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Mealey's Toxic Torts

  • April 29, 2025

    EPA Unveils Plans To Address PFAS In Drinking Water, Ensure Polluters Pay

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Lee Zeldin on April 28 announced that the agency will take a series of measures to prevent per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from contaminating drinking water, including the “designation of an agency lead for PFAS,” and the creation of effluent limitations guidelines (ELGs). The announcement also said that the EPA will “engage with Congress and industry to establish a clear liability framework that ensures the polluter pays and passive receivers are protected.”

  • April 29, 2025

    $53M Flint Settlement Gets Final Approval, Resolving Claims Involving Minors

    ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A federal judge in Michigan on April 28 issued a final order approving a $53 million settlement with Bellwether III plaintiffs in the litigation over the lead-contaminated water crisis in Flint, Mich., that resolves all claims brought by minors or plaintiffs designated as “legally incompetent or incapacitated individuals.”

  • April 29, 2025

    Supreme Court To Hear Case Over Federal Jurisdiction In Tainted Baby Food Dispute

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on April 28 agreed to hear a case in which a baby food manufacturer says a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that a district court improperly denied remand to plaintiffs who had sued the company alleging that it contaminated its products with heavy metals “directly conflicts with decisions of other courts of appeals,” ignores Supreme Court precedent concerning federal jurisdiction and “egregiously wastes judicial and party resources with no apparent benefit.”

  • April 28, 2025

    Ga. Federal Judge Approves Company’s Class Settlement For PFAS In Drinking Water

    ROME, Ga. —  A specialty chemical manufacturer with admitted involvement in contaminating groundwater in northwest Georgia with toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) will pay $1 million in class benefits, establish a temporary drinking water fund and pay attorney fees and costs to a group of water subscribers and ratepayers through a partial class action settlement that was granted final approval by a federal judge.

  • April 28, 2025

    Judge: Exxon Is Not Liable For Strict Liability In MTBE Saga With Pennsylvania

    NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York has ruled that Exxon Mobil Corp. and its affiliates are not liable for strict product liability claims brought by the state of Pennsylvania in a long-running case alleging groundwater contamination from the presence of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE).

  • April 25, 2025

    Plaintiffs Oppose Monsanto’s Bid For Reconsideration Of Order On Expert Witnesses

    SAN FRANCISCO — Plaintiffs in the multidistrict litigation for injuries related to exposure to the herbicide Roundup on April 24 filed multiple briefs in California federal court opposing Monsanto’s request for reconsideration of several pretrial orders that denied Monsanto’s motions to exclude five of the plaintiffs’ experts.  In one of the briefs, plaintiff Douglas Harris argues that Monsanto’s motion for reconsideration is based on the argument that the district court “fundamentally misunderstands” Daubert v Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals.

  • April 25, 2025

    Company Seeks Reversal Of Class Certification Order In PFAS Groundwater Case

    BOSTON — Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp. has filed a reply brief in the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals arguing that a district court’s order granting class certification in a long-running lawsuit over drinking water contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) should be reversed because the district court did not define the scope of, and plan for, bifurcated class proceedings.

  • April 24, 2025

    Jury Finds Norfolk Southern Completely At Fault For Ohio Train Derailment

    YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — A federal jury in Ohio on April 23 ruled in favor of a railcar company and determined that Norfolk Southern Railway Corp. is completely at fault for the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that exposed residents to toxic chemicals.  The jury also found that Norfolk Southern did not prove that it has paid more than its proportionate share of any common liability for harm to members of the class that sued it.

  • April 24, 2025

    PCB Plaintiffs Say Monsanto Lacks Support For Bid To Reduce Punitive Damages Award

    SEATTLE — The plaintiffs that won a $75 million punitive damages award that was part of a combined verdict of $100 million for injuries from exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs) at a Seattle area school have filed a supplemental brief in Washington state court opposing Monsanto Co.’s call for a reduction in the punitive damages award, arguing that the company’s inability to find a supportive case for its argument “emphasizes that there is no mathematical cap or formula that limits punitive damages as a matter of due process.”

  • April 23, 2025

    Monsanto Files 2 More Supreme Court Petitions Over Preemption For Roundup Claims

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Monsanto Co. has filed two separate-but-related petitions for writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court, which it says present the same question as a third petition, referred to as the Durnell case, that Monsanto previously filed with the high court seeking review of a $1.25 million damages award won by a man who sued the company for injuries from exposure to the herbicide Roundup.  In the recently filed petitions, Monsanto asks the Supreme Court to grant review in Durnell and hold each of the two additional cases pending resolution of Durnell, which deals with the question of whether the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) expressly preempts state requirements for labeling and packaging with regard to health warnings.

  • April 22, 2025

    Monsanto Says GE’s Proposed Agenda In PCB Indemnification Case Is ‘Improper’

    ST. LOUIS — Monsanto Co. has filed a reply brief in Missouri federal court arguing that General Electric Co.’s proposed agenda in litigation brought by Monsanto seeking indemnification for litigation related to alleged PCB injuries is “an improper supplemental brief in opposition to Monsanto’s motion to remand that defendants filed without prior court approval in violation of Local Rule 4.01(C).”

  • April 22, 2025

    Government Says Flint Tort Claims Act Cases Are Barred By Statute Of Limitations

    DETROIT — The U.S. government on April 21 filed a reply brief in Michigan federal court arguing that claims by nine of the 11 bellwether plaintiffs in the $722.4 million Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) lawsuit against the government related to the lead-contaminated watercrisis in Flint, Mich., should be dismissed on summary judgment because the claims are barred by the FTCA’s two-year statute of limitations period.

