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Mealey's Toxic Torts

  • February 21, 2025

    3M Removes PFAS Case To Federal Court, Claims Immunity As Government Contractor

    WILMINGTON, Del. — The 3M Co. has removed a lawsuit to Delaware federal court and claimed immunity against allegations brought by plaintiffs who contend that it and other companies such as EIDP Inc., formerly known as E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., are liable for contaminating drinking water with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which the plaintiffs argue were “designed, manufactured, marketed, distributed, and/or sold” in various products despite the defendants knowing that PFAS are toxic.

  • February 21, 2025

    3M Removes PFAS Case To Federal Court, Asserts Government Contractor Defense

    PHILADELPHIA — The 3M Co. has removed a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination lawsuit to Pennsylvania federal court, claiming immunity for allegations that it and other companies such as E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. are liable for injuries connected to PFAS exposure. 3M says that under the government contractor defense, it is not liable for manufacturing the fire fighting agent aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), which is alleged to have polluted drinking water.

  • February 21, 2025

    Intervenors Support EPA In PFAS Designation Case Amid Agency’s Abeyance Motion

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awaits a District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel’s decision on a motion to postpone for 60 days, a group of environmental agency intervenors filed a brief in support of denying petitions the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and six trade associations filed asking the panel to vacate a final rule promulgated by the agency that added two widely used per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the list of hazardous substances covered by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.

  • February 21, 2025

    Law Firms File 3 Identical Silicosis Cases Against Makers Of Quartz Countertops

    LOS ANGELES — A group of law firms has filed three identical lawsuits in state court against the makers of artificial stone products on behalf of workers who claim that they have developed silicosis from cutting and fabricating the products in question.  In one case, which is indicative of all of the actions, Roberto Cruz Rivera contends that the defendants fraudulently concealed the toxic hazards of the stone products and hid the fact that inhaling silica causes lung disease.

  • February 20, 2025

    Judge Nixes Company’s Bid To Dismiss Case Alleging Hair Relaxers Caused Cancer

    CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois on Feb. 19 denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against John Paul Mitchell Systems (JPMS), which is one of many defendants in litigation brought by individuals who allege wrongful death and other injuries from endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in hair relaxer products, ruling that JPMS’s argument in favor of dismissal “ignores Plaintiffs’ allegations that EDCs are present in hair relaxer products under the guise of ‘fragrance’ and ‘perfumes,’ but [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] regulations do not require listing individual fragrance ingredients on labels.”

  • February 19, 2025

    Firefighting Foam Defendants Oppose Plaintiffs’ Bid To Intervene In Settlement

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — BASF Corp. and Tyco Fire Products LP on Feb. 18 filed a joint brief in South Carolina federal court contending that it should deny a motion to intervene and amend a settlement agreement filed by a group of plaintiffs in the multidistrict litigation for the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming Foam (AFFF) on grounds that they failed to act with “due diligence” and their request is now untimely.

  • February 18, 2025

    Plaintiff: Case Against Michigan Attorney General Over Flint Indictment Is Valid

    DETROIT — Former Michigan state official Richard L. Baird, who has sued Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel related to her criminal prosecution of him in connection with the Flint water crisis, has filed a brief on Feb. 14 in Michigan federal court arguing that Nessel’s statement of facts in the criminal case “ignores critical facts pled in the Complaint, including the fact that the indictment of Baird was inconsistent with long-standing Michigan law,” and therefore the district court should deny Nessel’s motion to dismiss Baird’s complaint.

  • February 18, 2025

    Monsanto Seeks Emergency Relief Of Testing Schools In PCB Litigation

    BURLINGTON, Vt. — Monsanto Co. on Feb. 14 filed an emergency motion in Vermont federal court seeking to require a school district that has sued Monsanto alleging contamination from polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to delay inspecting and testing at two schools to prevent spoliation of critical evidence.

  • February 18, 2025

    Lead Claims Against Tampon Makers Dismissed In Part By Judge

    SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge issued two substantially similar rulings dismissing in part two putative class action lawsuits brought against tampon makers by women who accuse the companies of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by concealing the presence of lead in their tampons, finding that the claims should not be dismissed pending a Food and Drug Administration review of lead in tampons but also finding that the plaintiffs failed to allege that the tampons they bought contained dangerous levels of lead.

  • February 14, 2025

    Couple Says Quartz Countertop Makers Caused Husband’s Lung Disease, Hid The Danger

    SAN FRANCISCO — A couple has sued the makers of quartz countertops in California state court arguing that the husband developed lung disease as a result of his work as a cutter and fabricator of artificial stone products, the dangers of which the manufacturers fraudulently concealed.

  • February 14, 2025

    Plaintiffs Sue W.L. Gore For Greenwashing, Hiding PFAS Content Of Its Clothing

    SPOKANE, Wash. — Plaintiffs have filed a class action against W.L. Gore & Associates in Washington federal court alleging that it has violated numerous state consumer protection laws and has fraudulently concealed the fact that its water-repellant Gore-Tex fabric contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are then shed into the environment upon use.  The plaintiffs argue that Gore is guilty of greenwashing by using PFAS but “purporting to be highly committed to environmental responsibility.”

  • February 13, 2025

    Man Says Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Clean-Up Efforts Caused His Cancer

    GULFPORT, Miss. — A man who claims that he was injured as a result of exposure to toxic substances due to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill has sued BP Exploration & Production Inc. and its affiliates in Mississippi federal court, seeking compensatory and punitive damages for “reckless and/or willful and wanton acts” that he says caused him to develop cancer.

