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Mealey's Toxic Torts

  • June 30, 2025

    Supreme Court Seeks Solicitor General’s View On Monsanto’s Roundup Damages Appeal

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 30 invited the U.S. solicitor general to file a brief expressing the views of the U.S. government in a case brought by Monsanto Co., which is challenging a $1.25 million damages award for injuries from exposure to the herbicide Roundup.  Monsanto contends that “there is an open and acknowledged split as to whether [the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act] FIFRA preempts state-law failure-to-warn claims based on the content of pesticide product labels.”

  • June 30, 2025

    $38M Settlement In Securities Case Tied To Roundup Litigation Gets Initial OK

    SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California on June 27 granted preliminary approval to a $38 million proposed settlement in a securities fraud class action against Bayer AG, the parent company of Monsanto Co., related to statements it made about Monsanto’s science-based trial defenses in Roundup litigation. The judge said the court will likely be able to finally approve the settlement under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(e)(2) as being “fair, reasonable, and adequate to the Class.”

  • June 19, 2025

    PFAS Makers’ ‘Conscious Disregard’ For Health Warrants Damages, Plaintiffs Say

    LOS ANGELES — Dozens of individuals have sued 3M Co., E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. and other makers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in California state court, contending that they are liable for “fraud, oppression, or malice” because they showed “conscious and/or reckless disregard” when they produced PFAS for use in aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), which they say contaminates drinking water when used to fight chemical fires.

  • June 19, 2025

    Monsanto’s Roundup Preemption Theory ‘Deeply Flawed,’ Woman Tells Supreme Court

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The respondent in one of three separate-but-related petitions for certiorari filed by Monsanto Co. in the U.S. Supreme Court on the issue of preemption of claims related to the herbicide Roundup under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) filed a brief on June 18 arguing that the court should deny the petition because Monsanto’s theory is “deeply flawed” and that the reasons for denial are the same as in the companion case Monsanto Co. v. Durnell. In that case, John L. Durnell, who was awarded $1.25 million in damages, argues that Monsanto’s petition “presents one company’s attempt to avoid further tort claims. And no company is less deserving of such sweeping immunity than Monsanto.”

  • June 19, 2025

    Agency To Allocate $10M For Research Into Health Impact Of Ohio Train Derailment

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the aftermath of the chemical releases in East Palestine, Ohio, following the derailment of a train operated by Norfolk Southern Railway Corp., the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) on June 19 announced a plan to allocate up to $10 million over five years to fund awards to organizations to conduct a research study of long-term health concerns related to the chemical exposure in the community.

  • June 18, 2025

    Monsanto Says School District Not Entitled To Additional Depositions Of Witnesses

    BURLINGTON, Vt. — Monsanto Co. filed a reply brief in Vermont federal court on June 17, arguing that a school district’s opposition to the company’s motion to quash the district’s Rule 30(b)(6) notice for deposition and motion for a protective order fails. Monsanto also contends that the district has already been given a “full and fair opportunity to explore” the topics about which it seeks information in its current notice of deposition.

  • June 18, 2025

    High Court Has ‘Every Reason’ To Hear Roundup Damages Appeal, Monsanto Says

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Monsanto Co. has filed a reply brief in the U.S. Supreme Court contending that “there is an open and acknowledged split as to whether [the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act] FIFRA preempts state-law failure-to-warn claims based on the content of pesticide product labels,” therefore there is “every reason for this Court to grant certiorari” in Monsanto’s challenge to a $1.25 million damages award for injuries from exposure to the herbicide Roundup.

  • June 17, 2025

    Companies Say Pennsylvania Lacks Evidence Connecting Them To MTBE Contamination

    NEW YORK — CITGO Petroleum Corp. and one of its affiliates have filed a summary judgment reply brief in New York federal court arguing that Pennsylvania lacks evidence that shows an “identifiable connection” between CITGO and focus sites where there is contamination from methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE).

  • June 16, 2025

    3 Lawsuits Seek Damages From Carpet Makers, Chemical Companies For PFAS Pollution

    LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — Three groups of individuals filed separate lawsuits against carpet manufacturers and chemical companies in Georgia state court on June 13 alleging that they are liable for contaminating groundwater, air and soil with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). In one complaint, which is indicative of the others, Jamie Cordle and others say that their properties, which are in the same watershed, are “bombarded constantly” by the defendants’ toxic chemicals.

  • June 13, 2025

    City, Water Board Seek Punitive Damages And Costs To Remove PFAS From Water

    WHEELING, W.Va. — A city and its water authority have sued multiple companies in West Virginia federal court under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) seeking to recover the costs associated with removing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have tainted the local sources of drinking water.

  • June 13, 2025

    Woman With Parkinson’s Disease Says Paraquat Makers Knew It Was ‘Highly Toxic’

    EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — A woman with Parkinson’s disease has sued the makers of the pesticide paraquat in Illinois federal court arguing that they are liable for her injury and contending that “Defendants knew or, in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known that Paraquat was a highly toxic substance that can cause severe neurological injuries and impairment.”

  • June 13, 2025

    ‘Reasonable Juror’ Could Find Former Official Liable For Tainted Water, Panel Says

    DETROIT — A Michigan Court of Appeals panel has affirmed a trial court’s decision against the former director of the Benton Harbor Water Department in a groundwater contamination lawsuit, ruling that a “reasonable juror could conclude that he was the most immediate, efficient, and direct cause of plaintiffs' injuries.”

  • June 13, 2025

    Couple Seeks Damages For Kids’ Lead Poisoning Caused By Living In National Park

    CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A that couple has sued the U.S. government in Wyoming federal court contending that while they were living in government housing related to the husband’s employment at Yellowstone National Park, their two children developed lead poisoning.  The couple says the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) is liable for money damages for personal injury under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA).

