Mealey's Toxic Torts
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March 17, 2022
Women Say Company ‘Reckless’ In Making Infant Formulas That Contain Heavy Metals
CHICAGO — Two women on March 14 sued a company that makes infant formula in Illinois federal court contending that it is liable for “knowing, reckless, and/or intentional practice of failing to fully disclose” that its products contain arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury and perchlorate.
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March 17, 2022
Wisconsin Sues Companies For PFAS Tainted Water, Failure To Report Danger To State
MADISON, Wis. — The state of Wisconsin on March 14 sued a fire products company in state court contending that it is liable for contaminating a property that houses a firefighter training facility with per- and polyfluoroalykyl substances (PFAS), which are ingredients in the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foam (AFFF).
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March 17, 2022
Judge Refuses Reconsideration Of Order Denying Remand In Chemical Exposure Case
NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in Louisiana on March 15 refused to reconsider her order denying remand and dismissal of some defendants in a chemical injury lawsuit, ruling that the plaintiffs did not show that those defendants owed the plaintiffs a duty and finding that the jurisprudential rule that the plaintiffs claimed had been “mooted” had not.
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March 16, 2022
Paraquat MDL Judge Dismisses Some Cases, Orders Defendants To Answer Others
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — A federal judge in Illinois on March 14 dismissed some nuisance claims in the multidistrict litigation for injuries from exposure to the pesticide paraquat and ordered the defendants to file answers to 16 lawsuits that have been designated for trial.
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March 15, 2022
Judge Says DuPont Fraudulently Transferred PFAS Liability To Its Subsidiary
CHARLESTON, S.C. — A federal judge in South Carolina on March 10 ruled that a city in Florida had sufficiently shown that E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. fraudulently transferred its liabilities for contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to one of its subsidiaries and, therefore, the judge denied the DuPont entities’ motion to dismiss.
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March 15, 2022
In New Mexico CERCLA Contribution Case, Dismissal Bid Denied
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — A federal judge in New Mexico on March 10 said that claims for cost recovery and contribution under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act leveled in connection with a nearly two-mile-long contaminated groundwater plume will proceed.
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March 11, 2022
Judge: Benzene Injury Case May Proceed Based On Timing Of When Exposure Occurred
LAFAYETTE, La. — A federal judge in Louisiana on Feb. 24 denied a company’s summary judgment motion to dismiss a benzene exposure injury case, ruling that there was sufficient evidence to create a triable issue regarding the plaintiff’s exposure before the amendments to the state workers’ compensation act in 1975.
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March 11, 2022
Parkinson’s Sufferer Says Paraquat Makers Liable For ‘Tortious Conduct’
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — A man who suffers from Parkinson’s disease sued the makers of the pesticide paraquat on March 1 in Illinois federal court contending that they are liable for “tortious conduct” because they knew, or should have known, that paraquat is a “highly toxic substance that can cause severe neurological injuries” yet they did not inform the public.
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March 11, 2022
Judge Denies Monsanto’s Bid For Dismissal Of Glyphosate Case, Suggests Remand
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California on Feb. 25 filed a suggestion of remand in a glyphosate cancer case that had been included in the Roundup Products Liability multidistrict litigation, saying that following his denial of summary judgment in favor of Monsanto Co., the case is ready for trial and he suggests that the case be sent back to its original jurisdiction.
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March 10, 2022
Government Indicts Oil Company For Deaths Caused By Leaked Hydrogen Sulfide Gas
MIDLAND, Texas — The U.S. government on March 3 filed a criminal indictment against an oil and gas company and its affiliates in Texas federal court, saying that the defendants’ release of hazardous gas related to drilling operations resulted in the deaths of an employee and his wife.
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March 10, 2022
Panel Reverses Lead Ruling, Says Plaintiff Presented Evidence Of Exposure
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A panel of the Court of Special Appeals on Feb. 22 reversed and remanded a lead-based paint injury lawsuit, ruling that the plaintiff had presented evidence that she was exposed at the property and finding that the landlord’s claim that it did not have a duty to the plaintiff because her family is what is referred to as “holdover mortgagors” was incorrect.
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March 10, 2022
3M, Others Liable For Fraud Related To Injuries From Firefighting Foam, Man Says
CHARLESTON, S.C. — A firefighter on March 1 sued 3M Co. and others in South Carolina federal court seeking damages for injuries caused by exposure to per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), contending that the defendants knew that the chemicals are “highly toxic and carcinogenic” and present “significant health risks to humans.”
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March 10, 2022
Judge Rules Securities Claims Related To Chemours’ PFAS Liabilities May Proceed
WILMINGTON, Del. — A federal judge in Delaware on Feb. 24 ruled that claims for violations of federal securities law could proceed against the Chemours Co. because the plaintiffs presented evidence that the company falsely understated its maximum potential environmental remediation liabilities pertaining to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) when it filed documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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March 09, 2022
Judge Certifies Class In PFAS Case Over Firefighting Foam
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal judge in Ohio on March 7 partially granted a motion for class certification in a lawsuit brought by a firefighter seeking injunctive, equitable and declaratory relief for injuries arising from the “intentional, knowing, reckless and/or negligent acts and/or omissions of Defendants” regarding exposure to the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), ruling that the plaintiff meet the requirements of the commonality analysis related to the risk of disease faced by all class members.
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March 08, 2022
Los Angeles Says Monsanto Knowingly Contaminated Water With PCBs
LOS ANGELES — The city of Los Angeles on March 4 sued Monsanto Co. in state court seeking damages because “despite its early knowledge of the dangers” associated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), the company contaminated drinking water and the environment at large through the manufacture and use of PCBs in the city.
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March 08, 2022
Judge Dismisses Long-Running Lead-Paint Injury Case Against DuPont, Others
MILWAUKEE — A federal judge in Wisconsin on March 3 dismissed all injury claims against companies that formerly made lead-based paint, ruling that based on the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ 2021 reversal of a $6 million award, as well as procedural issues that arose during the lengthy litigation, the manufacturers are entitled to summary judgment.
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March 08, 2022
Former Flint Employees Ask Judge To Quash Subpoenas Related To Bellwether Trial
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Three former employees of the city of Flint who are under criminal indictment for their roles in the Flint water crisis on March 7 moved in Michigan federal court to quash subpoenas to testify in a bellwether civil trial that is under way, arguing that because they are facing ongoing criminal prosecution they should not have to testify and risk a violation of their Fifth Amendment rights.
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March 07, 2022
U.S. High Court Denies Donziger’s Attempt To File Late Petition
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on March 7 denied a motion to file a petition for writ of certiorari out of time against the New York Attorney Grievance Committee by Steven R. Donziger, the environmental attorney convicted on six counts of criminal contempt in connection with the Lago Agrio contamination lawsuit.
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March 04, 2022
COMMENTARY: Public Nuisance, COVID-19, And The Re-Emergence Of The “Super Tort”
By Stacey Deere, Edd Gaus and EJ Odigwe
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March 03, 2022
Pennsylvania County Says 3M, DuPont, Others Knowingly Tainted Water With PFAS
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. — The Bucks County, Pa., district attorney on Feb. 28 sued 3M Co., E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. and others in Pennsylvania state court seeking damages for the remediation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in groundwater and soil, arguing that the companies knew or should have known that PFAS is toxic.