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Mealey's Toxic Torts

November 06, 2025
6th Circuit Denies Objectors’ Appeal Of $600M Ohio Train Derailment Settlement

CINCINNATI — A Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 5 dismissed the appeal of a group of individuals who objected to the $600 million class action settlement in the Ohio train derailment lawsuit, ruling that the objectors failed to pay the $850,000 appeal bond in a timely manner and holding that they offered no valid justification for failing to pay the appeal bond.
November 05, 2025
Attorneys Debate Jurisdiction, Prejudice In Heavy Metal Baby Food Case At Supreme Court

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Nov. 4 in a dispute between a baby food manufacturer and parents who contend that the company’s product contains heavy metals, with the attorneys debating issues of jurisdiction, diversity of parties and prejudice.
November 04, 2025
Divided 5th Circuit Affirms Federal Class Does Not Toll State Limitations

NEW ORLEANS — A divided Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of nearly 800 individual plaintiffs’ state law claims related to the release of allegedly toxic chemicals caused by a series of explosions at an industrial plant as time-barred, finding that the filing of a federal class action related to the incident does not toll the statute of limitations for the state law claims.
November 04, 2025
Ga. Appeals Court Finds Wrong Standard Applied In Exclusion Of Causation Experts

ATLANTA — A Georgia trial court applied the incorrect standard for determining the admissibility of expert testimony on general causation in a case alleging that exposure to ethylene oxide caused cancers and birth defects, a Georgia appeals court ruled in a consolidated appeal, vacating an order that allowed testimony from one expert but barred it from two others.
November 03, 2025
Judge Approves $38M Deal In Securities Fraud Case Related To Roundup Herbicide

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California on Oct. 31 granted final approval to a $38 million settlement in a securities fraud class action against Bayer AG, the parent company of Monsanto Co., related to statements it made about Monsanto’s science-based trial defenses in Roundup litigation, ruling that the agreement is consistent with other federal securities class action settlements.
October 31, 2025
Norfolk Southern: Ohio’s Bid For Judgment In Train Derailment Case Is ‘Meritless’

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Norfolk Southern Corp. on Oct. 30 filed a brief in Ohio federal court arguing that Ohio’s motion for summary judgment on more than half of its causes of action in its lawsuit against the railroad company in connection with the toxic contamination from the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, “is as audacious as it is meritless. It fails on the facts and the law and should be denied.”
October 31, 2025
D.C. Federal Judge Stays CERCLA Suit Dismissal Briefing Amid Shutdown Funding Lapse

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The deadline for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to reply to a group of environmental nonprofit organizations’ opposition to a motion to partially dismiss and transfer a lawsuit filed in District of Columbia federal court over the implementation of cleanup activities that allegedly violated requirements of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 and other federal directives is stayed until restoration of appropriations for U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) operations that expired due to the government shutdown.
October 31, 2025
5th Circuit Denies 3M Leave To Appeal Order Remanding PFAS Case To State Court

NEW ORLEANS — A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel has denied 3M Co.’s motion for leave to appeal a lower court order that remanded to state court the state of Texas’ per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) lawsuit against 3M and several affiliates of E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. The one-sentence order did not elaborate on the reason for denying the motion.
October 31, 2025
Non-Fluoridation Class Action Dismissed; Judge Sees No Right To Fluoridated Water

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A federal judge in New York dismissed without leave to amend a putative class complaint by residents of Buffalo, N.Y., who alleged that the city stopped fluoridating tap water without notice and in violation of the state constitution and various state laws.
October 30, 2025
Washington High Court Reverses, Reinstates $185M PCB Verdict Against Monsanto

OLYMPIA, Wash. — A divided Washington Supreme Court on Oct. 30 reversed a lower court’s decision, reinstated a $185 million verdict against Monsanto Co. and ruled that a new trial is not warranted in a polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) injury lawsuit brought by teachers at a Seattle area school, ruling that the jury’s finding of liability under Washington substantive product law is sufficient to sustain the punitive damages award.
October 30, 2025
Split North Carolina High Court Grants DuPont A Stay In State’s PFAS Case

RALEIGH, N.C. — A divided North Carolina Supreme Court on Oct. 29 granted a stay to E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. and its affiliates in a lawsuit brought by the North Carolina attorney general related to contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The majority did not elaborate on its decision, but in a dissent, Justice Anita Earls wrote that “DuPont’s own dilatory conduct undermines that such an immediate temporary stay is necessary.”
October 30, 2025
Court Applied Law Improperly When It Nixed $250M Glyphosate Lawsuit, Man Says

PHILADELPHIA — A pro se plaintiff filed an informal brief in the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 29 arguing that a lower court improperly applied the law when it dismissed his case seeking $250 million against Monsanto Co. for causing his cancer as a result of exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup.
October 29, 2025
Defendant In PFAS Drinking Water Case Says CERCLA Claims Lack Sufficient Facts

