( September 18, 2026, 2:15 PM EDT) -- NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A federal judge in Connecticut partially dismissed putative class claims brought by firefighters, unions and the Uniformed Professional Fire Fighters Association of Connecticut (UPFFA), alleging harm from certain personal protective equipment containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS); the judge found that the unions lacked associational standing to bring medical monitoring and damages claims on behalf of their members, that defendant 3M Co. can’t be liable for manufacturing PFAS when the alleged defects of PFAS “are characteristic of PFAS itself” but may still be liable for making PFAS-containing products and that standalone claims for medical monitoring and statutory punitive damages can’t proceed....