  • April 18, 2025

    Executive, Companies Plead Guilty To Negligent Conduct That Caused Worker’s Death

    AUSTIN, Texas — The U.S. Department of Justice announced that an oilfield company executive, his company and another company have pleaded guilty to violations of multiple federal laws in relation to the release of hazardous gas from hydraulic fracturing drilling operations that resulted in the deaths of an employee and his wife. The executive will serve five months in prison and the companies will pay a total $1.4 million in fines.

  • April 17, 2025

    Groups Say Iron Works Has Polluted Groundwater With Stormwater Discharges

    SAN DIEGO — Environmental groups have sued an ironworking company in California federal court arguing that it is liable for contamination of local groundwater because it has discharged, and continues to discharge, polluted stormwater from its facility to downstream waters and groundwater in violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA).

  • April 17, 2025

    Petitioners: Supreme Court Must Hear Camp Lejeune Case To Resolve Pending Claims

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two individuals who are challenging a lower court’s decision that they are not entitled to a jury trial in their case against the U.S. government related to water contamination at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina have filed a reply brief in the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that it should grant review of the ruling because the lead question in the matter is “central to resolving hundreds of thousands of pending claims under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act (CLJA).”

  • April 16, 2025

    Thoracic Society, Mine Workers Seek To Intervene In Cases Challenging Silica Rule

    ST. LOUIS — The American Thoracic Society (ATS) and United Mine Workers of America International Union, along with United Steel, moved separately in the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for leave to intervene in a dispute over the implementation of the “silica rule” issued by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) related to miners’ exposure to crystalline silica. The ATS argues that the rule should be enforced “as soon as possible,” and the United Mine Workers parties say they seek to protect the silica rule for “the benefit of their members and the nation’s miners generally.”

  • April 16, 2025

    Apple Says Smartwatch PFAS Plaintiffs Fail To State Injury In Fact, Seeks Dismissal

    SAN FRANCISCO — Apple Inc. has filed a motion to dismiss a putative class action in California federal court for lack of standing, arguing that the plaintiffs who sued the company claiming that Apple’s smartwatch bands contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) do not allege an injury in fact.

  • April 14, 2025

    3M: Rehearing En Banc Not Needed; Ruling ‘Correctly Concluded’ AFFF Remand Issue

    RICHMOND, Va. — The 3M Co. has filed a response brief in the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals arguing that there is no reason for the court to grant rehearing en banc in response to a petition by Maryland and South Carolina, which are asking the full court to reconsider a divided panel’s decision that determined that two lower courts wrongly remanded two lawsuits related to injuries from exposure to the firefighting agent aqueous film forming foam (AFFF). 3M says the split decision “correctly concluded that 3M plausibly alleged a sufficient nexus between the conduct charged in these suits and 3M’s federal government-contractor defense for purposes of the federal-officer removal statute.”

  • April 14, 2025

    Monsanto Says $75M Punitive Damages Award In PCB Case Exceeds Due Process

    SEATTLE — Monsanto Co. has filed a supplemental brief in Washington state court arguing that a $75 million punitive damages award that was part of a combined verdict of $100 million for plaintiffs who were injured from exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs) at a Seattle area school needs to be reduced because punitive damage awards in other cases related to PCB exposure at the same school “already greatly exceed the bounds of due process.”

  • April 11, 2025

    Monsanto Wants High Court Review Of Roundup Case With ‘Enormous’ Consequences

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Monsanto Co. has filed a petition for certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that it should review a $1.25 million damages award won by a man who sued the company for injuries from exposure to the herbicide Roundup because there is a circuit court split with “enormous” consequences on the question of whether the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) expressly preempts state requirements for labeling and packaging with regard to health warnings.

  • April 11, 2025

    Residents Say Motion To Compel Discovery In Lead-Tainted Water Case Fails

    GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Residents who sued Benton Harbor, Mich., and its officials over lead contamination in the drinking water have filed a response brief in Michigan federal court arguing that the court should deny a motion to compel discovery on grounds the motion was filed before the parties reached an impasse, which the plaintiffs argue is a violation of local and federal rules.

  • April 11, 2025

    3M Insists Texas’ PFAS Case Against It, Others Fails For Lack Of Jurisdiction

    DALLAS — The 3M Co. has filed a reply brief in Texas federal court arguing that the state of Texas has failed to establish general or personal jurisdiction in the state’s case against 3M Co. and other makers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances(PFAS) and, therefore, the case should be dismissed.

  • April 11, 2025

    Georgia City Says 3M’s Framework For Removal Of PFAS Case Is ‘Incorrect’

    SAVANNAH, Ga. — Savannah has filed a reply brief in Georgia federal court insisting that it should remand the city’s lawsuit against 3M Co. and others alleging water contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to state court on grounds that “3M’s entire framework for removal is incorrect” because 3M has not made the critical showing that its manufacture and sale of commercial PFAS products is “causally connected” to firefighting foam supplied to the federal government.

  • April 10, 2025

    DuPont Reiterates Need For Lone Pine Order In Coordinated PFAS Litigation

    NEW BERN, N.C. — E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. and its affiliates have filed a reply brief in North Carolina federal court arguing that in lawsuits alleging injury from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which have been grouped together for pretrial coordination, the district court should issue a Lone Pine order that requires the plaintiffs to produce expert declarations confirming injury and causation.

  • April 10, 2025

    Jury Awards More Than $3B In Damages For Injuries From Bottled Water Product

    LAS VEGAS — A Nevada jury has awarded a group of plaintiffs $3,078,585,000 in combined compensatory and punitive damages against Real Water Inc. and its affiliates for injuries caused by a product called “Real Water.”  The bottled drink was claimed to be healthier than regular water because it was “alkalized water infused with negative ions,” but in fact it caused liver damage as a result of elevated levels of toxins that made the product unsafe for human consumption.