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Mealey's Toxic Torts

February 07, 2024
Debate Continues Over Statute Of Repose In Monsanto’s $185M PCB Verdict Appeal

SEATTLE — Teachers who won a total award of $185 million against Monsanto Co. in 2021 for injuries from exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at a Seattle area school where they taught and Monsanto have each filed additional supplemental briefs in Washington state appeals court in their ongoing debate over the applicability of the statute of repose in the Washington Product Liability Act (WPLA). The teachers contend that the Washington Supreme Court has struck down the statute, and Monsanto insists that the decision upon which the teachers rely for that conclusion involves a case that is “fundamentally different.”
February 06, 2024
Michigan High Court Will Hear Case About PFAS Drinking Water Standards

LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Supreme Court granted a petition for review filed by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), which argues that an appeals court erred in holding that EGLE violated the Michigan Administrative Procedures Act when it issued new rules changing the permissible levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water without preparing a regulatory impact statement that included a sufficient “estimate of the actual statewide compliance costs of the proposed rule on businesses and other groups.”
February 06, 2024
11th Circuit Reverses Roundup Ruling, Says Man’s Claim Not Preempted By FIFRA

ATLANTA — A panel of the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 5 vacated and remanded to a federal district court a labeling dispute involving Roundup, ruling that state law failure-to-warn claims related to the herbicide are not preempted by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) or any action of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
February 05, 2024
Washington Federal Judge Denies Monsanto’s Summary Judgment Motion In PCB Case

SEATTLE — Monsanto Co. and several other companies are not entitled to summary judgment on claims arising from the alleged contamination of Seattle’s waterways with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) brought by the city because there are significant questions of material fact regarding causation, liability and damages, a Washington federal judge found Feb. 2 in denying the companies’ motion for summary judgment.
February 05, 2024
PFAS Makers Seek Dismissal Of Amended Complaint For Failure To State A Claim

NEW BERN, N.C. — Corteva Inc. and other affiliates of the company formerly known as E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. on Feb. 2 moved in North Carolina federal court to dismiss a first amended complaint in a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination case, arguing that it fails to state any legally cognizable claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6).
February 01, 2024
Man: Judge Disregarded Law In Granting Monsanto Directed Verdict; New Trial Needed

ST. LOUIS — A man who lost his glyphosate cancer trial against Monsanto Co. when the presiding judge granted Monsanto a directed verdict has moved in Missouri state court for a new trial on grounds that the judge disregarded Missouri law that requires trial courts to “give the non-movant the benefit of all reasonable inferences in deciding a motion for directed verdict.”
February 01, 2024
Flint Plaintiffs Seek Final Approval Of $8M Settlement With 3 Engineering Firms

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The plaintiffs in the Flint water crisis litigation have filed a brief in Michigan federal court seeking final approval of an $8 million class settlement with three firms that provided engineering and consulting services to the city of Flint in its decision to switch its water supply to the Flint River, a move that precipitated the lead contamination of the city’s drinking water.
February 01, 2024
Company Denies Liability, Says Other Defendants Should Indemnify It In PFAS Case

BOSTON — A defendant in a lawsuit alleging drinking water contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) filed an amended answer in Massachusetts federal court denying the allegations against it, asserting affirmative defenses and raising cross-claims against the other defendants, contending that it is entitled to indemnity.
February 01, 2024
Flint Class, Engineering Firms Settle Water Contamination Claims For $25 Million

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The class plaintiffs in the Flint lead-contaminated water litigation have reached a $25 million settlement with three engineering firms that were involved in the decision to switch the city’s water supply to the Flint River, which resulted in the corrosion of pipes, causing lead to leach into local drinking water, a source told Mealey Publications on Feb. 1.
January 31, 2024
Plaintiffs Seek Approval Of PFAS Class Settlement Worth More Than $1.36 Million

TRENTON, N.J. — Plaintiffs alleging contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have filed a brief in New Jersey federal court supporting a settlement of their lawsuit against the defendant chemical companies that would pay a combined $1,367,975 to three settlement classes, saying the proposed agreement “readily passes muster for its preliminary approval.”
January 31, 2024
L’Oreal Says PFAS Case Relies On ‘Sheer Speculation’ Not An Injury In Fact

NEW YORK — L’Oreal USA Inc. has filed a motion and brief in New York federal court arguing that it should dismiss an amended complaint against it because the plaintiffs still rely on “sheer speculation” that their mascara contains traces of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and they have no injury-in-fact.
January 30, 2024
Colorado Water District Seeks Damages From Government For PFAS Pollution

DENVER — A Colorado water district has sued the U.S. government in Colorado federal court under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), seeking to recover damages for alleged ongoing contamination of local drinking water with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have been released at Peterson Air Force Base (PAFB).
January 30, 2024
Residents Tell 6th Circuit Bodily Integrity Claim In Groundwater Case Is Valid

CINCINNATI — Michigan residents have filed a response brief in the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals contending that a federal district court properly found that they sufficiently alleged that various federal and state officials violated the residents’ substantive due process right to bodily integrity in relation to conduct that led to the contamination of the residents’ groundwater.
January 29, 2024
Pa. Jury Awards $2.25B To Man With Cancer In Roundup Trial Against Monsanto

