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

Mealey's Toxic Torts

April 09, 2025
3M Asks 2nd Circuit To Rule Connecticut’s PFAS Case Belongs In Federal Court

NEW YORK — The 3M Co. has filed an opening appeal brief in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals arguing that it should rule that a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination lawsuit brought by Connecticut implicates the company’s government contractor defense and belongs in federal court.
April 09, 2025
Plaintiffs Say Objections To Ore. Water Contamination Case Findings Lack Merit

PENDLETON, Ore. — A group of residents who sued the port of Morrow and several agricultural companies pursuant to Oregon state law and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) for alleged contamination of groundwater in the Lower Umatilla Basin say a federal magistrate judge’s findings of fact and recommendation stating they can pursue most of their claims for relief should be entirely adopted and that a litany of objections made by the defendants does not have merit.
April 09, 2025
Vape Maker Says Plaintiffs’ PFAS Class Action Fails For Lack Of Jurisdiction

SAN FRANCISCO — A maker of vapes has moved in California federal court to dismiss a putative class action alleging that its products contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), arguing that subject matter jurisdiction is lacking and that the plaintiffs have failed to plead fraud-based claims with particularity.
April 08, 2025
Montana City Sues 3M, Others For Making Firefighting Gear With PFAS

BUTTE, Mont. — A municipality in Montana has filed a class action against 3M Co., DuPont de Nemours Inc. and others in Montana federal court seeking compensatory and punitive damages because they made what is called “turnout gear” for firefighters that contained per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which the plaintiff says is causing firefighters to develop cancer “at an alarming rate higher than the general population.”
April 08, 2025
Costco Says, Again, PFAS Baby Wipes Case Fails To State A Claim, Seeks Dismissal

SAN FRANCISCO — Costco Wholesale Corp. has filed a reply brief in a class action alleging that Kirkland Signature Baby Wipes contain unsafe levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), arguing that “without the conclusory opinions of her mystery expert,” nothing in the plaintiff’s amended complaint or her brief opposing dismissal “would render plausible the toxicity of these substances at these levels, and on that basis she fails to state a claim.”
April 08, 2025
Alabama High Court Nixes PFAS Case Against DuPont; Claims Against Landfills Stand

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that claims against E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., its affiliates and other defendants in a lawsuit over the contamination of drinking water with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are precluded on statute of limitations grounds. However, the Supreme Court ruled that claims against a group of landfills were not dismissed because they never sought dismissal of the claims against them based on the affirmative defense of statute of limitations.
April 04, 2025
Judge Nixes Claims In Case Over Heavy Metals In Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate

SAN DIEGO — A federal judge in California has granted summary judgment to Trader Joe’s Co. on class claims that its dark chocolate products contain lead and other heavy metals, ruling that information on the presence of heavy metals in chocolate has been “reasonably obtainable, easily discoverable, and available” for many years; therefore, the judge was “not persuaded” that the plaintiffs had created a genuine issue of material fact.
March 31, 2025
Calif. Panel Reverses Dismissal Of Claims In Dry-Cleaning PCE Pollution Dispute

SAN FRANCISCO — A California appellate court panel granted a writ of mandate ordering a Superior Court judge to vacate a ruling that dismissed claims of liability and negligence brought by Modesto, Calif., and some of its municipal agencies over perchloroethylene (PCE) contamination at a former dry-cleaning site.
March 31, 2025
Judge Reconsiders Prior Order, Refuses To Exclude Plaintiffs’ Roundup Expert

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California has ruled that a plaintiffs’ expert in an injury lawsuit alleging that the herbicide Roundup causes cancer can testify at trial, after reconsidering his prior order that excluded the expert. The judge said the court “clearly erred” when it excluded the opinion of Shalin Kothari on grounds that he failed to adequately account for random replication errors as a cause for cancer, which is a controversial theory advanced by Monsanto Co. expert Cristian Tomasetti.
March 31, 2025
Government Says Flint FTCA Bellwether Plaintiffs Have Not Established Liability

DETROIT — The U.S. government on March 28 filed a reply brief in support of its motion to dismiss a $722.4 million Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) lawsuit against it related to the lead-contaminated water crisis in Flint, Mich., contending that the bellwether plaintiffs have not established liability under Section 324A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts and have not established analogous private liability under Section 324A and, therefore, their claims should be dismissed.
March 28, 2025
Judge Dismisses Class Suit Alleging Infant Formula Contained Heavy Metals

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on March 24 granted an infant formula company’s motion to dismiss a putative class action lawsuit against it for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by allegedly concealing the presence of heavy metals in its formula products, finding that the plaintiff failed to allege that the amounts of heavy metals in the products pose a safety.
March 28, 2025
9th Circuit Reverses, Says Claims Valid In Roundup Mislabeling Lawsuit

PASADENA, Calif. — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on March 27 issued an unpublished nonprecedential memorandum in which it reversed a lower court decision that dismissed claims against Monsanto Co. and its parents related to allegations that its herbicide Roundup was mislabeled, ruling that the plaintiffs alleged sufficient facts to plausibly state a claim for relief against Monsanto, but the panel affirmed the part of the lower court ruling that concluded that the claims against Scotts Co. LLC were properly dismissed.
March 28, 2025
Judge Nixes PFAS Case Against Government, Says Jurisdiction Lacking, Claims Fail

