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Mealey's Toxic Torts

  • October 15, 2021

    Class Consents To Some Documents Being Filed Under Seal In PFAS Injury Lawsuit

    GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A class of plaintiffs suing the 3M Co. for injuries from exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on Oct. 1 filed a brief in Michigan federal court consenting to 3M’s request to seal its brief opposing class certification and designated portions of five expert reports to protect the plaintiffs’ sensitive medical records and personally identifying information.

  • October 15, 2021

    Judge Says PFAS Case Against DuPont Belongs In State Court, Diversity Is Lacking

    RALEIGH, N.C. — On Sept. 30, a federal judge in North Carolina remanded to state court a case in which residents allege that Chemours Co. FC LLC is liable for groundwater contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), ruling that the plaintiffs have shown the absence of complete diversity such that federal jurisdiction is lacking.

  • October 15, 2021

    Judge:  Securities Case Against 3M Related To PFAS Liability Lacks Particularity

    MINNEAPOLIS — A federal judge in Minnesota on Sept. 30 dismissed a securities fraud class action against the 3M Co., ruling that shareholders did not allege with sufficient particularity that the company misled them with regard to its liabilities from litigation stemming from its production of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

  • October 15, 2021

    Panel Sends Case Against Monsanto To MDL In Response To Motion By Third Parties

    WILMINGTON, Del. — The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPMDL) on Oct. 12 transferred to the multidistrict litigation for Roundup products liability a case in Delaware federal court in which plaintiffs who allege that they have been injured by glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, assert causes of action for economic loss based on alleged overcharges for Roundup products.  Parties not involved in the case had moved for transfer on grounds that a proposed settlement in the case would affect other cases in the MDL.

  • October 13, 2021

    Monsanto: Cancer Victim Fails To Show Roundup Is ‘Unreasonably Dangerous’

    SAN FRANCISCO — Monsanto Co. on Oct. 11 filed an answer in California federal court contending that a cancer victim who says his exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, caused his injury fails to state a claim.  Monsanto also says the plaintiff cannot proffer any scientifically reliable evidence that Roundup is “defective or unreasonably dangerous.”

  • October 13, 2021

    Widow Sues Monsanto, Says It Knows Roundup Is ‘Inherently Dangerous And Unsafe’

    ATLANTA — A widow sued Monsanto Co. on Oct. 12 in Georgia federal court contending that it is liable for her husband’s death because he developed cancer from exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup.  She also argues that Monsanto knew that Roundup was “inherently dangerous and unsafe.”

  • October 13, 2021

    Prosecutor Lacked Authority In Criminal Contempt Case, Donziger Tells 2nd Circuit

    NEW YORK — Environmental attorney Steven R. Donziger, who has been sentenced to six months in federal prison for his conviction on six counts of criminal contempt in connection with the Lago Agrio contamination lawsuit, on Oct. 8 filed a brief in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals supporting a motion for release pending appeal, arguing yet again that the special prosecutor in the case lacked constitutional authority.

  • October 12, 2021

    EPA Announces Plan To Regulate Hydrofluorocarbons

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Oct. 7 announced that it has granted 10 petitions requesting that the agency restrict the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) pursuant to the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act (AIM).

  • October 11, 2021

    CGL Insurer Responsible For Only Portion Of Lead Exposure Judgment

    BALTIMORE — A commercial general liability (CGL) insurer is responsible for only 81.49 percent of an underlying judgment entered against its insured landlord for exposure to lead paint in the landlord’s property because pursuant to Maryland law, a pro-rata, time-on-the-risk allocation method must be applied to calculate the amount owed by the insurer, a Maryland federal magistrate judge said Oct. 6 in granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.

  • October 08, 2021

    Doctor Who Says Monsanto Knew Glyphosate Was Toxic Has Case Sent To Roundup MDL

    SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — A federal judge in South Dakota on Sept. 29 transferred to the multidistrict litigation for Roundup products liability actions a glyphosate cancer case brought by a doctor who contends that Roundup manufacturer Monsanto knew, or should have known, that glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, was carcinogenic.

