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Mealey's Toxic Torts

  • March 27, 2025

    Judge Denies Norfolk Southern’s Motion To Dismiss Securities Fraud Class Action

    ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern Corp. and its principal’s motion to dismiss investors’ securities fraud class action relating to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, was denied by a federal judge in Ohio, who found that the investors’ allegations raised an “overwhelming” inference of scienter.

  • March 27, 2025

    PCB Indemnification Defendants Say Monsanto’s Bid To Strike Case Agenda Fails

    ST. LOUIS — General Electric Co. and other companies that purchased polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have filed a brief in Missouri federal court arguing that it should deny a motion by Monsanto Co. to strike the defendants’ proposed agenda for Monsanto’s lawsuit seeking indemnification for litigation related to alleged PCB injuries, on grounds that Monsanto has not shown that the proposed agenda warrants striking under the “stringent standard required under” Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f).

  • March 27, 2025

    Judge Dismisses Securities Class Action Regarding Alleged Emissions Misstatements

    CLEVELAND — A federal judge in Ohio dismissed a securities fraud class action brought by investors against a company, its executives, selling shareholders and underwriters for allegedly  making a series of misstatements regarding the company’s effort to control the emission of ethylene oxide, finding that the investors failed to plead misstatements that trigger the defendants’ liability.

  • March 25, 2025

    4th Circuit Stays Mandate, Weighs Petition For Rehearing En Banc In PFAS Case

    RICHMOND, Va. — The clerk of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 24 issued a temporary stay of a mandate as the court weighs a petition for rehearing en banc filed by the states of Maryland and South Carolina, which are asking the full court to reconsider its split decision that determined that two lower courts wrongly remanded two separate lawsuits related to injuries from exposure to the firefighting agent aqueous film forming foam (AFFF).

  • March 25, 2025

    Magistrate Judge Approves Joint Case Management Statement In PFAS Coverage Dispute

    SAN FRANCISCO — After finding that a pollution exclusion bars coverage for some, but not all, underlying lawsuits filed against an insured and alleging injuries related to exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) allegedly contained in aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) that were manufactured and sold by the insured, a California federal magistrate judge approved a joint case management statement submitted by the parties regarding how to adjudicate the hundreds of lawsuits filed against the insured.

  • March 25, 2025

    Jury Awards Nearly $2.1B To Man With Cancer In Georgia Glyphosate Trial

    MARIETTA, Ga. — A Georgia state court jury has awarded a combined $2,065,000,000 in compensatory and punitive damages against Monsanto Co. for causing a man’s cancer from exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup.

  • March 24, 2025

    Texas Seeks To Hold 3M Accountable For ‘Persistent Misrepresentations’ About PFAS

    DALLAS — The state of Texas has filed a brief in Texas federal court arguing that the court should deny a motion to dismiss its lawsuit against 3M Co. and other makers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) because “3M must be held accountable for its failure to meet its obligations to Texans, who — along with the legitimate business community operating in Texas — were negatively impacted by 3M’s persistent misrepresentations and omissions in marketing its products in the Texas economy.”

  • March 21, 2025

    Amended Class Action Alleges Dental Floss Contains Multiple PFAS Chemicals

    NEW YORK — A plaintiff has filed a second amended class complaint in New York federal court arguing that dental floss made by Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G) contains multiple chemicals that fit under the classification of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) based on direct testing of the product, which renders P&G’s claim that its products are healthy “false and misleading.”

  • March 20, 2025

    ‘Down With The Sickness’ Metal Singer Sues Landlords Alleging Mold Exposure

    MIAMI — The lead singer for nu metal rock band Disturbed has sued his landlords in Florida state court alleging that they neglected to maintain the roof of a multimillion-dollar rental property, resulting in water intrusion and damage from mold, which has affected the singer’s music career

  • March 20, 2025

    Judge Dismisses PFAS Case Against Samsung Related To Smartwatch Wristbands

    LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California on March 19 dismissed a putative class action against Samsung Electronics America Inc. in California federal court contending that it is liable for fraud and the violation of various consumer laws because the bands for several of its smartwatches “contain excessive levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS),” ruling that the parties are preparing a written settlement agreement and stipulation of dismissal.

  • March 20, 2025

    PFAS Plaintiffs Say DuPont Entities’ Bid For Lone Pine Order Is ‘Premature’

    NEW BERN, N.C. — Plaintiffs who have had their lawsuits alleging injury from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) against E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. and its affiliates grouped together for pretrial coordination have filed a brief in North Carolina federal court arguing that the court should not grant a motion filed by the defendants seeking a Lone Pine order because the request is “premature and unwarranted.”

  • March 19, 2025

    Judge Sanctions 4 Monsanto Attorneys For Violating Orders During Seattle PCB Trial

    SEATTLE — A Washington state court judge ordered four attorneys for Monsanto Co. to pay $2,500 each in sanctions for violating court orders and formally reprimanded four others in relation to their conduct during a trial that led to a $100 million verdict for the plaintiffs, who were exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs) at a Seattle area school. The judge said he was “faced with this disagreeable task” because Monsanto’s attorneys “violated several of the Court’s scheduling orders, which had the effect of disrupting these proceedings and prejudicing Plaintiffs’ trial preparation.”

