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Mealey's Toxic Torts

  • February 27, 2026

    Palm Springs Seeks Punitive Damages Against PFAS Makers For Water, Soil Pollution

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — Palm Springs, Calif., on Feb. 26 sued the 3M Co. and other makers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in South Carolina federal court seeking to recover “compensatory and/or consequential damages” related to PFAS contamination of the city’s soil and drinking water from the presence of the firefighting agent aqueous film forming foam (AFFF). The city says the defendants have known of health and environmental risks associated with PFAS compounds “for decades but concealed that knowledge.”

  • February 27, 2026

    Massachusetts Town Sues Industrial Operators Over PFAS Water Supply Contamination

    BOSTON — A Massachusetts town filed a federal lawsuit including claims brought under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act seeking remediation and other damages against former owners and operators of industrial paper mills and other industrial operations that used, handled and disposed of hazardous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have allegedly seeped into the town’s drinking water supply.

  • February 27, 2026

    Panel: Investors Failed To Show Sterilization Facility Owner Committed Fraud

    CINCINNATI — In an unpublished opinion, a Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled that a group of investors failed to show that Sotera Health Co., which owns a medical equipment sterilization facility, committed securities fraud related to statements it made about an initial public offering (IPO) and litigation it faced involving a subsidiary of the company that was sued over personal injury claims connected to exposure to ethylene oxide (EtO).  The panel said that “few of Sotera’s statements are specific or verifiable enough to be even potentially materially false.”

  • February 27, 2026

    Glyphosate Plaintiffs Say Separate Expert Not Needed For Design Defect Claim

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A couple who sued Monsanto Co. in Delaware state court for injuries allegedly caused by exposure to the herbicide Roundup filed a sur-reply brief arguing that they are not required to produce their own expert to testify on their design defect claim based on the ruling in Emerson Elec. Co. v. Johnson.

  • February 24, 2026

    Monsanto Tells Supreme Court FIFRA Preempts Roundup Claims, Invokes ‘Common Sense’

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Monsanto Co. on Feb. 23 filed a merits brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in litigation over whether the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) preempts state law failure-to-warn claims based on the content of pesticide product labels related to the herbicide Roundup, arguing that “preemption here comports with both Congress’ will and common sense.”  The next day, the Atlantic Legal Foundation (ALF) filed an amicus curiae brief supporting Monsanto.

  • February 24, 2026

    Supreme Court:  5th Circuit’s Remand Ruling In Tainted Baby Food Case Was Proper

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 24 ruled unanimously in favor of a couple who sued a baby food maker alleging that its product contained heavy metals, finding that a district court’s erroneous dismissal of one of the defendants did not cure the jurisdictional defect that existed when the case was removed to federal court.  The Supreme Court affirmed the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that vacated the judgment and remanded the case to the lower court for further proceedings consistent with the opinion.

  • February 24, 2026

    Pollution Exclusion Does Not Bar Coverage For Herbicide Exposure Claims, Judge Says

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A pollution exclusion does not apply as a bar to coverage for underlying suits alleging that the herbicide paraquat causes Parkinson’s disease because the pollution exclusion applies only to traditional environmental pollution claims and cannot be interpreted to bar coverage for the underlying claims, a Delaware judge said in granting an insured’s partial motion for summary judgment.

  • February 23, 2026

    North Carolina Appellate Court Denies DuPont’s Bid For Review Of PFAS Ruling

    RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Appeals Court has refused to hear a petition filed by E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. and its affiliates in a lawsuit over contamination of groundwater with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).  The DuPont entities sought review of a trial court ruling that granted Cumberland County, N.C.’s motion for partial summary judgment on its public nuisance claim.

  • February 20, 2026

    5th Circuit Orders Rehearing En Banc In Jackson Water Crisis Litigation

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 19 ordered rehearing en banc of a divided panel’s November ruling on the appeal brought by residents of Jackson, Miss., who challenged the dismissal of their claims for violation of bodily integrity and state-created danger related to the city’s lead-contaminated water crisis.

