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

Mealey's Toxic Torts

December 06, 2024
Residents Say 3M Is Liable For ‘Wanton’ Conduct That Tainted Water With PFAS

MADISON, Wis. — Residents have filed a putative class action against 3M Co. in Wisconsin federal court seeking punitive damages for groundwater contamination they say is the result of “willful, wanton, malicious, and/or reckless conduct” in connection with 3M’s operation of a quarry and a facility where roofing shingles containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been created and disposed of for decades.
December 05, 2024
Pennsylvania Court Affirms Sanctions In Fracking Case For ‘Egregious Conduct’

HARRISBURG, Pa. — In an unreported opinion, a Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court panel has ruled that “although unprecedented, there is more than enough evidence of egregious conduct” establishing “bad faith, harassment, unwarranted delaying tactics, and outright lying” by the attorney representing landowners in a hydraulic fracturing dispute such that the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board’s (EHB) award of sanctions against the attorney and the landowners jointly was warranted.
December 02, 2024
Deadlines For Remand Filings Set In Exxon Single-Use Plastics Pollution Cases

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California has set a filing and briefing schedule for motions to remand state court two related cases against Exxon Mobil Corp. that accuse the company of creating a public nuisance and violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and a barrage of state pollution laws by manufacturing single-use plastics that it allegedly misrepresented as recyclable while annually earning billions dollars from sales.
November 27, 2024
States, Energy Companies Tell D.C. Circuit EPA Methane Rule Violates Federal Law

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Multiple states have filed a brief in the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals arguing that the “presumptive standards” for existing sources listed in the 2024 methane rule instituted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency violate the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by “diminishing the States’ statutory authority” to create their own plans that consider their specific circumstances, including “the remaining useful life” of chemical facilities within their borders. The same day, members of the energy sector also filed a brief contending that the EPA’s standard is “unlawful and arbitrary and capricious.”
November 27, 2024
Jurisdiction Lacking In Chloroprene Emissions Case, Government Says

NEW ORLEANS — The U.S. government has filed a reply brief in Louisiana federal court arguing that the court lacks jurisdiction over an amended counterclaim filed by a defendant chemical company in an injury lawsuit involving carcinogenic chloroprene emissions from neoprene manufacturing operations because Congress expressly granted courts of appeals exclusive jurisdiction to review final actions of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Air Act (CAA).
November 26, 2024
After Winning, Monsanto Says $185M PCB Ruling Created ‘Frankenstein’s Monster’

SEATTLE — After getting a $185 million verdict against it for injuries from exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at a Seattle area school overturned, Monsanto Co. filed a supplemental brief in the Washington Supreme Court contending that it should affirm the lower court’s ruling “except insofar as it held that Missouri punitive damages law applies.” Monsanto contends that the appellate court’s decision combined Washington and Missouri law and created “a previously unknown Frankenstein’s monster that reflects the policies of neither Washington nor Missouri and yields a windfall recovery” by “grafting Missouri’s punitive damages remedy — gutted of its protections for defendants — onto Washington’s generous rules of liability.”
November 26, 2024
6th Circuit Remands Airport PFAS Case, Says Federal Jurisdiction Is Lacking

CINCINNATI — In an unpublished opinion, a panel of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed a lower court’s order that remanded a lawsuit over contamination from firefighting foam that contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) related to the use of the foam at Gerald R. Ford International Airport, ruling that the airport’s compliance with federal regulations, “even when mandatory and detailed, does not satisfy the ‘acting under’ requirement” needed to establish federal jurisdiction.
November 26, 2024
High Court To Review Delegated Oversight Of Telecommunications Subsidies

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court has 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 a subsidy program to a private entity, both arising out of the en banc Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling that the program violates the “private nondelegation doctrine.”
November 25, 2024
Judge Approves AFFF Drinking Water Settlements For More Than $1.06 Billion

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A federal judge in South Carolina on Nov. 22 issued two separate opinions granting final approval to two settlements, which combined are worth more than $1.06 billion, to resolve claims by municipalities and water authorities against two manufacturers related to drinking water contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the firefighting agent aqueous film forming foam (AFFF). In a separate-but-related opinion, the judge awarded attorney fees and costs of $95,791,081.51 for class counsel’s work on both settlements.
November 25, 2024
Couple Says Quartz Makers’ Concealment Makes Them Liable For Husband’s Silicosis

LOS ANGELES — A stonecutter and his wife on Nov. 22 sued the makers or quartz countertops in California state court, seeking punitive damages for allegedly breaching the general duty of care and failing to adequately warn the husband of the toxic hazards associated with the stone products he cut.
November 25, 2024
Judge Refuses To Exclude Norfolk Southern’s Expert In Ohio Train Derailment Case

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — A federal judge in Ohio has denied a motion by third-party defendant OxyVinyls LP, which sought to exclude the report of an expert for the railway company Norfolk Southern in the litigation over toxic chemical exposure from the derailment of its train in East Palestine, Ohio, ruling that the exclusion of those reports would “unfairly eliminate a critical component of Norfolk Southern’s defense.”
November 25, 2024
South Bay Residents Seek Damages From Exposure To Sewage Treatment Plant Pollution

