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

Mealey's Toxic Torts

July 03, 2024
Objectors Say $600M Ohio Train Deal Is ‘Unconstitutional,’ Cite EPA Whistleblower

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Two plaintiffs in the class action against Norfolk Southern Railway Co. and Norfolk Southern Corp. (Norfolk Southern, collectively) related to toxic chemicals spilled during the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, have filed separate objections to a $600 million settlement, saying it is “unconstitutional” because evidence of liability and damages has been suppressed or withheld and information from a whistleblower at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency exposes “shocking efforts” by the EPA to “avoid learning the truth immediately after” the derailment.
July 03, 2024
Groundwater Contamination Case Against Northrop Grumman Gets Class Certification

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California granted class certification to residents seeking equitable relief and punitive damages for groundwater contamination from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) stemming from circuit board production and other chemical processes conducted by a company now owned by Northrop Grumman Corp. and Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. (Northrop Grumman, collectively), ruling that “after careful consideration” pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, class certification is appropriate.
July 03, 2024
Monsanto Reiterates Plan To Appeal Glyphosate Verdict Despite Damages Reduction

PHILADELPHIA — Following a final ruling by a state court judge in Pennsylvania that upheld a reduced liability verdict against Monsanto Co. in a glyphosate cancer lawsuit on grounds that Monsanto’s arguments were “entirely unpersuasive,” a spokesman for Monsanto on July 2 reiterated that the company will appeal the decision, saying that “while we appreciate the reduction in the unconstitutionally excessive damage award, nothing in the court’s opinion changes the fact that the trial was marred by significant and reversible errors that misled and inflamed the jury.”
July 03, 2024
Judge Allows Discovery To Be Reopened Before Trial In Groundwater Pollution Case

OKLAHOMA CITY — A federal judge in Oklahoma has ruled that an oil and gas exploration company that is a defendant in a groundwater contamination case may reopen discovery for the limited purpose of inspecting specific items on the plaintiffs’ property before trial because the plaintiffs will “face no undue or unfair prejudice” as a result.
June 28, 2024
COMMENTARY: Courts Must, As Recently Reminded, Follow The Law In Rule 702 Expert Testimony Determinations

By Erin Sheley
July 02, 2024
Firefighter Says PFAS In Foam, Protective Gear Caused Him To Develop Cancer

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A firefighter has sued the 3M Co., E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. and others in South Carolina federal court alleging that the protective gear made by the companies for use by firefighters contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and that exposure to PFAS as a result of wearing the gear caused him to develop cancer.
July 01, 2024
3rd Parties In Train Derailment Case Want Norfolk Southern’s Evidence Stricken

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Third-party defendants in the litigation against Norfolk Southern Railway Co. and Norfolk Southern Corp. (Norfolk Southern, collectively) related to toxic chemicals spilled during the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, have filed a reply brief in Ohio federal court arguing that “Norfolk Southern’s failure to comply with this Court’s order, especially given its concession that it only seeks derivative damages, warrants exclusion of evidence concerning its alleged remediation and response costs at trial.”
June 28, 2024
High Court Overrules Chevron Deference, Changes Standard For Regulatory Review

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 28 voted 6-3 to overrule the doctrine of Chevron deference as incompatible with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in two cases arising out of federal fishing regulations, changing governing precedent for federal courts reviewing agencies’ regulatory actions.
June 19, 2024
JPMDL To Mull Consolidation Of Cases Alleging Benzene In Acne Products

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPMDL) will meet in Portland, Maine, on July 25 to decide whether to consolidate for pretrial purposes cases that allege that users of benzoyl peroxide (BPO) products for the treatment of acne vulgaris, including creams, washes, scrubs and bars, were inadequately warned about the presence of benzene.
June 19, 2024
Engineering Firm Insists It Owed No Duty To Flint Water Bellwether Plaintiffs

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — An engineering firm that is a defendant in the litigation over the lead-contaminated water crisis in Flint, Mich., filed a reply brief on June 18 in Michigan federal court reiterating its insistence that it did not owe a duty of care to a group known as the Bellwether III plaintiffs because under Michigan law, a professional generally owes a duty only to clients, and the firm’s client was the city of Flint.
June 18, 2024
Monsanto: New Trial Needed In $275M PCB Verdict Case Based On Statute Of Repose

SEATTLE — Monsanto has filed a reply brief in Washington state appellate court contending that it must “at a minimum” remand for a new trial a case involving a $275 million judgment against Monsanto Co. for injuries from polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in a Seattle area school because the trial court “improperly excised” from the Washington Product Liability Act (WPLA) its “claim-defining” statute of repose.
June 18, 2024
Business Groups Seek Review Of Rule Listing 2 PFAS As Hazardous Substances

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America and two trade associations filed a petition for review of a final rule, promulgated by the Environmental Protection 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.
June 17, 2024
Defendants In Hair Relaxer Cases Oppose Plaintiffs’ Bid For Dismissal

