Litigation-PFAS

Litigation

Court Cancels PFAS Personal Injury Trial, Seeks Unfiled Claims’ Submittal

The judge overseeing multidistrict litigation (MDL) on PFAS contamination has canceled, for now, what would have been the first bellwether trial to hear personal injury claims and related pretrial preparation in response to the swelling number of personal injury claims that have yet to be filed. Instead, Judge Richard Gergel of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina is ordering plaintiffs’ attorneys to file these claims in the next few weeks or miss out on new incentives...

Court Grants EPA Request To Again Delay Suit Over PFAS CERCLA Rule

The D.C. Circuit has granted the Trump EPA’s request -- its fifth -- to again delay industry litigation challenging the Biden-era rule designating two legacy PFAS as “hazardous substances” under the Superfund law, giving the agency 30 more days to determine how to proceed. “Upon consideration of respondents’ unopposed motion to continue abeyance, it is ORDERED that the motion be granted, and these cases continue to remain in abeyance,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit...

2nd Circuit Says 3M’s Federal Removal Of Vermont PFAS Suit Was Timely

A federal appellate court found that 3M’s bid to remove Vermont’s PFAS contamination suit to federal court was timely filed and reversed a district court order that sent the suit to state court, a procedural win for the manufacturer, which is seeking to keep the suit in federal court, where it plans to offer a government contractor defense. “Contrary to the District Court’s order, we conclude that the notice of removal in this case was filed within thirty days after...

Court Stays South Carolina PFAS Venue Case Pending High Court Action

A federal judge has agreed to stay South Carolina’s pending PFAS contamination suit against 3M to give the state and Maryland time to petition the Supreme Court to review an appellate ruling that backed 3M’s bid to remove their suits to federal court. “For good cause shown, the motion to stay is granted,” Judge Richard Gergel of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina said in an Aug. 15 text entry in the case’s docket. “Plaintiff is...


EPA Asks Court For Fifth Delay In Suit Challenging PFAS CERCLA Rule

The Trump EPA is again asking the D.C. Circuit to delay litigation in a case brought by industry challenging the Biden-era rule designating two legacy PFAS as “hazardous substances” under the Superfund law, the fifth such request the agency has made as officials say they still need more time to evaluate how to proceed in the litigation. “EPA’s new leadership is currently still in the process of reviewing the issues presented in this case, evaluating the Rule within the broader...

Texas Cities Urge Immunity From PFAS Tort Claims For Biosolids Companies

Public operators of wastewater treatment facilities in Texas are supporting legal arguments to provide immunity to biosolids companies from tort claims for any harm caused by PFAS-containing biosolids applied to farmland, backing the concept that such entities should be afforded “derivative immunity” and be considered “passive receivers” of PFAS contamination. The operators made the arguments in a July 15 amicus brief filed by Texas cities and a water reclamation district in Alessi, et al. v. Synagro Technologies Inc., et...

Chemours Appeals Order Requiring Immediate PFAS Discharge Reductions

PFAS manufacturer Chemours is appealing a federal court’s order requiring the company to immediately reduce its discharges of a next-generation PFAS to comply with its wastewater discharge permit, after the judge reinforced the court’s authority to grant preliminary injunctive relief to citizens seeking to enforce the Clean Water Act (CWA). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit Aug. 12 docketed Chemours’ petition seeking review of Judge Joseph Goodwin’s Aug. 7 order in West Virginia Rivers Coalition (WVRC) v....

Court Dismisses Cookware Group’s Challenge To Minnesota PFAS Bans

A federal district court judge has dismissed a challenge to Minnesota’s landmark PFAS product prohibitions law brought by cookware manufacturers, finding the plaintiff failed to make its case under the Dormant Commerce Clause in a case that tested whether state product regulations could survive such legal action. In an Aug. 11 opinion and order , Senior Judge John R. Tunheim of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota granted a motion from Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) Commissioner...

Judge Orders Chemours To Curb PFAS Releases In Line With CWA Permit

A federal judge is ordering PFAS manufacturer Chemours to immediately restrict its discharges of a GenX chemical at its Washington Works plant into the Ohio River -- even if that means curbing production -- with the court agreeing with environmentalists that the company’s violations of its Clean Water Act (CWA) permit are causing irreparable harm. In an Aug. 7 order , Judge Joseph Goodwin of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia granted environmentalists’ request for...

States Ready Supreme Court Petition To Review PFAS Venue Decision

South Carolina and Maryland are planning to ask the Supreme Court to review the appellate ruling that backed 3M’s bid to remove their PFAS contamination suits to federal court, opening the door to a legal reckoning over whether defendants will be able to keep such suits in federal court where they can raise the government contractor defense. As such, if Maryland and South Carolina succeed, it could allow several other states to keep their similar claims against 3M and other...

D.C. Circuit Sets Sept. 10 Deadline To File Motions In PFAS SDWA Case

The D.C. Circuit is requiring EPA and other parties in litigation challenging the Biden-era PFAS drinking water limits to file motions to govern future proceedings by Sept. 10, actions that will likely clarify how the Trump EPA will proceed with its proposed changes to the landmark PFAS regulation. According to an Aug. 7 order in the consolidated American Water Works Association, et al. v. EPA , the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit orders “that the parties file...


Residents File RCRA Suit Against Agriculture Giant Over PFAS Releases

Maryland residents have filed suit against agriculture giant Perdue AgriBusiness under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) over alleged PFAS contamination stemming from various activities at a local industrial complex, piggybacking on a separate class action suit brought last year over the same plant’s releases. “On behalf of two local residents, we have filed a lawsuit under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), alleging that Perdue AgriBusiness continues to unlawfully dispose of PFAS-laced waste from its Salisbury facility,”...

EPA Asks D.C. Circuit To Set Schedule In PFAS SDWA Rule Challenge

EPA and other parties are asking the D.C. Circuit to set a Sept. 10 deadline for the agency to clarify its position in long-pending litigation brought by industry and water utilities challenging the Biden-era PFAS drinking water limits, signaling the agency is moving closer to finalizing how it will pursue its proposed changes to the landmark rule. In an Aug. 1 joint motion to govern , EPA, environmentalists, water utilities and industry asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the...

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