSTON — A defendant in a lawsuit alleging drinking water contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) filed an amended answer in Massachusetts federal court denying the allegations against it, asserting affirmative defenses and raising cross-claims against the other defendants, contending that it is entitled to indemnity.
February 01, 2024
Flint Class, Engineering Firms Settle Water Contamination Claims For $25 Million

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The class plaintiffs in the Flint lead-contaminated water litigation have reached a $25 million settlement with three engineering firms that were involved in the decision to switch the city’s water supply to the Flint River, which resulted in the corrosion of pipes, causing lead to leach into local drinking water, a source told Mealey Publications on Feb. 1.
January 31, 2024
Plaintiffs Seek Approval Of PFAS Class Settlement Worth More Than $1.36 Million

TRENTON, N.J. — Plaintiffs alleging contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have filed a brief in New Jersey federal court supporting a settlement of their lawsuit against the defendant chemical companies that would pay a combined $1,367,975 to three settlement classes, saying the proposed agreement “readily passes muster for its preliminary approval.”
January 31, 2024
L’Oreal Says PFAS Case Relies On ‘Sheer Speculation’ Not An Injury In Fact

NEW YORK — L’Oreal USA Inc. has filed a motion and brief in New York federal court arguing that it should dismiss an amended complaint against it because the plaintiffs still rely on “sheer speculation” that their mascara contains traces of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and they have no injury-in-fact.
January 30, 2024
Colorado Water District Seeks Damages From Government For PFAS Pollution

DENVER — A Colorado water district has sued the U.S. government in Colorado federal court under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), seeking to recover damages for alleged ongoing contamination of local drinking water with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have been released at Peterson Air Force Base (PAFB).
January 30, 2024
Residents Tell 6th Circuit Bodily Integrity Claim In Groundwater Case Is Valid

CINCINNATI — Michigan residents have filed a response brief in the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals contending that a federal district court properly found that they sufficiently alleged that various federal and state officials violated the residents’ substantive due process right to bodily integrity in relation to conduct that led to the contamination of the residents’ groundwater.
January 29, 2024
Pa. Jury Awards $2.25B To Man With Cancer In Roundup Trial Against Monsanto

PHILADELPHIA — A jury in Pennsylvania state court on Jan. 26 awarded $2.25 billion in combined damages to a man who said exposure to Monsanto Co.’s herbicide Roundup caused his cancer.
January 29, 2024
Flint Plaintiffs Say Defense Expert’s Testimony Amounts To ‘Inadmissible Hearsay’

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The plaintiffs in the Flint water crisis litigation on Jan. 26 filed a reply brief in Michigan federal court seeking to exclude the testimony of an expert witness for three engineering firms that are on trial for their role in the lead-contaminated water crisis in Flint, Mich. The plaintiffs argue that the expert’s previous testimony in the Flint bellwether trial, which is a separate action, constitutes “inadmissible hearsay” in the class action at hand.
January 29, 2024
Connecticut Files 2 Lawsuits Involving PFAS; 1 Of Them Targets Firefighting Foam

HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut has filed two lawsuits against makers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in state court. One suit is focused on damages allegedly caused by the firefighting agent aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) and the other asserts claims for contamination from PFAS not related to AFFF products.
January 26, 2024
Attorney Files 6 Cases Alleging Monsanto Knew Roundup Was Carcinogenic

ST. LOUIS — An attorney on Jan. 25 filed six lawsuits against Monsanto Co. in Missouri federal court, all contending that the respective plaintiffs developed cancer from exposure to the herbicide Roundup. In one complaint, which is representative of all of the cases, plaintiff Terry Larrabee contends that for decades, Monsanto has known of the association between Roundup and carcinogenicity leading to the development of numerous forms of cancer.
January 26, 2024
Flint Plaintiffs Seek Order Compelling Production Of Documents Improperly Withheld

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Plaintiffs in the Flint water crisis litigation have moved in Michigan federal court to compel engineering firms that were involved in the decision to switch the city’s water supply to the Flint River, which resulted in the drinking water being contaminated with lead, to comply with court orders to produce documents that the presiding judge has determined were withheld under improper assertions of privilege.
January 26, 2024
U.S. Navy: Alleged Injuries In Hawaii Water Case Not Caused By Negligent Acts

HONOLULU — The U.S. government filed an answer in Hawaii federal court on Jan. 25 denying claims in a fifth amended complaint filed by plaintiffs who contend the U.S. Navy is liable for groundwater contamination and asserting affirmative defenses that the alleged injuries were not caused by the government’s negligent acts or omissions.