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Mealey's Toxic Torts

October 16, 2023
Supreme Court Grants Certiorari In 2nd Challenge To Chevron Deference

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 13 granted a petition for a writ of certiorari in a second case challenging the doctrine of Chevron deference and ordered that it be briefed on a schedule allowing argument “in tandem” with a pending case pertaining to the same issue, both of which involve challenges to regulations that require fishing vessels to pay federal monitors.
October 16, 2023
Federal Judge Grants Motion To Voluntarily Dismiss Pipeline Explosion Suit

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An Alabama federal judge granted a motion to voluntarily dismiss with prejudice a lawsuit filed by two insurers seeking a declaration that no coverage is owed for a gas pipeline explosion after the insurers notified the court that they reached a settlement with their insureds.
October 16, 2023
Judge Dismisses PFAS Case Against L’Oreal For Lack Of Injury

NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York has dismissed a lawsuit brought by multiple plaintiffs who alleged that the cosmetics company L’Oreal USA Inc. was liable for false advertising of some of its products because it did not indicate that those items contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), ruling that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate an actual injury.
October 13, 2023
Panel Sends 2 Cases Alleging ‘Wrongful Conduct’ Against Monsanto To Roundup MDL

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPMDL) on Oct. 12 transferred two more lawsuits to the multidistrict litigation for cases alleging that exposure to the herbicide Roundup caused plaintiffs to develop cancer. In one case that is representative of both actions, the plaintiff argues that Monsanto Co., the maker of Roundup, engaged in “negligent and wrongful conduct” related to the manufacture and sale of Roundup.
October 13, 2023
Magistrate Denies Companies’ Motion To Dismiss PFAS Case, Says Claims Valid

PORTLAND, Maine — A federal magistrate judge in Maine has denied a motion to dismiss a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) lawsuit, ruling that a fact finder could “plausibly find” that the defendants, companies that supplied PFAS for use at paper mills, “participated to a substantial extent” in carrying on the nuisance at issue because they allegedly knew of the risks of unconfined discharges of PFAS into the environment and failed to provide any warnings.
October 13, 2023
Judge Dismisses Dental Floss PFAS Case For Lack Of Plausible Allegations

NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York has dismissed a putative class action alleging that dental floss made by Procter & Gamble Co. contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), ruling that the plaintiffs fail to plausibly allege that a specific dental floss product contains PFAS or causes harm to customers.
October 12, 2023
Firm Says Plaintiffs’ Expert Should Be Excluded In Flint Water Crisis Litigation

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — An engineering firm that has been named as a defendant in the litigation related to the lead-contaminated water crisis in Flint, Mich. on Oct. 11 filed a supplemental brief in Michigan federal court arguing that the plaintiffs “should not be allowed to surprise [the firm] with new claims for damages this late into the litigation,” therefore, the court should exclude the plaintiffs’ expert’s testimony about in utero lead exposures.
October 12, 2023
Monsanto Says Bid To Strike Affirmative Defenses In Glyphosate Case Is ‘Meritless’

SAN FRANCISCO — Monsanto Co. has filed an opposition brief in California federal court contending that a plaintiff’s motion to strike the company’s affirmative defenses in a glyphosate cancer case is “meritless” because the motion is “procedurally defective” and offers “underdeveloped reasons” for the plaintiff’s argument.
October 12, 2023
Judge Approves Class In PFAS Case Against DuPont Related To Cape Fear River

WILMINGTON, N.C. — A federal judge in North Carolina has granted class certification to plaintiffs in a long-running lawsuit against E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. and its affiliates related to claims that they dumped per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the Cape Fear River, resulting in groundwater contamination that caused injuries to resident in the area.
October 12, 2023
Judge Says Glyphosate Case Failed Due To ‘Insufficiency Of Expert Evidence’

ST. LOUIS — The Missouri state court judge who granted Monsanto Co. a directed verdict at the close of a glyphosate cancer trial has issued the official order related to that decision, indicating that the ruling was based on “the insufficiency of expert evidence needed to establish specific causation to make a submissible case.”
October 12, 2023
Agency Seeks Michigan High Court Review Of Ruling On PFAS Compliance Costs

LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Department of Environment Great Lakes Energy (EGLE) has filed a petition with the Michigan Supreme Court, arguing that a lower court erred when it found that drinking water rules for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) should be invalidated because EGLE did not include in its regulatory impact statement an estimate of costs that businesses would incur due to the changes to the state’s cleanup criteria.
October 11, 2023
Insurer: AFFF Defendant’s Coverage Claim Fails For Lack Of Jurisdiction

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Allstate Insurance Co. on Oct. 10 filed a reply brief in South Carolina federal court arguing that Tyco Fire Products LP fails to establish that the court has jurisdiction over Allstate in Tyco’s lawsuit seeking insurance coverage for the multidistrict litigation for claims arising from injuries associated with the firefighting agent aqueous film forming foam (AFFF).
October 11, 2023
Plaintiffs’ Master Complaint Seeks Damages For Exposure To Camp Lejeune’s Water

RALEIGH, N.C. — The plaintiffs who sued the U.S. government over injuries allegedly from toxic water at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune filed a master complaint in North Carolina federal court asking it to enter judgment against the government pursuant to the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 (CLJA) and award damages for the harm they have endured.
October 10, 2023
Panel Affirms Dismissal Of Deepwater Horizon Injury Case For Lack Of Causation