  • February 13, 2025

    Woman: Toxic Metals In Baby Food Caused Child To Develop Autism Spectrum Disorder

    SAN FRANCISCO — A woman on Feb. 12 sued Beech-Nut Nutrition Co. and others in California federal court alleging that they knowingly sold baby food products contaminated with lead and other heavy metals, which caused her child to develop autism spectrum disorder (ASD).  She seeks punitive damages to “hold the Defendants accountable for their reprehensible conduct.”

  • February 13, 2025

    Woman Seeks Class Status For PFAS Case Alleging Carpet Makers Were Deceptive

    CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A woman filed an unopposed motion in Tennessee federal court on Feb. 12 to file a second amended class complaint against a carpet manufacturing company and its affiliates that she says are liable for knowingly using per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to add stain-resistance to its carpets.  She argues that the companies “had exclusive knowledge” that its carpets contained PFAS and they “deceptively marketed and/or omitted material information” about that from the public.

  • February 13, 2025

    Judgment For Manufacturing Defendants In Drinking Water Contamination Case Amended

    FORT WAYNE, Ind. — A federal judge in Indiana said an earlier judgment issued in favor of the owners and operators of a northeast Indiana manufacturing facility regarding three claims for relief sought by plaintiffs allegedly exposed to trichloroethylene, vinyl chloride, benzene and other chemicals in their drinking water “was misdirected” in granting the plaintiffs’ motion to alter or amend the order and dismissing the claims without prejudice.

  • February 12, 2025

    Plaintiffs Seek To Compel Discovery From Maker Of Firefighter Gear In AFFF MDL

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — The Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee (PEC) in the multidistrict litigation for the firefighting agent called aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) has filed a reply brief in South Carolina federal court seeking to compel a defendant to respond to the PEC’s requests for production of documents and interrogatories, arguing that it is “undisputed” that the defendant sold what is referred to as turnout gear (TOG) that contained per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to firefighters across the country.

  • February 12, 2025

    Texas State Agencies Say They Are Immune From Paraquat Discovery, Seek Court Order

    BENTON, Ill. — Texas state agencies have moved an Illinois federal court to take judicial notice of a ruling in a Texas federal court that quashed certain subpoenas that were issued in the multidistrict litigation for liability from injuries connected to the pesticide paraquat, arguing that the MDL court should rule that the agencies are immune from third-party discovery.

  • February 12, 2025

    Insurer Says No Coverage Owed To Flint, Mich., Hospital Over Water Crisis Claims

    DETROIT — An insurance company on Feb. 11 sued McLaren Health Care Corp. in Michigan federal court arguing that it has no duty to indemnify McLaren in connection with a $641 million settlement that was reached in the litigation over the lead-contaminated water claims in the city of Flint, Mich., where McLaren runs a hospital in which patients were injured during the Flint water crisis.  The insurer says it has no duty to indemnify McLaren and argues that it has “no liability of any kind” under the policy it issued.

  • February 12, 2025

    Judge Nixes Lead Injury Class Against Verizon Related To Telecommunications Cables

    PITTSBURGH — A federal judge in Pennsylvania has dismissed a putative lead poisoning class action brought by an employee of Verizon Communications Inc. who contended that the company is liable for injury because it failed to properly dispose of lead-sheathed telecommunications cables.  The judge ruled that the plaintiff failed to “sufficiently establish a concrete and actual or imminent injury.”

  • February 12, 2025

    Panel Affirms $1.25M Roundup Award, Says Claim Is Not Preempted By Federal Law

    ST. LOUIS — A Missouri appellate panel on Feb. 11 affirmed a lower court’s judgment that awarded $1.25 million in compensatory damages to a man who sued Monsanto Co. for injuries from exposure to the herbicide Roundup, ruling that the plaintiff’s failure to warn claim is not expressly or impliedly preempted by federal law and that the trial court did not err in denying Monsanto’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV).

  • February 11, 2025

    N.M.: U.S. Government Should Comply With Permit, Clean Up AFFF From Air Force Base

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — The state of New Mexico has filed a statement in the multidistrict litigation for injuries allegedly caused by the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) pending in South Carolina federal court, requesting injunctive relief requiring the U.S. government and the U.S. Air Force (USAF) to comply with the terms of a permit issued in 2018 to a local Air Force base under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the New Mexico Hazardous Waste Act (NMHWA).

  • February 11, 2025

    EPA Seeks Abeyance In Methane Tax Case To Sort Out Position In New Administration

    GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Feb. 10 filed a brief in Michigan federal court supporting his unopposed motion to hold in abeyance a case in which a business advocacy group and an oil and gas association challenge the constitutionality of the methane waste emissions charge levied under the Clean Air Act (CAA). The parties agree that, with the change in presidential administration, the EPA needs time to determine how it wishes to proceed in the case.

  • February 07, 2025

    Amicus: High Court Review Needed In Camp Lejeune Case Over Right To Jury Trial

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bar association focused on the civil justice system has filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that it should grant a petition filed by plaintiffs who are challenging a lower court’s decision that they 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 and seeking reversal of an appellate court’s subsequent refusal to entertain their appeal.  The bar association argues that the denial of the plaintiffs’ right to a jury trial warrants review.

  • February 06, 2025

    Monsanto: Rehearing Needed Of Split 8th Circuit Ruling On PCB Liability

    ST. LOUIS — Monsanto Co. on Feb. 5 filed a petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc in the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, arguing that a panel’s split decision in a case about indemnification related to liability from polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and the untimeliness of the case’s removal to federal court conflicts with a related ruling issued by the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • 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.