  • February 20, 2026

    Panel Affirms JNOV For Countertop Supplier Following Verdict Of More Than $75M

    LOS ANGELES — A California appellate panel affirmed a trial court’s decision granting judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) to a quartz countertop supplier that was one of multiple defendants found liable in an injury trial that produced a total verdict of $75,960,154.70 for a stonecutter who claimed that the defendants were liable for causing him to develop silicosis.

  • February 20, 2026

    Calling It ‘Critical,’ Trump Order Ensures Supply Of Glyphosate-Based Herbicide

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald J. Trump has issued an executive order directing the secretary of Agriculture to consult with the secretary of War “to determine the proper nationwide priorities and allocation of all the materials, services, and facilities necessary to ensure a continued and adequate supply of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides.”  Trump said that “consistent with the Department of the Interior’s designation, elemental phosphorus is a scarce material that is critical to national defense and security.”

  • February 19, 2026

    Restated And Disputed Complaint Alleges Only Silica, Not Asbestos, Caused Injury

    NEW ORLEANS — A man who claims he developed silicosis and lung cancer because he “worked in close proximity to sandblasters” on Feb. 18 filed a second amended and restated complaint against a host of defendants, including silica miners, suppliers, insurance companies and company executives, in Louisiana federal court contending that the defendants “consciously chose” not to implement “any meaningful safety precaution.” The complaint was restated to expressly declare that the injuries in question are not related to asbestos exposure, which had been raised in a previous complaint and was the subject of debate prior to the district court’s order permitting the restated filing.

  • February 19, 2026

    Attorneys File 11 Cases In Delaware, Say Monsanto’s Roundup Contains Carcinogens

    WILMINGTON, Del. — An attorney in Delaware, in collaboration with other counsel, has filed 11 lawsuits against Monsanto Co. in state court, all following the same template and seeking compensation for personal injuries allegedly caused by exposure to the herbicide Roundup.  In one of the cases, filed Feb. 18, plaintiff William Nighland says he developed cancer because Roundup contains the active ingredient glyphosate and the surfactant polyethoxylated tallow amine (POEA), “as well as many, many other proven, probable, and/or suspected carcinogens.”

  • February 19, 2026

    Plaintiffs Seek Recusal Of Magistrate Judge, Citing ‘Appearance Of Impropriety’

    NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Plaintiffs in an injury lawsuit related to exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances(PFAS) brought by firefighters have moved in Connecticut federal court for reconsideration of Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish’s refusal to recuse himself from the case.  Although Magistrate Judge Farrish offered “thoughtful analysis” regarding the situation in his notice to counsel dated Feb. 12, the plaintiffs say they believe the specific conditions of his professional and social connections with one of the defense attorneys in the case “creates the appearance of impropriety.”

  • February 18, 2026

    Government: Camp Lejeune Plaintiffs’ Bid To Nix Evidence Should Be Denied

    RALEIGH, N.C. — The U.S. government on Feb. 17 filed a brief in North Carolina federal court arguing that, with regard to the litigation over drinking water contamination at Camp Lejeune, the Plaintiffs’ Leadership Group’s (PLG) motion in limine requesting that the district court preclude the government from offering evidence of any award, payment or benefit immaterial to and/or outside of the scope of the offset provision in the Camp Lejeune Justice Act (CLJA), should be denied except for with respect to the PLG’s requested relief regarding unenumerated programs such as TRICARE.

  • February 18, 2026

    Amicus Urges High Court Review Of Expert Admissibility Standards In Injury Dispute

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) on Feb. 17 filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that it should grant the petition for a writ of certiorari filed by Union Carbide Corp. and an affiliate in a dispute over the correct legal standard for the admissibility of an expert in an ethylene oxide (EtO) injury case because it “raises a profound question about the integrity of our federal justice system—whether trial judges must faithfully enforce Federal Rule of Evidence 702 as a bulwark against unreliable expert testimony, or whether they must sidestep that duty and pass the buck to juries.”

  • February 17, 2026

    Parties Reach $7.25B Deal For Nationwide Settlement Of Roundup Injury Claims

    ST. LOUIS — Attorneys representing a putative class of plaintiffs who have sued Monsanto Co. in Missouri state court alleging that exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, causes cancer on Feb. 17 moved for preliminary approval of a $7.25 billion nationwide settlement with Bayer Corp., Monsanto’s parent company, which would resolve the claims.