  • October 07, 2021

    2nd Circuit: Federal Rules, Not State Evidence Rules Apply To Expert Admittance

    NEW YORK — A lower district court improperly excluded an expert witness retained by a couple who maintains that E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. caused the husband to develop cancer because the judge relied on a state court evidence ruling when the federal evidence rule applied, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Oct. 6, reversing the summary judgment award and remanding the case for trial.

  • October 07, 2021

    Companies Agree To Pay $86 Million In Ongoing Cleanup Of Superfund Sites

    LOS ANGELES — Four companies, including a former manufacturer of the pesticide DDT, agreed to pay more than $86 million to investigate and clean up contaminated groundwater at and around two California Superfund sites and reimburse the federal and state governments for their response costs, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Oct. 5.  The agreements are the latest reached in a groundwater contamination suit that commenced in 1990.

  • October 06, 2021

    California Jury Rules In Favor Of Monsanto In Glyphosate Cancer Trial

    LOS ANGELES — A state court jury in California on Oct. 5 ruled in favor of Monsanto Co. in a cancer lawsuit brought against the company, finding that the plaintiff’s exposure to the herbicide Roundup, which contains the active ingredient glyphosate, was not a substantial factor in causing his lymphoma.

  • October 05, 2021

    Legal Group Urges High Court To Take Glyphosate Case, Says Testimony Flawed

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) on Oct. 4 filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court contending that it should hear Monsanto Co.’s appeal of a decision that affirmed an award for damages in a glyphosate cancer case, arguing that the circuit court in question has a “longstanding and erroneous permissiveness in admitting unreliable expert testimony on causation.”

  • October 01, 2021

    Environmental Lawyer Donziger Sentenced To 6 Months For Criminal Contempt

    NEW YORK — Environmental attorney Steven R. Donziger was sentenced Oct. 1 to six months in federal prison for his conviction on six counts of criminal contempt in connection with the Lago Agrio contamination lawsuit.

  • September 30, 2021

    9th Circuit Panel Remands, Says City Not Protected From Liability In Water Case

    SAN FRANCISCO — A split panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 29 reversed and remanded a district court’s ruling and held that hexavalent chromium constitutes solid waste and that a municipality can be considered a transporter of the chemical into groundwater under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

  • September 30, 2021

    Judge:  Chemical Injury Case May Not Be Amended To Add Claim Under Federal Law

    BUFFALO, N.Y. — A federal judge in New York on Sept. 14 denied a cancer victim’s motion to amend his complaint against makers of ortho-toluidine to include another defendant and assert a claim for injunctive relief under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), ruling that he lacked standing because he could not assert a present threat of harm from the chemical in question.

  • September 29, 2021

    Gas Company Pays $1.8B To Settle California Methane Leak Injury Case From 2015

    LOS ANGELES — On Sept. 29, an attorney involved in the litigation against Southern California Gas (SoCal Gas) pertaining to the 2015 methane gas leak at its Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility confirmed to Mealey Publications that a $1.8 billion settlement has been reached, the details of which are subject to a confidentiality agreement.

  • September 29, 2021

    3M Wants Permission To File Brief Opposing PFAS Class Certification Under Seal

    GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The 3M Co. on Sept. 27 filed a brief in Michigan federal court contending that there is “good cause to seal” portions of its brief opposing a motion for class certification filed by plaintiffs who claim that the company is liable for injuries from exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) because the company’s brief discusses “protected health information.”

  • September 28, 2021

    Firefighter Says Exposure To PFAS In Aqueous Film Foam Caused Him To Develop Cancer

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — A former firefighter on Sept. 24 sued the 3M Co. and other chemical companies in South Carolina federal court contending that he developed cancer from exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), which he says the defendants knew was “highly toxic.”