SAN DIEGO — A group of residents in the South Bay Area filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court against the operators of a San Ysidro wastewater treatment plant, alleging ongoing exposure to untreated sewage, noxious fumes and other pollutants from the plant and seeking damages for physical injuries, property damages and more under the Clean Water Act (CWA).
November 22, 2024
COMMENTARY: 2024 Key Insurance Decisions, Trends & Developments & A Look Ahead To 2025

By Scott M. Seaman, Pedro E. Hernandez and Lisa M. Roccanova
November 22, 2024
Veteran’s Fraud Suit Related To Camp Lejeune Water Crisis Is Valid, Judge Says

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A federal judge in North Carolina mostly denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit that a veteran filed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and North Carolina law related to allegations that a law firm and individuals affiliated with the firm solicited him to file “a fraudulent and fictitious Camp Lejeune injury claim” with the federal government over the Camp Lejeune water crisis.
November 21, 2024
Latest Battle In Complex Saga Over Cancer Cluster Goes Before 11th Circuit

ATLANTA — An 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel heard oral arguments in long-running and complex consolidated litigation brought by plaintiffs who were injured by a cancer cluster in Florida, as attorneys for the parties debated whether the lawsuit was still viable based on a dispute over what constitutes the accrual date that triggers the applicable statute of limitations.
November 19, 2024
2 Companies To Pay More Than $23.52M For Silicosis Injury To Quartz Stonecutter

LOS ANGELES — A California judge has issued a judgment awarding a combined $23,522,788.70 against two makers of quartz countertops, which are among multiple defendants that were sued by a man who developed silicosis from working as a stonecutter who has already won $52 million in a general verdict against all of the defendants. In the same ruling, the judge granted judgment notwithstanding the verdict to another defendant.
November 18, 2024
Monsanto Gets Defense Verdict In Pennsylvania State Court Roundup Trial

PHILADELPHIA — A jury in a Pennsylvania state court on Nov. 15 issued a verdict in favor of Monsanto Co. in a trial over allegations that its herbicide Roundup, which contains the active ingredient glyphosate, caused a woman’s cancer.
November 18, 2024
Judge In Wisconsin Lead Paint Litigation Saga Says Plaintiffs Have Valid Claims

MILWAUKEE — A federal judge in Wisconsin has partially dismissed the first amended complaints of three plaintiffs who filed two separate lawsuits claiming that the makers of lead-based paint are liable for their injuries in a litigation saga spanning 17 years, ruling that the general negligence claims and abatement allegations in both cases fail but concluding that the other causes of action survive.
November 15, 2024
AFFF Defendants: Protective Order Sought For Deposition Questions Is ‘Meritless’

CHARLESTON, S.C. — The defendants in the litigation over alleged contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) have filed a brief in South Carolina federal court opposing a motion for a protective order sought by the plaintiffs in six specific cases, arguing that the plaintiffs should not be permitted to “outright refuse” to respond to discovery requests and contending that their objections to “sensitive” deposition questions are “meritless.”
November 15, 2024
Seattle PCB Trial Continues With Testy Exchanges Between Attorney, Expert Witness

SEATTLE — The trial over allegations brought by 15 plaintiffs in Washington state court that they were injured from exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at a Seattle area school continued Nov. 14 as the plaintiffs’ attorneys presented expert witnesses and Monsanto’s counsel cross-examined them in what, at times, involved testy exchanges.
November 14, 2024
Couple Seeks Damages For Silicosis, Other Injuries From Cutting Quartz Countertops

SAN FRANCISCO — A couple has sued the makers and sellers of quartz countertops in a California state court, seeking punitive damages for silicosis and other injuries the husband contends he developed from exposure to toxins and carcinogens while he worked as a stone cutter.
November 14, 2024
Hair Relaxer Defendants Deny Liability, Say Plaintiffs Were ‘Sophisticated Users’

CHICAGO — Companies sued over allegations that their hair relaxer products contain toxic chemicals have filed a joint answer to the complaint in Illinois federal court, denying all claims and asserting multiple affirmative defenses, including that the plaintiffs fail to state a claim and that they are “sophisticated users” who knew the inherent risks with the products in question.
November 14, 2024
Monsanto Denies Vermont Schools’ PCB Claims, Says Case Is Barred

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Monsanto Co. on Nov. 13 filed an answer in Vermont federal court denying the claims against it related to allegations that it is liable for contamination from polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in multiple school districts and asserting affirmative defenses that include that the complaint is barred by the statute of limitations and that the alleged acts “were not a substantial factor in bringing about the alleged injuries and damages” at issue.
November 13, 2024
Attorneys Debate PFAS Rules, Impact Statement On Costs At Michigan High Court

LANSING, Mich. — Attorneys for the 3M Co. and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy’s (EGLE) on Nov. 13 debated before the Michigan Supreme Court whether EGLE’s Regulatory Impact Statement and Cost Benefit Analysis (RIS) for the permissible levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water that complied with the Michigan Administrative Procedures Act (MAPA). EGLE said a cost estimate was required only for the specific proposed rule, while 3M argued that EGLE failed to comply with the law and that the Supreme Court’s review was “not warranted.”
November 13, 2024
Under Proposed Rule, EPA Would Collect Annual Charge On Methane Emissions

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Nov. 12 announced that it has issued a proposed final rule promulgating a regulation to facilitate compliance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA), also known as the Methane Emissions Reduction Program (MERP), under which the EPA will collect an annual charge on methane emissions that exceed waste emissions thresholds specified by Congress.