  • February 13, 2026

    Milwaukee Public Schools To Explore Litigation Against Former Makers Of Lead Paint

    MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) has directed its Board of Governance to work with the City of Milwaukee Attorney’s Office to enter into a retainer agreement with plaintiffs law firm Motley Rice as MPS considers filing a lawsuit against the former makers of lead-based paint, a source told Mealey Publications on Feb. 12.

  • February 13, 2026

    California Jury Awards More Than $8.8M For Injuries From Hydrogen Sulfide Exposure

    LOS ANGELES — A California jury has awarded plaintiffs a combined $8,869,000 in compensatory and punitive damages for injuries stemming from airborne exposure to hydrogen sulfide following a “toxic exposure event” in 2021 in which multiple chemicals were released after wooden pallets of flammable hand sanitizer and other products, which were stored in a warehouse, caught fire. The plaintiffs also said they had been injured by noxious odors that emanated from the Dominguez Channel in the aftermath of the incident.

  • February 13, 2026

    Judge Dismisses Band-Aids PFAS Case But Allows Plaintiffs To Amend Complaint Again

    TRENTON, N.J. — In dismissing a putative class action against Johnson & Johnson and its affiliates brought by plaintiffs who alleged that they had been injured by the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Band-Aids, a federal judge in New Jersey ruled that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate standing to pursue injunctive relief.  The judge said, however, that the plaintiffs could amend their complaint yet again to correct its deficiencies.

  • February 13, 2026

    Ethylene Oxide Defendants Seek High Court Review Of Expert Admissibility Standards

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Union Carbide Corp. and an affiliate have filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that a lower court applied the incorrect legal standard for the admissibility of an expert under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 in a lawsuit over alleged injuries caused by exposure to ethylene oxide.  The petitioners say that the Supreme Court should hear the case because federal appellate courts are divided over whether challenges to the factual basis of an expert’s opinion “always go to weight, not admissibility.”

  • February 12, 2026

    Michigan City Seeks Damages For PFAS Pollution Of Its Drinking Water

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — A city in Michigan has sued 3M Co. and other makers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in South Carolina federal court alleging that they are liable for contaminating the local drinking water supply and contending that they knew that the use of PFAS in the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) would release PFAS compounds into the environment.  The city’s lawsuit follows a trend of municipal litigation against the makers of PFAS and AFFF.

  • February 12, 2026

    Judge Denies Remand In PFAS Case Brought By Former Pro Baseball Players’ Widows

    PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Feb. 11 denied a motion to remand sought by former players and widows of former players for the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team who allege that the makers or suppliers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are liable for wrongful death and other harm due to the presence of PFAS in the artificial turf that was used for the surface of the baseball field in Veterans Stadium, the team’s former home stadium.  The judge said that 3M Co.’s removal of the case to federal court under the federal officer removal statute was “timely and proper.”

  • February 12, 2026

    Judge Dismisses Glyphosate Case In Part But Says Duty To Warn Claim Survives

    VALDOSTA, Ga. — A federal judge in Georgia on Feb. 11 partially granted and partially denied Bayer Corp.’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a woman who claims that the company caused her to develop a neurological injury called stiff person’s syndrome (SPS), which she says is the result of her exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup.  The judge said the plaintiff pleaded facts sufficient to state claim for breach of a duty to warn but did not plead facts sufficient to state a claim for negligent recall.

  • February 11, 2026

    Georgia Measure Would Limit Liability Related To Multiple Types Of PFAS Chemicals

    ATLANTA — The Georgia House Committee on the Judiciary on Feb. 10 offered a substitute measure in response to a bill sponsored by five Republican members of the Georgia House of Representatives that pertains to liability for injuries related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).  Under the substitute measure, the Georgia code would be amended to “provide immunity from certain lawsuits” for parties defined as “PFAS receivers,” that is, parties other than PFAS manufacturers that use PFAS in agriculture or to manufacture goods.