Mealey's Toxic Torts : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Toxic Torts

March 08, 2024
Judge Nixes Norfolk Southern’s Case Against Railcar Owners For Remediation Costs

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — A federal judge in Ohio has dismissed a third-party lawsuit filed by Norfolk Southern Corp. and Norfolk Southern Railway Co. (collectively, Norfolk Southern) that sought to apportion to railcar companies some amount of liability for the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that resulted in the release of toxic chemicals, ruling that Norfolk Southern failed to state a claim against those companies.
March 05, 2024
5th Circuit: Causation Expert Properly Excluded In Deepwater Horizon Injury Case

NEW ORLEANS — A district court properly excluded a man’s medical expert after finding that he failed to show causation in a lawsuit against BP Exploration & Production Inc. related to his injuries through the exposure to chemicals during the cleanup operation that followed the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held.
March 04, 2024
Sanctions Not Warranted Against Insurer In Contamination Suit, Special Master Says

DETROIT — An insurer’s failure to timely produce all documents during discovery in an environmental contamination coverage suit does not warrant an imposition of sanctions, but the insured is entitled to re-depose two of the insurer’s claims analysts regarding information in the documents that were not timely produced, a Michigan federal court special master said.
March 04, 2024
Widow’s Glyphosate Cancer Case Ends In A Mistrial As Delaware Jury Reaches Impasse

WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware state court judge on March 1 declared a mistrial in a Roundup herbicide cancer lawsuit after the jury was unable to reach a decision on claims brought by the widow of a now-deceased landscaper who contends that Monsanto Co. fraudulently represented that Roundup is safe.
March 01, 2024
Plaintiffs Seek Stay Of 7th Circuit Mandate Pending U.S. Supreme Court Appeal

CHICAGO — The plaintiffs who had all but three lead-paint injury cases dismissed by a panel of the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals moved in that circuit on Feb. 29 seeking a stay of the mandate related to the panel’s ruling while the plaintiffs prepare a petition for writ of certiorari at the U.S. Supreme Court.
March 01, 2024
Government Says Remediation Claim Fails In Water Pollution Case Against U.S. Navy

HONOLULU — The U.S. government has filed a supplemental brief in Hawaii federal court arguing that the plaintiffs’ allegations in their lawsuit against the U.S. Navy, which “second-guess” decisions made in immediate response to a jet fuel spill that allegedly caused groundwater contamination, are barred.
March 01, 2024
Judge Sanctions Law Firm With Default Judgment In Camp Lejeune Phone Call Case

WHEELING, W.Va. — A federal judge in West Virginia on Feb. 29 issued an order entering a default judgment against a law firm that is a defendant in a lawsuit over alleged illegal phone calls soliciting clients for mass tort cases relating to toxic water exposure at Camp Lejeune, ruling that the firm has “refused outright” to participate in the litigation and that the court’s efforts to reach it have gone unanswered.
February 29, 2024
Plaintiffs Say PFAS Complaint Against L’Oreal Is Supported By Lab Test Results

NEW YORK — The plaintiffs who argue that L’Oreal USA Inc. is liable for making and selling mascara that contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have filed a brief in New York federal court contending that L’Oreal’s motion to dismiss their claim should be denied because it has concealed the fact that its products contain PFAS, knowing that that information would cause consumers to purchase another product.
February 29, 2024
FDA Says PFAS Sales For Use In Food Packaging Have Been Discontinued

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Feb. 28 announced that grease-proofing substances containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are no longer being sold by manufacturers for “food contact use” on product packaging.
February 29, 2024
Government: 5 Cases Related To AFFF Use At Air Force Base Should Be Dismissed

CHARLESTON, S.C. — The U.S. government filed a motion in South Carolina federal court to dismiss five cases alleging injuries from exposure to the firefighting agent aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), which contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), on grounds that the plaintiffs cannot identify any “mandatory and specific directive” that the U.S. Air Force (USAF) violated in using AFFF at Cannon Air Force Base (CAFB).
February 29, 2024
Man Says BP Is Liable For His Cancer From Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Remediation

WILMINGTON, Del. — A man with cancer who claims that he was injured by exposure to toxic chemicals from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the cleanup efforts that ensued has filed a lawsuit for compensatory and punitive damages against BP Exploration & Production Inc. and its affiliates in Delaware federal court contending that they are liable for his illness due to negligence.
February 28, 2024
Norfolk Southern, Railcar Owners Say School District’s Train Derailment Case Fails

PITTSBURGH — Norfolk Southern Corp. and Norfolk Southern Railway Co. (collectively, Norfolk Southern) and railcar owners have filed briefs in Pennsylvania federal court in support of their respective motions to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Pennsylvania school districts that sued them for injuries related to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that led to the release of toxic chemicals in the air and groundwater. Each defendant contends that the school districts fail to allege facts to support their claims.
February 27, 2024
Delaware High Court: Letter About Paraquat Exposure Does Not Constitute Claim