  • March 18, 2025

    Camp Lejeune Plaintiff Wants ‘Conspicuous Notice’ Posted On Defendant’s Website

    WHEELING, W.Va. — A woman suing law firms alleging that they engaged in illegal phone calls soliciting clients for mass tort cases relating to toxic water exposure at Camp Lejeune has moved in a West Virginia federal court for approval of a class notice plan and an order from the district court requiring one of the firms to post “conspicuous notice of the lawsuit and a copy of the Class Certification order” in a banner at the top of each page of its website.

  • March 18, 2025

    Costco: Baby Wipes Case Fails Because Studies Do Not Show Harmful Effects Of PFAS

    SAN FRANCISCO — Costco Wholesale Corp. has moved in California to dismiss a class action alleging that Kirkland Signature Baby Wipes contain unsafe levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), arguing that the plaintiffs do not cite “any state or federal regulations prohibiting or restricting the specific substances” at issue and do not point to a single study that purports to find harmful effects from those substances in humans.

  • March 18, 2025

    City Wants PFAS Case Remanded, Says 3M Is Trying ‘To Create A Judicial Logjam’

    SAVANNAH, Ga. — Savannah, Ga., on March 17 moved in Georgia federal court to remand its lawsuit against 3M Co. and others alleging water contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to state court on grounds that 3M’s removal of the case to federal court is “part of a nationwide strategy to create a judicial logjam for PFAS cases like these.”

  • March 17, 2025

    Jury Says Sterilization Plant Not Liable For Cancer In Ethylene Oxide Case

    GOLDEN, Colo. — A jury in Colorado state court on March 14 ruled in favor of a medical sterilization plant in an ethylene oxide (EtO) injury case brought by four women who contended that the company was liable for their cancers.

  • March 17, 2025

    N.J. PFAS Cleanup Decision Prompts Judge To Hit ‘Reset Button’ On Eve Of Trial

    TRENTON, N.J. — A federal judge in New Jersey has issued a memorandum order in which she states that she has hit the “reset button” on a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) groundwater contamination case brought by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) against EIDP Inc., formerly E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., and its affiliates because she “struggles to see a path forward to try this case as currently scheduled” in light of NJDEP’s decision to place DuPont’s Chambers Works site under Discretionary Direct Oversight on the eve of trial.

  • March 17, 2025

    Magistrate Judge: Radioactive Materials Injury Case Not Filed In Timely Manner

    BUFFALO, N.Y. — A federal magistrate judge has issued a report in which he recommends that a federal judge in New York dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit brought by a husband who contends that his wife’s terminal cancer was caused by radioactive waste buried on their property.  The magistrate judge ruled that the complaint was filed in an untimely manner.

  • March 14, 2025

    Monsanto Says Evidence For $100M PCB Verdict Not ‘Clear And Convincing’

    SEATTLE — Monsanto Co. has filed two reply briefs in Washington state court, one seeking a new trial and another seeking judgment as a matter of law (JMOL), in response to a $100 million verdict for exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at a Seattle-area school, arguing that the plaintiffs cannot show that PCBs contain a design defect and contending that the plaintiffs “lack clear and convincing evidence to support punitive damages.”

  • March 14, 2025

    Associations Urge High Court Reversal Of Ruling Finding Nondelegation Violation

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Telecom provider petitioners and broadband association petitioners filed reply briefs on March 13 in the U.S. Supreme Court, urging reversal of an en banc Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling that a subsidy program violates the “private nondelegation doctrine” after the high court granted two petitions for a writ of certiorari and consolidated cases concerning whether Congress violated the nondelegation doctrine by authorizing the Federal Communications Commission to delegate to a private entity.

  • March 14, 2025

    Panel: Tenant’s Mold Claim Precluded By Release Clause In Rental Contract

    LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Court of Appeals has affirmed a decision in favor of a landlord and a property management company in a lawsuit in which a tenant had contended that they were liable for injuries related to toxic mold exposure, ruling that the contract the parties signed released the defendants from liability.

  • March 14, 2025

    Judge Says Environmental Group Lacks Standing In PFAS Water Contamination Case

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A federal judge in Tennessee has dismissed a lawsuit brought by an environmental advocacy group against a landfill operator related to water contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), concluding that the allegations for violations of federal laws governing clean water are “wholly past violations” and that the plaintiffs lack standing to bring their claims.

  • March 13, 2025

    EPA Announces Long List Of Actions To Review, Overhaul Environmental Regulations

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Administrator Lee Zeldin on March 12 announced more than 20 federal actions to reconsider, terminate, overhaul and restructure a laundry list of environmental regulations in a stated effort to lower living costs, revitalize the auto industry and return regulatory powers to the states.

  • March 13, 2025

    Putative Class Says Girl Scout Cookies Contain Toxic Heavy Metals, Glyphosate

    BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Two women have filed a putative class action in New York federal court against the Girl Scouts of the United States of America alleging that the cookies sold by the organization contain heavy metals, including aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury, as well as glyphosate, which is the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup.

  • March 13, 2025

    Texas Says PFAS Case Belongs In State Court Due To Lack Of Diversity Jurisdiction

    DALLAS — Texas filed a reply brief in Texas federal court on March 12 in support of its motion to remand a lawsuit against 3M Co. and other makers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on grounds that diversity jurisdiction does not exist because the state is the real party in interest in the case.