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Mealey's Toxic Torts

  • December 12, 2025

    PFAS Makers Say Federal Contractor Defense Bars PFAS Claims Against Them

    RALEIGH, N.C. — Tyco Fire Products LP and Chemguard Inc. (collectively, Tyco) have removed to North Carolina federal court a lawsuit brought by a North Carolina municipality that alleges that Tyco, 3M Co., E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. and others are liable for contaminating the groundwater with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foam (AFFF).  Tyco contends that the claims against it fail pursuant to the federal contractor defense.

  • December 12, 2025

    Tannery Operator, Scotchgard Producer Sued For Sloughing PFAS Scraps In Landfills

    GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The operators of two Michigan landfills that implemented measures to eliminate the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in remnants of solid waste accepted from a former regional tannery operation sued two companies allegedly responsible for the contamination in federal court pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and Michigan Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA) for recovery of the costs spent to eradicate the issues.

  • December 11, 2025

    Government Says Exclusion Of Expert Reports Would Be ‘Disproportionate And Severe’

    RALEIGH, N.C. — The U.S. Government on Dec. 10 filed a brief in North Carolina federal court arguing that the Plaintiff Leadership Group’s (PLG) motion to strike supplemental reports filed by a government expert in the Camp Lejeune water contamination litigation constitutes a sanction that is “disproportionate and severe” because the documents in question contain corrections that are contemplated under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26.

  • December 11, 2025

    3M Denies PFAS Liability, Asserts 63 Affirmative Defenses Saying Claims Fail

    TRENTON, N.J. — The 3M Co. has filed an answer in New Jersey federal court denying claims brought by residents who contend that it and other chemical companies are liable for injuries from exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).  Asserting 63 affirmative defenses, 3M argues that the residents fail to state a claim and maintains that any claims made by the plaintiffs are barred because 3M owed no duty to them.

  • December 11, 2025

    Man With Cancer: Monsanto Actively Concealed Roundup’s Dangers, Committed Fraud

    SAN DIEGO — A man with cancer has sued Monsanto Co. and its affiliates in California state court arguing that they are liable for his injury because they actively concealed from the public the true risks of exposure to the herbicide Roundup, which contains the active ingredient glyphosate.

  • December 11, 2025

    School District, Monsanto Cite Rule 702 In Battle Over Experts For PCB Trial

    BURLINGTON, Vt. — The Burlington School District (BSD) and Monsanto Co. have filed multiple briefs in Vermont federal court battling over the inclusion of witnesses in the BSD’s lawsuit alleging contamination from polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).  The BSD argues that the opinions of its proffered experts are admissible, and Monsanto contends that its experts are “reliable.”

  • December 10, 2025

    Statute Of Limitations Is Not Applicable In Mercury Poisoning Case, Plaintiffs Say

    ATLANTA — Plaintiffs who claim that they have been injured by mercury in local drinking water and through exposure at an industrial facility where they worked filed two briefs in Georgia federal court arguing that it should deny two motions to dismiss their claims because they have sufficiently pleaded fraudulent concealment and, therefore, the statute of limitations does not apply.

  • December 10, 2025

    Government Insists Flint Minor Bellwether Plaintiffs’ Case Should Be Dismissed

    ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The U.S. government has filed a reply brief in Michigan federal court arguing that the court should dismiss the claims of minor bellwether plaintiffs in the Flint water contamination lawsuit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the plaintiffs have not established any of the three requirements for Good Samaritan liability.  The government also says the discretionary function exception (DFE) applies because the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) affords the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency “significant discretion in responding to water system issues.”

  • December 10, 2025

    Experts Connecting Metal In Baby Food To ASD/ADHD Out In California Case

    LOS ANGELES — A California judge agreed to exclude two experts retained by a boy who alleges that exposure to toxic heavy metals in baby food led to neurological injuries after finding that one expert failed to meet the admissibility standard set in California in Sargon Enterprises, Inc. v. University of Southern California and that the other based his conclusions on that expert’s findings.

  • December 08, 2025

    Journal Editor Retracts Article On Safety Of Roundup Due To ‘Critical Issues’

    NEW YORK — Citing concerns regarding the authorship and content of an article on the safety of the herbicide Roundup that was published 25 years ago in a scientific journal, one of the publication’s editors in chief on Dec. 5 retracted the article, which had previously concluded “there is no potential for Roundup herbicide to pose a health risk to humans.” The editor said that the retraction is “based on several critical issues that are considered to undermine the academic integrity of this article and its conclusions.”

  • December 08, 2025

    Review Of Jurisdiction Issue In PFAS Exposure Suit Not Warranted, Insurer Says

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court should deny an insured’s petition for a writ of certiorari seeking review of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ finding that a district court erred in remanding a declaratory judgment claim and retaining jurisdiction over breach of contract and bad faith claims in a dispute over coverage for underlying per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure suits because every other federal appellate court agrees with the Sixth Circuit’s disposition, an insurer says in its Dec. 5 response brief.

  • December 08, 2025

    Federal Judge Will Allow Experts To Testify In Flint, Mich., Tort Claims Case

    DETROIT — A Michigan federal judge largely denied a series of motions filed to exclude experts in the $722.4 million Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) lawsuit against the government related to the lead-contaminated water crisis in Flint, Mich., noting that because the case will be heard as a bench trial, the judge can assess the admissibility of the testimony after hearing it during trial.

