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

Mealey's Toxic Torts

October 22, 2024
Fracking Operator To Pay $9.4M To Settle Emissions Case Brought By EPA, New Mexico

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced a $9.4 million settlement with a hydraulic fracturing operator to resolve violations of new federal standards under the Clean Air Act (CAA) related to toxic emissions from crude oil and natural gas facilities and to settle claims brought under the state administrative code of New Mexico.
October 21, 2024
Causation Experts In Deepwater Injury Case Properly Excluded, 11th Circuit Says

ATLANTA — A district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding two experts retained by men who allege that they were injured as a result of exposure to crude oil and dispersants during the cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and granting summary judgment in favor of BP Exploration & Production Inc. and its affiliates, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Oct. 18.
October 21, 2024
Hair Relaxer Plaintiffs Sue L’Oreal’s Parent Company For ‘Wrongful Practices’

CHICAGO — The plaintiffs liaison counsel (PLC) in the litigation over allegations that hair relaxer products contain toxic chemicals on Oct. 18 filed a master long form complaint in Illinois federal court against L’Oréal S.A., the French company that is the parent of the L’Oreal entities in the United States, arguing that the plaintiffs have been injured by L’Oréal S.A.’s defective products “and other wrongful practices.”
October 18, 2024
Monsanto, Plaintiffs Debate Dangers Of PCBs In Seattle School As Trial Starts

SEATTLE — Attorneys gave opening statements in Washington state court on Oct. 17 in a case in which 15 plaintiffs contend they were poisoned at a Seattle area school by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that were manufactured by Monsanto Co. The plaintiffs’ attorney said Monsanto “manipulated science” and “hid the truth” in promoting PCBs for public use, while the company’s counsel said that there is a “lack of scientific consensus” about the dangers of PCBs and that Monsanto worked to “safeguard” the public against possible hazards.
October 18, 2024
California Reaches $35M Settlement With Biotech Corporation Over PCB Pollution

LOS ANGELES — The state of California, through the Los Angeles city attorney and city of Los Angeles, has reached a $35 million settlement with an agricultural biotechnology and agrochemical corporation over the company’s alleged decades-long pollution of state waterways and stormwater and wastewater systems with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
October 17, 2024
Residents Tell 5th Circuit That City Introduced ‘Poison’ In Jackson, Miss., Water

JACKSON, Miss. — Residents of Jackson have filed an opening appeal brief in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals seeking reversal of a lower court’s dismissal of some of the claims in their drinking water contamination lawsuit against the city on grounds that the court erred in its conclusion that the plaintiffs’ allegations do not shock the conscience. The residents argue that “the City introduced a poison into the water supply, pumped that water into residents’ homes, and then coerced them to drink it by lying about its safety.”
October 17, 2024
6th Circuit Mandate Denies Rehearing Of Ruling In Drinking Water Immunity Case

CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has issued a mandate affirming its decision to reverse a ruling by a federal judge that denied qualified immunity to two defendants in one of three lead-contaminated water lawsuits being litigated in Michigan federal court by residents against Benton Harbor, Mich. The Sixth Circuit, which reached a split decision, issued the mandate after it denied a petition for rehearing sought by Benton Harbor city officials.
October 17, 2024
Counsel Seeks Final Approval Of $316.5M PFAS Deal Between Water Providers And BASF

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Class counsel for public water systems (PWS) in numerous municipalities has moved in South Carolina federal court for final approval of a $316.5 million class settlement between multiple drinking water providers and BASF Corp. related to BASF’s manufacture of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are ingredients in the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foam (AFFF).
October 14, 2024
Jury Awards $78M To Couple In Roundup Case; Monsanto Plans Supreme Court Petition

PHILADELPHIA — A jury in Pennsylvania state court has awarded a couple $78 million against Monsanto Co. for injuries related to exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup. In a statement responding to the verdict, which was officially posted to the docket on Oct. 11, Bayer Corp., Monsanto’s parent company, said the verdict “conflicts with the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence” and contended that the claim in the case is preempted by the ruling of the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Schaffner v. Monsanto, warranting review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
October 11, 2024
3rd-Party Defendants: ‘Norfolk Southern Alone’ Is Liable For Ohio Train Derailment

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Two of the third-party defendants being sued by Norfolk Southern Corp. over the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that released toxic chemicals into the air and soil have filed a brief in support of a motion for summary judgment on two claims against them, arguing that “Norfolk Southern — and Norfolk Southern alone — is responsible for the derailment it caused and the consequences of its erroneous vent-and-burn decision.”
October 11, 2024
Government Moves To Enter $311M Consent Decree In Ohio Train Derailment Case

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The U.S. government on Oct. 10 asked a federal court in Ohio to enter a proposed consent decree under which Norfolk Southern Corp. and Norfolk Southern Railway Co. (collectively, Norfolk Southern) agree to pay $311,175,000 to settle claims related to the release of toxic chemicals from the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. The payment includes a $15 million civil penalty, as well as money to improve rail safety and pay for health monitoring in the community.
October 11, 2024
Washington High Court Will Hear Appeal In Dispute Over $185M PCB Verdict

OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal of teachers who had their $185 million verdict against Monsanto for injuries from exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at a Seattle area school overturned. The Supreme Court denied the teachers’ motion for accelerated review, however.
October 10, 2024
Judge Dismisses PFAS Diaper Class Action, Says Allegations Not Plausibly Alleged

NEW YORK— A federal judge in New York has dismissed a putative class action lawsuit brought by a woman who contended that the maker of diapers falsely advertised that its product was free from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which the plaintiff said induced her to spend more money on the diapers. The judge held that the complaint failed to plausibly allege that the diapers were mislabeled.
October 10, 2024
Plaintiffs In 18 AFFF Cases Seek To Amend Complaints To Add Specific Injuries

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Plaintiffs in 18 lawsuits filed an omnibus motion in South Carolina federal court on Oct. 9 to amend their complaints to add specific injuries they allege were caused by exposure to the firefighting agent aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), which contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
October 09, 2024
Agencies: EPA Flouted The Process When It Issued PFAS Drinking Water Rules

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two associations representing agencies that provide drinking water have filed an opening brief in consolidated litigation in the District of Columbia U.S. Court of Appeals arguing that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s rulemaking related to regulations for multiple types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) flouted the “carefully prescribed risk evaluation and standard setting process” of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
October 09, 2024
EPA: Water Systems Nationwide Must Replace Lead Service Lines Within 10 Years

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule on Oct. 8 requiring drinking water systems across the country to identify and replace lead pipes within 10 years.
October 08, 2024
Vermont: 3M’s Removal Of PFAS Case Was ‘Untimely,’ Remand Ruling Was Proper

NEW YORK — The state of Vermont has filed a response brief in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals arguing that it should rule that the state’s lawsuit for alleged contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) against the 3M Co. was removed from Vermont state court to federal court in an untimely manner.
October 08, 2024
DuPont Seeks To Seal More Documents In PFAS Case

WILMINGTON, N.C. — In the long-running lawsuit brought by residents against E.I. Dupont de Nemours & Co., now known as EIDP Inc., and two affiliates (collectively, DuPont) in North Carolina federal court over alleged contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the companies have filed a brief in support of yet another motion to keep certain documents under seal. The documents at issue in the current filing are declarations and expert reports that DuPont argues contain “sensitive, nonpublic, commercial business information.”
October 08, 2024
Company Seeks Protective Order Preventing Deposition In Hair Relaxer Case

CHICAGO — Namasté Laboratories LLC filed a reply brief in Illinois federal court arguing that it should grant the company’s motion for a protective order precluding the plaintiffs’ deposition regarding custodial files in a class action over injuries allegedly caused by toxic chemicals in hair relaxer products. Namaste says the files in question were deleted before 2019, and it maintains that the plaintiffs do not point to a legal authority requiring the company to explain the circumstances surrounding the deletion.
October 08, 2024
Insurer Failed To Prove Hydrofracking Exclusion Bars Coverage For Underlying Suits

MIDLAND, Texas — A Texas federal judge denied an insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a dispute over reimbursement for underlying lawsuits arising out of an explosion at a saltwater facility because the insurer failed to meet its burden of proving that the policy’s hydrofracking exclusion or commercial general liability exclusion bar coverage for the underlying suits.
October 04, 2024
$25M Flint Settlement With Engineering Firm Gets Final Approval

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A federal judge in Michigan granted final approval on Oct. 3 to a $25 million settlement in the litigation for the lead-contaminated water crisis in Flint, Mich., that resolves claims of residents and businesses that sued an engineering firm that was involved in making the decision to switch the local water supply to the Flint River, which precipitated the crisis.
October 02, 2024
Ohio Refinery To Pay $169M In Penalties, Upgrades For Clean Air Act Violations

TOLEDO, Ohio —The U.S. Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency have entered into a consent decree requiring an Ohio-based refining company to pay $19 million in penalties and implement about $150 million in plant upgrades over allegations that the company violated the Clean Air Act (CAA) with hazardous emissions of benzene, volatile organic compounds (VOC) and other air pollutants.
October 02, 2024
Governments, Fracking Operator Reach $15.5M Deal Resolving Toxic Emissions Lawsuit

SALT LAKE CITY — The U.S. Department of Justice has announced it reached a settlement valued at $15.5 million to resolve violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA) at oil and gas production facilities of a fracking operator on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Utah.
October 02, 2024
States: Supreme Court Stay Of Methane Rule Needed To Avoid ‘Irreparable Harm’

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A coalition of states has filed a reply brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of their application for a stay of the 2024 Methane Rule instituted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, arguing that “absent a stay, EPA’s gambit to force the States to submit to EPA’s ‘presumptive standards’ will impose irreparable harm upon the States.”
October 01, 2024
Insurer Seeks High Court’s Review Of 4th Circuit’s Ruling In Chemical Exposure Suit

WASHINGTON D.C. — Review of a Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling that an insurer has a duty to defend an insured for an underlying chemical exposure suit is warranted because the Fourth Circuit incorrectly determined that a duty to defend exists even though the underlying complaint fails to assert any covered claims, an insurer says in a petition for a writ of certiorari filed in the U.S. Supreme Court.