NEW ORLEANS — A panel of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in an unpublished opinion has agreed with a lower court’s decision that a plaintiff’s medical experts failed to show causation in a lawsuit against BP Exploration & Production Inc. related to injuries the plaintiff allegedly sustained while assisting with the cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
October 09, 2023
Newspapers Say DuPont’s Trade Secret Claim Related To PFAS Settlement Fails

ROME, Ga. — Two newspapers have filed a brief in Georgia state court arguing that E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. and its affiliates are not permitted to prevent the publication of the terms of a settlement related to a lawsuit brought by the city of Rome against DuPont concerning contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) because “it has long been settled law in Georgia that public agencies cannot make payments that they make or receive in connection with settlement agreements secret.”
October 04, 2023
N.Y. Federal Judge: Not Enough Evidence To Find Oil Spill Claims Are Time-Barred

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — There is not enough evidence at this stage to determine whether claims of property damage and personal injury raised by residents of a former industrial neighborhood who say they were harmed by an oil spill are time-barred, a New York federal judge found in denying a motion to dismiss filed by the company allegedly responsible for the spill.
October 02, 2023
Firms Deny Wrongdoing In Solicitation Of Camp Lejeune Water Crisis Clients

WHEELING, W.Va. — Two firms that have been sued for alleged illegal phone calls soliciting clients for mass tort cases relating to toxic water exposure at Camp Lejeune filed an answer to the complaint on Sept. 29 in West Virginia federal court denying all claims against them and asserting affirmative defenses. Specifically, the firms contend that they are not subject to jurisdiction in West Virginia, and they say the claims are barred because the plaintiff consented to receive phone calls or her consent was not required.
September 29, 2023
Lead Cases Nixed As Judge Adopts Magistrate’s Report Calling Claims ‘Insufficient’

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A federal judge in Michigan on Sept. 28 issued three rulings dismissing consolidated lawsuits that alleged malfeasance by state and federal authorities resulted in lead-contaminated groundwater, saying she agrees with a magistrate judge’s determination that the allegations are “patently insufficient to meet the ‘shocks-the-conscience’ standard required for federal due process claims.”
September 29, 2023
PFAS Defendant: Plaintiffs’ Objections To Magistrate’s Report ‘Without Merit’

BOSTON — A defendant in a lawsuit alleging drinking water contamination by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on Sept. 28 filed a brief in Massachusetts federal court arguing that the plaintiffs’ claims are procedurally barred based on a federal magistrate judge’s report and contending that the plaintiffs’ subsequent arguments opposing the report are “without merit.”
September 29, 2023
Judge Grants Monsanto Directed Verdict In Glyphosate Case After Plaintiff Rests

CLAYTON, Mo. — A state court judge in Missouri on Sept. 28 verbally granted Monsanto Co.’s motion for a directed verdict, ending a lawsuit in which a man alleged that he developed cancer from exposure to the herbicide Roundup, which contains the active ingredient glyphosate. A source told Mealey Publications that the judge will follow his bench ruling with a written order. VIDEO FROM THE TRIAL IS AVAILABLE.
September 29, 2023
City Of Jackson Says Water Crisis Plaintiffs Fail To Show Coercion Or Deception

JACKSON, Miss. — The city of Jackson filed a reply brief in Mississippi federal court arguing that the plaintiffs in the litigation over the contaminated water crisis in the city fail to show how the city coerced or deceived anyone into consuming contaminated water. The city also contends that the plaintiffs have not shown that they relied on any statement made by the city that the plaintiffs believe was deceptive.
September 28, 2023
U.S. Navy’s Bid To Dismiss Groundwater Case Denied Pending Complaint Correction

HONOLULU — A federal judge in Hawaii has denied the U.S. government’s motion to dismiss a groundwater contamination lawsuit against the U.S. Navy in light of the plaintiffs’ motion to correct their fourth amended complaint to resolve a clerical error regarding the list of plaintiffs who have sought medical care in response to the alleged injury.
September 28, 2023
Contentious Oral Arguments In Lead Paint Case Focus On Applicability Of Ruling

CHICAGO — A panel of the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in long-running lead-based paint litigation for personal injuries involving 150 consolidated cases, as plaintiffs’ attorneys argued that a lower court’s ruling holding that they were prevented from bringing their claims for injury was “clear error” while attorneys for the defendants said issue preclusion doctrines apply to all plaintiffs and bind them from pursuing the litigation.
September 28, 2023
Senators Want EPA To Declare Public Health Emergency For Ohio Train Derailment

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Both U.S. senators from Ohio have sent a letter to the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asking him to declare a public health emergency related to contamination from chemicals that were released when a train operated by Norfolk Southern Corp. derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, in February.
September 27, 2023
Glyphosate Cancer Case Sent To MDL Argues Monsanto Knew Roundup Was Carcinogenic

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on Sept. 26 transferred a glyphosate cancer lawsuit to the multidistrict litigation for the herbicide Roundup in California federal court. The case alleges that a Mississippi man developed cancer as a result of exposure to Roundup, the danger of which Monsanto knew and yet concealed.