PHILADELPHIA — A jury in Pennsylvania state court on Jan. 26 awarded $2.25 billion in combined damages to a man who said exposure to Monsanto Co.’s herbicide Roundup caused his cancer.
January 29, 2024
Flint Plaintiffs Say Defense Expert’s Testimony Amounts To ‘Inadmissible Hearsay’

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The plaintiffs in the Flint water crisis litigation on Jan. 26 filed a reply brief in Michigan federal court seeking to exclude the testimony of an expert witness for three engineering firms that are on trial for their role in the lead-contaminated water crisis in Flint, Mich. The plaintiffs argue that the expert’s previous testimony in the Flint bellwether trial, which is a separate action, constitutes “inadmissible hearsay” in the class action at hand.
January 29, 2024
Connecticut Files 2 Lawsuits Involving PFAS; 1 Of Them Targets Firefighting Foam

HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut has filed two lawsuits against makers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in state court. One suit is focused on damages allegedly caused by the firefighting agent aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) and the other asserts claims for contamination from PFAS not related to AFFF products.
January 26, 2024
Attorney Files 6 Cases Alleging Monsanto Knew Roundup Was Carcinogenic

ST. LOUIS — An attorney on Jan. 25 filed six lawsuits against Monsanto Co. in Missouri federal court, all contending that the respective plaintiffs developed cancer from exposure to the herbicide Roundup. In one complaint, which is representative of all of the cases, plaintiff Terry Larrabee contends that for decades, Monsanto has known of the association between Roundup and carcinogenicity leading to the development of numerous forms of cancer.
January 26, 2024
Flint Plaintiffs Seek Order Compelling Production Of Documents Improperly Withheld

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Plaintiffs in the Flint water crisis litigation have moved in Michigan federal court to compel engineering firms that were involved in the decision to switch the city’s water supply to the Flint River, which resulted in the drinking water being contaminated with lead, to comply with court orders to produce documents that the presiding judge has determined were withheld under improper assertions of privilege.
January 26, 2024
U.S. Navy: Alleged Injuries In Hawaii Water Case Not Caused By Negligent Acts

HONOLULU — The U.S. government filed an answer in Hawaii federal court on Jan. 25 denying claims in a fifth amended complaint filed by plaintiffs who contend the U.S. Navy is liable for groundwater contamination and asserting affirmative defenses that the alleged injuries were not caused by the government’s negligent acts or omissions.
January 25, 2024
Request For Discovery Order Is ‘Poorly Advised,’ Hair Relaxer Plaintiffs Say

CHICAGO — Plaintiffs in a suit against cosmetic companies over alleged injuries related to hair relaxer products filed a brief in Illinois federal court on Jan. 24 contending that the defendants’ request for a court order establishing procedures for dealing with discovery disputes is “poorly advised and should be rejected in its entirety.”
January 25, 2024
Parties File Competing Briefs In Monsanto’s Appeal Of $185M PCB Verdict

SEATTLE — Teachers who won a total award of $185 million against Monsanto Co. in 2021 for injuries from exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at a Seattle area school where they taught and Monsanto have each filed supplemental briefs in Washington state appeals court debating the applicability of the Washington Product Liability Act (WPLA). Monsanto says the trial court’s refusal to apply the WPLA’s statute of repose was unconstitutional, while the teachers continue to argue that the trial court correctly applied Missouri law.
January 24, 2024
New York Panel Affirms Landlord’s Liability For Lead Paint Poisoning

NEW YORK — An appellate court panel in New York on Jan. 23 affirmed a trial court ruling and held that a landlord is liable for lead poisoning of a tenant’s child by failing to remediate the hazard in a case involving a subtenancy arrangement that was not approved by the landlord. The panel said that despite the landlord’s claims that the subtenancy violated the rental contract, it had constructive notice that an infant lived in the premises and was exposed to lead-based paint.
January 24, 2024
PFAS Defendant Says Complaint Is ‘Insufficient,’ Fails To State Causes Of Action

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A defendant in a lawsuit alleging injuries from exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has moved in South Carolina federal court to dismiss the amended complaint on grounds that it is “insufficient as a matter of law and fails to state cognizable causes of actions for negligence and strict liability.”
January 24, 2024
Calif. Panel: State Agency Did Not Violate Water Code By Rejecting Mitigation Work

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — The California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Santa Ana Region, did not violate the California Water Code by finding that an engineering company’s attempts to mitigate hazardous tetrachloroethylene (PCE) vapors at its facility were inadequate because the board did not order the company to perform any specific kind of mitigation work, a California panel found in affirming a trial court’s decision to deny a company’s petition for writ of administrative mandate.
January 23, 2024
Defendants: Witness From Prior Flint Trial Allowed To Testify In Current Class Case

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Three related engineering firms on trial for alleged violations in connection with the Flint water crisis filed a brief in Michigan federal court on Jan. 22 opposing a motion to exclude, contending that the testimony of a witness for another defendant in the Flint bellwether trial is admissible in the case at hand, which is a separate class action, under Federal Rule of Evidence 804(b)(1) because he is not available to testify live due to a settlement agreement that prevents the other defendant from providing its employees to testify in other trials about the water crisis.