  • June 12, 2025

    Man Alleges Monsanto Caused His Cancer, Says Roundup’s Ingredients Are Toxic

    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A man sued Monsanto Co. on June 11 in New Mexico federal court contending that he developed cancer from exposure to the herbicide Roundup and that Roundup’s ingredients, glyphosate and the surfactant polyethoxylated tallow amine (POEA), are more toxic that glyphosate alone.  He also argues that Monsanto knew, or should have known, that safety studies were necessary to protect him from Roundup.

  • June 12, 2025

    Georgia Federal Judge Approves More Settlements In Drinking Water PFAS Case

    ROME, Ga. —  A large textile mill operator, the town where it operates and one of its product manufacturers will pay more than $1.25 million to a group of water subscribers and ratepayers for their admitted involvement in contaminating groundwater in a northwest region of Georgia with toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) through partial class action settlements granted final approval on June 11 by a federal judge.

  • June 12, 2025

    Panel Reverses, Says Plaintiff May Not Seek Punitive Damages Against Monsanto

    MIAMI — A Florida appellate panel on June 11 reversed a trial court and held that a plaintiff who sued Monsanto Co. alleging injuries related to exposure to the herbicide Roundup cannot seek punitive damages because “punitive damages are reserved for truly culpable and egregious behavior,” and the evidence falls short of supporting a claim for those kind of damages.

  • June 12, 2025

    Monsanto’s ‘Negligent’ Conduct Caused Cancer, Wrongful Death, Plaintiffs Allege

    WILMINGTON, Del. — Plaintiffs have sued Monsanto Co. in Delaware state court, seeking compensatory and punitive damages for Monsanto’s “negligent and wrongful conduct” related to the manufacture and distribution of the herbicide Roundup, which contains the active ingredient glyphosate.  The plaintiffs argue that Roundup is “defective and unsafe” and that it is “unreasonably dangerous to the user.”

  • June 11, 2025

    Monsanto Appeals Denial Of Its Bid To Reduce $75M PCB Punitive Damages Award

    SEATTLE — Monsanto has filed a notice in Washington state court that it is appealing a state court judge’s denial of its motion to reduce a $75 million punitive damages award that was part of a combined verdict of $100 million for injuries from exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs) at a Seattle area school.  In addition to the trial court’s final judgment on the ruling, Monsanto is appealing other decisions, including rulings on its bid for a new trial.

  • June 11, 2025

    Government, PFAS Makers Are Liable For Tainted Drinking Water, Plaintiff Says

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — A water supplier on June 10 filed an amended complaint against the U.S. government and the makers of the firefighting agent aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) in South Carolina federal court, contending that they are liable for water contamination from the use of AFFF at the Air Force’s Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) near Tacoma, Wash., which the plaintiff says released per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into local drinking water.

  • June 11, 2025

    Government Says Its Camp Lejeune Expert ‘Reliably’ Applied Scientific Principles

    RALEIGH, N.C. — The U.S. government has filed a response brief in North Carolina federal court arguing that it should deny the plaintiff leadership group’s (PLG) motion to exclude four opinions offered by one expert in the litigation pertaining to environmental and groundwater contamination at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, arguing that the opinions in question “are the result of reliably applying foundational scientific principles and methodologies to sufficient facts and data” and contending that each of the PLG’s arguments favoring exclusion is “fundamentally flawed.”

  • June 10, 2025

    BASF Corp. Says PFAS Water Contamination Case Fails To Allege ‘Basic Facts’

    MADISON, Wis. — The BASF Corp. on June 9 filed a brief in Wisconsin federal court arguing that it should dismiss a fourth amended complaint in a lawsuit alleging groundwater contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on grounds that the plaintiffs fail to allege “even the most basic facts necessary to state a claim, much less to pursue one on behalf of a class.”

  • June 10, 2025

    Man: Court Should Nix Monsanto’s ‘Attempt At Sweeping Immunity’ In Roundup Appeal

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A man who won a $1.25 million damages award against Monsanto Co. for injuries from exposure to the herbicide Roundup on June 9 filed a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court opposing Monsanto’s petition for review of the award, arguing that it should deny the petition because the failure-to-warn claim that led to the award imposed no labeling or packaging requirements under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). “The petition presents one company’s attempt to avoid further tort claims. And no company is less deserving of such sweeping immunity than Monsanto,” the respondent argues.

  • June 06, 2025

    Judge Grants Partial Judgment To Oil Companies In MTBE Case

    NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York on June 5 granted partial summary judgment to oil companies in a long-running case alleging groundwater contamination from the presence of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), ruling that Pennsylvania’s evidence related to two focus sites is “insufficient to support a finding of liability.”

  • June 06, 2025

    Groups Sue City, Companies For Untreated Wastewater Pollution Of Drinking Water

    ASHEBORO, N.C. — Environmental groups have sued a city and two businesses in North Carolina federal court contending that they are liable for contaminating groundwater with the cancer-causing chemical 1,4-dioxane by allowing untreated wastewater to make its way downstream into the drinking water supplies for other municipalities.

  • June 04, 2025

    6th Circuit Vacates, Remands Jurisdiction Decision In PFAS Coverage Suit

    CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals vacated and remanded a district court’s decision to retain jurisdiction over breach of contract and bad faith claims and to remand a declaratory judgment claim after determining that the lower court should have retained jurisdiction over all the claims in the insured’s suit seeking coverage for underlying perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS) exposure suits because all of the claims at issue present the same legal issues.