WILMINGTON, Del. — The Delaware Supreme Court on Feb. 26 affirmed a lower court’s finding that an insurer owes a duty to defend its insured against underlying bodily injury suits arising out of exposure to paraquat, a chemical compound manufactured by the insured for use in herbicides, because a letter from a law firm sent to the insured a year before the policies at issue incepted did not constitute a claim for damages.
February 27, 2024
Energy Companies Say Uranium Injury Case Is Barred By Statute Of Limitations

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Energy companies on Feb. 26 moved in Ohio federal court to dismiss an injury case against them, arguing that pursuant to the Price Anderson Act (PAA), the plaintiff’s cancer claims are “facially untimely” based on a two-year statute of limitations.
February 27, 2024
Monsanto: 11th Circuit Roundup Ruling Needs En Banc Review, Implications ‘Serious’

ATLANTA — Monsanto Co. filed a second petition for rehearing en banc in the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 26, arguing that “the full Court’s attention remains warranted,” following a ruling earlier this month by a panel that vacated and remanded to federal district court a long-running dispute over the labeling of Roundup. Monsanto says the 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 “threatens serious implications for medicines, food labeling, and more.”
February 26, 2024
Monsanto Not Entitled To New Trial Following $1.5B Roundup Verdict, Plaintiffs Say

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Three plaintiffs who won $1.5 billion in punitive damages against Monsanto Co. for injuries from exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, filed response briefs in Missouri state court on Feb. 23 arguing that Monsanto is not entitled to a new trial because “the evidence, and the evidence alone, justified this verdict.” Likewise, the plaintiffs argue that Monsanto’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) fails because, among other things, punitive damages are warranted.
February 26, 2024
Couple Say Monsanto Has Known Roundup Is Toxic But Misrepresents It As Safe

SAN DIEGO — A husband and wife sued Monsanto Co. in California federal court contending that it is liable for the husband’s injury from exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, because the company has “long been aware of glyphosate’s carcinogenic properties.” Furthermore, the couple say that despite having that knowledge, Monsanto maintains that regulatory authorities and independent experts are in agreement that Roundup is not genotoxic and that there is no evidence that Roundup is genotoxic.
February 26, 2024
Man Says Monsanto’s ‘Wrongful Conduct’ Regarding Roundup Caused His Cancer

NEW ORLEANS — A man who claims that he developed cancer from exposure to the herbicide Roundup has sued Monsanto Co. in Louisiana federal court contending that its “negligent and wrongful conduct” caused his injury because glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is “defective, dangerous to human health, unfit and unsuitable to be marketed and sold in commerce.”
February 23, 2024
Jackson Residents’ Second Amended Complaint Claims City, Firm Breached Duty

JACKSON, Miss. — Residents suing Jackson, Miss., and an engineering firm for causing the lead-contaminated water crisis in the city have filed a second amended class complaint in Mississippi federal court contending that the defendants violated the residents’ right to bodily integrity and breached their duty of care to the residents.
February 23, 2024
Companies Cite Federal Officer Jurisdiction In Removing PFAS Case To Federal Court

HARTFORD, Conn. — Three makers of the firefighting agent aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), which contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), have removed to Connecticut federal court a lawsuit brought by the state of Connecticut seeking injunctive relief to address past, present and future PFAS pollution on grounds that federal officer jurisdiction applies.
February 22, 2024
Magistrate: Lead Case Against The Presidio Not Barred By Federal Tort Claims Act

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal magistrate judge in California has denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit for lead-paint poisoning brought by tenants who rent a home in the Presidio, a federal enclave administered by the Presidio Trust, ruling that the claims are not barred by the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). However, the magistrate judge dismissed claims for punitive damages and claims against one of the contractors for emotional distress and nuisance, ruling that they were duplicative of other claims.
February 22, 2024
Medical Condition Not Widely Recognized, Testimony Barred In Toxic Exposure Case

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal judge granted in large part three motions to exclude expert testimony in a case in which a woman claims medical injuries from toxic mold exposure, finding that one expert was unqualified to opine on a medical condition and that the testimony from the other witnesses was connected to that expert’s conclusions.
February 21, 2024
Parties Debate Disclosing Material Related To Attack On Flint Plaintiffs’ Counsel

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The attorney for three engineering firms that are defendants in the Flint contaminated water litigation that has resulted in a $25 million class settlement sent a letter on Feb. 20 to the presiding judge in Michigan federal court arguing that neither the engineering firms nor the counsel representing them should be required to provide additional information to the court pertaining to the relationship among the counsel, the engineering firms and a public relations agency that, among other activities, arranged for a truck to circle the courthouse broadcasting attacks against the plaintiffs’ counsel.
February 16, 2024
Agency: Evidence Production In Ohio Train Derailment Case Poses ‘Undue Burden’

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) filed a brief in Ohio federal court arguing that it should deny a third-party defendant’s motion to compel the production of certain evidence related to the NTSB’s investigation of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, on grounds that the motion imposes an undue burden on the agency.
February 16, 2024
Groups Sue EPA For Withholding Information On PFAS Use In Plastics Manufacturing

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two environmental groups on Feb. 15 sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking a permanent injunction directing it to disclose under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) all “wrongfully withheld documents” related to the formation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during the fluorination of plastic containers by chemical company Inhance Technologies LLC.