CHICAGO — Defense liaison counsel in the litigation brought by users of hair relaxer products who contend that they have been injured by toxic chemicals in those products have filed a brief in Illinois federal court arguing that it should deny the request of certain plaintiffs who seek to be dismissed without prejudice. The defendants contend that the plaintiffs seeking dismissal have failed to demonstrate good cause.
June 14, 2024
Norfolk Southern: Third-Party Defendant’s Bid To Seal Is ‘Misleading On The Facts’

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Norfolk Southern Railway Co. and Norfolk Southern Corp. (Norfolk Southern, collectively) filed a brief in Ohio federal court arguing that it should deny a motion to seal expert reports filed by a third-party defendant in the litigation stemming from alleged injuries from the release of toxic chemicals at the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, arguing that the motion to seal is “misleading on the facts.”
June 14, 2024
Couple Sues PFAS Makers For Husband’s Cancer From Exposure As A Firefighter

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A couple on June 13 sued the 3M Co., E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. and others in South Carolina federal court seeking damages for kidney cancer which he says is the result of exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) the defendants made and sold for use in the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foams (AFFF) despite knowing they were toxic.
June 14, 2024
Groups Say EPA Decision On Underground Injection Wells In Louisiana Violates Law

NEW ORLEANS — Environmental groups have filed a brief in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals arguing that it should reverse a decision of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which they say unlawfully handed over to the state of Louisiana the responsibility of regulating the practice of sequestering carbon dioxide in underground injection wells, which the groups say violated the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and threatens groundwater.
June 14, 2024
Hawaii Federal Judge Stays Fuel Release Claims Pending EPA Administrative Process

HONOLULU — Fuel contamination claims brought under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) by an environmental group against the U.S. Navy for releases from an underground fuel storage facility should be stayed to the extent that the Environmental Protection Agency is currently working to resolve the contamination issues, a Hawaii federal judge found in partly granting the Navy’s motion to dismiss.
June 14, 2024
Woman With Cancer Says Deepwater Horizon Parties Misrepresented Danger

NEW ORLEANS — A woman with cancer has sued BP Exploration & Production Inc. and others in Louisiana federal court, arguing that they are liable for her injury from exposure to oil and toxic dispersants from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the remediation efforts conducted in its aftermath. She says the defendants misrepresented that the seafood caught in the waters where the spill had happened, as well as the beaches affected by those waters, was safe.
June 13, 2024
Quartz Countertop Defendant Denies Liability In Silicosis Case Brought By Worker

SANTA ANA, Calif. — One of the defendants sued by a worker with silicosis who says he was injured by exposure to crystalline silica while cutting quartz countertops has filed an answer in California state court denying all allegations and asserting 42 affirmative defenses, including that the complaint fails to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action.
June 13, 2024
Harvard University Says It Is Not A Co-Party In PFAS Case Against 3M

BOSTON — Harvard University filed a sur-reply in Massachusetts federal court opposing a motion to add it as a party to a lawsuit alleging drinking water contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on grounds the 3M Co. fails to allege that PFAS in waste material allegedly received from Harvard in June 2022 have been the source of any contamination at issue in the lawsuit brought by residents of a Massachusetts town.
June 13, 2024
Judge Dismisses Jackson Water Case, Says Constitutional Violation Not Established

JACKSON, Miss. — A federal judge in Mississippi has dismissed claims for violation of bodily integrity and state-created danger brought by residents against the city of Jackson, and it has dismissed all claims against individual plaintiffs, related to the drinking water contamination in that city because the plaintiffs did not establish a “facially plausible constitutional violation.” The remaining claims against the city and an engineering firm for negligence remain active.
June 12, 2024
Judge Nixes Government’s Bid To Stop Expert’s Deposition In Camp Lejeune Case

RALEIGH, N.C. — On June 11, a federal magistrate judge in North Carolina denied a motion by the U.S. government that sought a protective order to prevent its expert, Christopher Portier, from providing deposition testimony, ruling that the government’s arguments regarding the burden of compliance with international and Italian law are “unavailing.”
June 12, 2024
Judge: Monsanto Must Produce Privilege Log, Materials From Other PCB Cases

BURLINGTON, Vt. — A federal judge in Vermont on June 11 partially granted a motion to compel the production of some documents in a lawsuit over polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) brought by a Vermont school against Monsanto Co., ruling that Monsanto’s objections were “not persuasive” and that some of the company’s arguments were not supported with citation to authority.
June 12, 2024
Judge Grants Initial Approval To $750M Deal To Settle Drinking Water AFFF Claims

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A federal judge in South Carolina on June 11 granted preliminary approval to a $750 million settlement of class 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).
June 12, 2024
4th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of PFAS Testing Case On Jurisdictional Grounds

RICHMOND, Va. — A divided panel of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a case brought by environmental groups that contend that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency did not follow through on testing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that were released into the Cape Fear River by the Chemours Co., ruling that the lower court lacked jurisdiction to rule on the case.