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A judge in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims has dismissed a lawsuit brought against the U.S. government alleging contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the firefighting agent aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), which the plaintiffs said amounted to an illegal taking of their property, ruling that the court lacks jurisdiction and the plaintiffs fail to assert a proper takings claim.
March 27, 2025
Judge Denies Norfolk Southern’s Motion To Dismiss Securities Fraud Class Action

ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern Corp. and its principal’s motion to dismiss investors’ securities fraud class action relating to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, was denied by a federal judge in Ohio, who found that the investors’ allegations raised an “overwhelming” inference of scienter.
March 27, 2025
PCB Indemnification Defendants Say Monsanto’s Bid To Strike Case Agenda Fails

ST. LOUIS — General Electric Co. and other companies that purchased polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have filed a brief in Missouri federal court arguing that it should deny a motion by Monsanto Co. to strike the defendants’ proposed agenda for Monsanto’s lawsuit seeking indemnification for litigation related to alleged PCB injuries, on grounds that Monsanto has not shown that the proposed agenda warrants striking under the “stringent standard required under” Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f).
March 27, 2025
Judge Dismisses Securities Class Action Regarding Alleged Emissions Misstatements

CLEVELAND — A federal judge in Ohio dismissed a securities fraud class action brought by investors against a company, its executives, selling shareholders and underwriters for allegedly making a series of misstatements regarding the company’s effort to control the emission of ethylene oxide, finding that the investors failed to plead misstatements that trigger the defendants’ liability.
March 25, 2025
4th Circuit Stays Mandate, Weighs Petition For Rehearing En Banc In PFAS Case

RICHMOND, Va. — The clerk of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 24 issued a temporary stay of a mandate as the court weighs a petition for rehearing en banc filed by the states of Maryland and South Carolina, which are asking the full court to reconsider its split decision that determined that two lower courts wrongly remanded two separate lawsuits related to injuries from exposure to the firefighting agent aqueous film forming foam (AFFF).
March 25, 2025
Magistrate Judge Approves Joint Case Management Statement In PFAS Coverage Dispute

SAN FRANCISCO — After finding that a pollution exclusion bars coverage for some, but not all, underlying lawsuits filed against an insured and alleging injuries related to exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) allegedly contained in aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) that were manufactured and sold by the insured, a California federal magistrate judge approved a joint case management statement submitted by the parties regarding how to adjudicate the hundreds of lawsuits filed against the insured.
March 25, 2025
Jury Awards Nearly $2.1B To Man With Cancer In Georgia Glyphosate Trial

MARIETTA, Ga. — A Georgia state court jury has awarded a combined $2,065,000,000 in compensatory and punitive damages against Monsanto Co. for causing a man’s cancer from exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup.
March 24, 2025
Texas Seeks To Hold 3M Accountable For ‘Persistent Misrepresentations’ About PFAS

DALLAS — The state of Texas has filed a brief in Texas federal court arguing that the court should deny a motion to dismiss its lawsuit against 3M Co. and other makers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) because “3M must be held accountable for its failure to meet its obligations to Texans, who — along with the legitimate business community operating in Texas — were negatively impacted by 3M’s persistent misrepresentations and omissions in marketing its products in the Texas economy.”
March 21, 2025
Amended Class Action Alleges Dental Floss Contains Multiple PFAS Chemicals

NEW YORK — A plaintiff has filed a second amended class complaint in New York federal court arguing that dental floss made by Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G) contains multiple chemicals that fit under the classification of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) based on direct testing of the product, which renders P&G’s claim that its products are healthy “false and misleading.”
March 20, 2025
‘Down With The Sickness’ Metal Singer Sues Landlords Alleging Mold Exposure

MIAMI — The lead singer for nu metal rock band Disturbed has sued his landlords in Florida state court alleging that they neglected to maintain the roof of a multimillion-dollar rental property, resulting in water intrusion and damage from mold, which has affected the singer’s music career
March 20, 2025
Judge Dismisses PFAS Case Against Samsung Related To Smartwatch Wristbands

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California on March 19 dismissed a putative class action against Samsung Electronics America Inc. in California federal court contending that it is liable for fraud and the violation of various consumer laws because the bands for several of its smartwatches “contain excessive levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS),” ruling that the parties are preparing a written settlement agreement and stipulation of dismissal.
March 20, 2025
PFAS Plaintiffs Say DuPont Entities’ Bid For Lone Pine Order Is ‘Premature’

NEW BERN, N.C. — Plaintiffs who have had their lawsuits alleging injury from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) against E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. and its affiliates grouped together for pretrial coordination have filed a brief in North Carolina federal court arguing that the court should not grant a motion filed by the defendants seeking a Lone Pine order because the request is “premature and unwarranted.”
March 19, 2025
Judge Sanctions 4 Monsanto Attorneys For Violating Orders During Seattle PCB Trial

SEATTLE — A Washington state court judge ordered four attorneys for Monsanto Co. to pay $2,500 each in sanctions for violating court orders and formally reprimanded four others in relation to their conduct during a trial that led to a $100 million verdict for the plaintiffs, who were exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs) at a Seattle area school. The judge said he was “faced with this disagreeable task” because Monsanto’s attorneys “violated several of the Court’s scheduling orders, which had the effect of disrupting these proceedings and prejudicing Plaintiffs’ trial preparation.”