  • December 03, 2025

    West Virginia, Illinois Settle PCB Cases With Monsanto For A Combined $180.5M

    CHICAGO — West Virginia Attorney General J.B. McCuskey on Dec. 2 announced a $60.5 million settlement with Monsanto Co. and its affiliates to resolve claims involving contamination from polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The announcement came one day after Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced that the state has reached a $120 million settlement with Monsanto to resolve similar claims related to PCB contamination.

  • December 02, 2025

    Government: High Court Review Of Glyphosate Case Needed, FIFRA Ruling ‘Incorect’

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The federal government on Dec. 1 filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court supporting the petition of Monsanto Co., which is challenging a $1.25 million damages award for injuries from exposure to the herbicide Roundup. The government says that the lower court’s decision, which rejected Monsanto’s argument that the lawsuit was preempted by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), is “incorrect.”

  • December 02, 2025

    No Defense, Indemnity Owed For Underlying Silica Dust Exposure Suits, Insurer Says

    MINNEAPOLIS — A commercial liability insurer says in a complaint filed in Minnesota federal court that it owes no duty to defend or indemnify its insured against underlying bodily injury suits stemming from exposure to silica dust emitted from the insured’s quartz products because its policies’ pollution exclusions bar coverage for the underlying suits.

  • November 26, 2025

    Former Ohio Train Settlement Administrator Rebuffs Call For Sanctions, Contempt

    YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Kroll Settlement Administration, the former settlement administrator of the $600 million settlement reached in the litigation related to the 2023 derailment of a train operated by Norfolk Southern Corp. in East Palestine, Ohio, has filed a brief in Ohio federal court arguing that it should deny class counsel’s motion for sanctions and a finding of contempt related to Kroll’s conduct because class counsel’s position “has no support in the Court’s orders or in contemporaneous evidence.”

  • November 26, 2025

    Panel Denies Morgan & Morgan’s Attorney Fee Appeal In Ohio Train Derailment Case

    CINCINNATI — A Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 25 affirmed a lower court’s ruling that denied law firm Morgan & Morgan’s challenge to the attorney fee award distribution in the settlement of litigation stemming from the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, ruling that any harm the firm suffered was “a result of its own doing” because it advocated for a quick-pay provision in the settlement that allows plaintiffs’ counsel to be paid soon after the  settlement is approved, even while the settlement is still subject to appeal.

  • November 26, 2025

    Lowe’s To Pay $12.5M Penalty For Contractors’ Violations Of Lead Renovation Rule

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) on Nov. 25 announced a proposed nationwide settlement with Lowe’s Home Centers LLC to resolve alleged violations of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting rule (RRP), under which Lowe’s will pay a $12.5 million penalty.

  • November 26, 2025

    11 Minnesota Cities Sue PFAS Makers For Water Contamination From Firefighting Foam

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — The city of Brooklyn Center, Minn., and 10 other municipalities in the state have sued the makers of the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) in South Carolina federal court, arguing that the manufacturers of AFFF are liable for groundwater contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are active ingredients in AFFF.  The cities contend that the defendants knew that PFAS are toxic and yet sold them anyway.

  • November 25, 2025

    Judge Sanctions Attorneys $10,000 For Contempt In Camp Lejeune Phone Call Case

    WHEELING, W.Va. — A federal judge in West Virginia on Nov. 24 sanctioned attorneys $10,000 for contempt for their conduct in a class action over alleged illegal phone calls that solicited clients for mass tort cases relating to toxic waterexposure at Camp Lejeune. The judge ruled that the attorneys in question provided an “insufficient” explanation for their conduct once they were ordered to show why they should not be held in contempt for their failure to comply with the court’s order approving the class notice plan.

  • November 25, 2025

    Panel Says $28M Glyphosate Cancer Award Does Not Violate Monsanto’s Rights

    SAN DIEGO — An appeals panel in California on Nov. 24 affirmed a $28 million combined verdict against Monsanto for a man who developed cancer from exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, ruling that the plaintiff’s claims were not preempted by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and that the punitive damages award did not violate Monsanto’s due process rights.

  • November 24, 2025

    Norfolk Southern: Many Experts Fail Daubert Standard In Ohio Train Derailment Case

    YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Norfolk Southern Corp. on Nov. 21 filed multiple reply briefs in Ohio federal court, seeking to exclude seven expert witnesses for the plaintiffs in the ongoing lawsuit over toxic contamination from the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.  Norfolk Southern argues that, pursuant to Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharms., Inc., all of the experts, in one way or another, lack reliability.

  • November 24, 2025

    Illinois High Court To Decide If Pollution Exclusion Applies To Regulated Emissions

    CHICAGO — The Illinois Supreme Court heard oral arguments on a certified question from the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals regarding what effect, if any, a permit or regulation that authorizes emissions has in determining whether a pollution exclusion should be applied as a bar to coverage for bodily injury claims related to chemical discharges from the insured facility.

  • November 20, 2025

    Panel Reverses, Says 3M Has ‘Colorable Federal Defense’ In PFAS Pollution Case

    BOSTON — A panel of the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 19 reversed and remanded to Maine federal court the state’s lawsuit against the 3M Co. Inc. alleging injury from water contamination caused by the firefighting agent aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), ruling that 3M is entitled to federal jurisdiction because it has a “colorable” federal contractor defense.

  • November 20, 2025

    N.J. Township Wants To Challenge Settlement In DuPont Plant Site PFAS Suit

    TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey township wants to intervene in litigation brought by the state in federal court against 3M Co., EIDP Inc., formerly E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., and its affiliates related to contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) stemming from activity at DuPont’s Chambers Works plant so it can challenge a proposed settlement that it claims is “arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable, and unlawful unless modified.”