WHEELING, W.Va. — A defendant in a lawsuit by plaintiffs seeking to recover the costs associated with removing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have tainted local sources of drinking water under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) on Oct. 28 filed a brief arguing that the case should be dismissed for failure to state a claim. The defendant says that the plaintiffs “do not make plausible allegations of facts sufficient to support their causes of action.”
October 29, 2025
Plaintiffs’ Counsel: Expert In Camp Lejeune Water Case Showed ‘Extraordinary Bias’

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Plaintiffs’ Leadership Group (PLG) in the Camp Lejeune water crisis multidistrict litigation in North Carolina federal court on Oct. 28 filed a brief arguing that the U.S. government’s general causation expert should be excluded because she failed to apply the correct standard under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act (CLJA) and because she “has demonstrated a lack of objectivity and extraordinary bias.”
October 29, 2025
Cancer Plaintiff Says Expert Meets Daubert Standard In Glyphosate Cancer Case

SAN FRANCISCO — In a lawsuit alleging harm from exposure to the herbicide Roundup, the plaintiff has filed a brief in California federal court arguing that, contrary to the contention of Monsanto Co., the report and testimony of the plaintiff’s expert Mark Levin satisfy Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharms.
October 28, 2025
Airport Asks 6th Circuit To Reverse Lower Court’s Ruling On PFAS Liability

CINCINNATI — The Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority (GFIAA) has filed a brief in the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals arguing that it should reverse a district court’s order that severed and remanded a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) groundwater contamination case to Michigan state court because the district court abused its discretion.
October 28, 2025
Expert In Glyphosate Case Against Monsanto Is Admissible, Plaintiffs Say

WILMINGTON, Del. — A couple who sued Monsanto Co. alleging that the husband developed cancer from exposure to the herbicide Roundup filed a brief in Delaware state court on Oct. 27 opposing Monsanto’s motion seeking exclusion of one of their expert witnesses, arguing that Monsanto’s challenge pertains to methodology, not admissibility.
October 27, 2025
Class Counsel Seek Sanctions Against Administrator Of Train Derailment Settlement

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The class counsel in a lawsuit against railroad company Norfolk Southern Corp. related to the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, filed a brief in Ohio federal court asking that the court order the former administrator of a $600 million settlement reached in the litigation to show why it should not be sanctioned and held in contempt for “large-scale errors” that include incorrectly rejecting eligible claims.
October 24, 2025
Groups Sue Trump, EPA For Tapping CAA Rule To Impose Air Pollution Exemption Order

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Several nonprofit and grassroots environmental organizations are suing President Donald J. Trump and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in federal court in the District of Columbia over a recent federal proclamation that exempts for two years 50 chemical manufacturing plants from requirements to control and monitor hazardous, cancer-causing air pollutants, alleging the president is overstepping the bounds of his lawful authority and violating the Clean Air Act (CAA).
October 24, 2025
Federal Judge In N.Y. Consolidates Similar Suits Challenging Climate Change Act

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Two lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act will be consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York per request of the defendants “because [the cases] involve common question of law or fact and because consolidation is in the interest of judicial economy.”
October 23, 2025
Judge Says Board Erred In Ruling On Veteran’s Benefits For Agent Orange Exposure

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims judge on Oct. 22 vacated a decision by the Board of Veterans’ Appeals that denied a veteran’s claim for injuries from exposure to the pesticide Agent Orange, ruling that the board erred “in failing to address the appellant's explicitly raised contentions” regarding the conduct of a Department of Veterans Affairs examiner. The judge said the examiner did not “adequately consider the appellant's chemical exposures during service.”
October 23, 2025
Chemours Paints ‘Distorted’ Portrait In PFAS Case, Group Tells 4th Circuit

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — An environmental advocacy group on Oct. 22 filed a response brief in the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals arguing that The Chemours Co. FC LLC paints a “distorted and inaccurate portrait” of a trial court’s decision that granted the group a preliminary injunction in a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination case, saying the lower court decision does not disregard U.S. Supreme Court injunction precedent.
October 22, 2025
Widow Says Monsanto Had ‘Ample Evidence’ Of Roundup’s Toxicity, Seeks Damages

SEATTLE — A woman sued Monsanto Co. on Oct. 21 in Washington federal court alleging the company is responsible for the wrongful death of her husband due to his exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup. She maintains that Roundup is “defective” and “dangerous to human health” and that Monsanto has had “ample evidence” of glyphosate’s genotoxic properties for decades.
October 22, 2025
Judge Denies Bid To Stay Flint Tort Claims Case During Government Shutdown

DETROIT — A federal judge in Michigan denied the U.S. government’s bid to stay the $722.4 million Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) lawsuit against the government related to the lead-contaminated water crisis in Flint, Mich., ruling that despite the current government shutdown, she “sees no reason why the lapse in appropriations should preclude the Government’s participation in this matter.”
October 22, 2025
Defendant: Documents From Other Cases Are Not Relevant In Ethylene Oxide Dispute

MARIETTA, Ga. — A company that operates medical equipment sterilization facilities has filed a brief in Georgia state court arguing that plaintiffs who sued it for alleged injuries related to exposure to ethylene oxide (EtO), the chemical used to sterilize medical equipment, should not be permitted to introduce documents from other similar cases on grounds that they are irrelevant and involve legal issues different from those at play in the case at hand.