Litigation-PFAS

Litigation

4th Circuit Backs 3M’s Bid To Remove States’ PFAS Suits To Federal Court

The 4th Circuit is backing 3M’s effort to remove PFAS contamination suits filed by Maryland and South Carolina to federal court, clearing the way for the company to eventually move the cases to massive multi-district litigation (MDL) over firefighting foam, where it will be able to raise the government contractor defense to defend against the claims. In a split March 7 decision , two of three judges on the appellate panel found the company plausibly argued that the states’ claims...

3M Joins DuPont In Urging Dismissal Of Texas Suit On PFAS Marketing

3M is joining DuPont in urging a federal district court to dismiss a suit brought by Texas against the two PFAS manufacturers for allegedly misrepresenting the safety of their PFAS-containing consumer products, specifically asking that the court dismiss the suit before it decides on Texas’ outstanding motion to remand the case to state court. “The Court has considerable discretion in picking which jurisdictional motion to decide first,” 3M says in a Feb. 27 memorandum in support of its motion to...

Group Seeks Court Injunction To Lower Chemours’ PFAS Discharge Levels

Environmentalists are asking a federal court to issue a preliminary injunction to halt PFAS producer Chemours’ violations of wastewater discharge limits for the chemicals, arguing EPA is failing to enforce a Clean Water Act (CWA) permit and urging the court to mandate the company lower PFAS levels in wastewater discharges or dispose of it offsite. “Without an injunction, Chemours will effectively have an unlimited license to pollute the Ohio River and downstream drinking water indefinitely,” the West Virginia Rivers Coalition...

MDL Judge Upholds CERCLA Bar Against State’s RCRA PFAS Claims

The federal judge overseeing PFAS multidistrict litigation (MDL) has found New Mexico’s claims for injunctive relief under hazardous waste laws at an Air Force base are barred by the Superfund law’s prohibition on court review of ongoing Superfund cleanup actions, signaling hurdles ahead for plaintiffs seeking state-prescribed cleanups in similar cases. The decision is one of three findings Judge Richard Gergel of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina made in a pair of Feb. 27 orders...

Parties Debate Plaintiff’s Standing For CWA Claims In Georgia PFAS Suit

A Georgia plaintiff and utility company are sparring over the plaintiff’s standing to pursue two Clean Water Act (CWA) claims over PFAS contamination in local rivers, with the utility arguing the injunctive relief and civil penalties sought will not redress the plaintiff’s injuries from paying water surcharges caused by PFAS contamination. In a Feb. 21 brief , Dalton Utility (DU) charged that the plaintiff, a resident of Rome, GA, does not have standing to sue because the remedies he is...

Judge Denies Industry Group’s Bid To Pause Minnesota PFAS Cookware Ban

A federal judge has rejected an industry group’s attempt to temporarily halt Minnesota’s landmark prohibition on the sale of PFAS-containing cookware, arguing the group is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its suit -- which includes claims under the dormant Commerce Clause -- and is hinting at a difficult path forward for the industry group. “[B]ecause the law does not discriminate against out-of-state interests and its burden on interstate commerce is not clearly excessive in relation to the local...

D.C. Circuit Grants Stay Of Industry Challenge To Superfund PFAS Rule

The D.C. Circuit has granted the Trump EPA’s uncontested request to stay for 60 days industry’s challenge to the agency’s Biden-era rule designating the two most studied PFAS as Superfund “hazardous substances,” opening the door for the new administration to review and possibly roll back the measure. In a Feb. 24 order in Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al. v. EPA , the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted EPA’s...

DuPont Urges Court To Dismiss Texas Suit Targeting PFAS Products

DuPont is urging a federal district court to dismiss a suit brought by Texas against 3M and DuPont for allegedly misrepresenting the safety of their PFAS-containing consumer products, arguing the state’s complaint does not identify any Texas-specific conduct, nor does it adequately specify allegations of deceptive trade practices. Texas’ suit -- originally filed in state court before 3M removed it to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas -- is attempting to prohibit 3M and DuPont from...

Judges Question If Vermont Gave 3M Enough Data To Remove PFAS Suit

A panel of appellate judges is questioning whether Vermont gave 3M enough information for the company to determine whether it could remove the state’s PFAS contamination suit to federal court, suggesting the state placed too heavy a burden on the company when it informed it of its status as a military contractor eligible for federal court review. During Feb. 18 oral argument in State of Vermont v. 3M Company , the judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the...

Environmentalists Renew Biden EPA Defense Of PFAS CERCLA Rule

Environmentalist-intervenors are renewing Biden EPA defenses of the agency’s landmark Superfund rule designating two PFAS as “hazardous substances,” though the future of the industry challenge is uncertain as the Trump administration seeks to stay the case in order to review the rule. “If any chemicals satisfy CERCLA’s standard for designation as hazardous substances, they are PFOA and PFOS,” the intervenors say in a Feb. 13 brief that argues the two substances are highly toxic at low exposure levels, easily migrate...

MDL Judge Indicates Some PFAS Tort Claims Expected To Pass Early Hurdle

The federal judge overseeing PFAS multidistrict litigation (MDL) indicated during recent oral argument that he plans to reject the Defense Department’s (DOD) request to use a federal tort law exemption to dismiss tort claims at an Air Force base that is a test case for other DOD sites, although he signaled plaintiffs may be blocked from intervening in ongoing DOD Superfund cleanups. Judge Richard Gergel of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina held oral argument Feb...

EPA Seeks Stay Of Challenge To Landmark Superfund PFAS Rule

EPA is asking the D.C. Circuit for a 60-day stay of industry’s litigation challenging a landmark EPA rule designating the two most studied PFAS as Superfund “hazardous substances,” with the agency contending the Trump administration needs time to review the underlying rule. In a Feb. 11 motion in Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al. v. EPA , the agency asks the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to hold the case...

Judge Attempts To Smooth Path For CERCLA Claims Under PFAS MDL

The federal judge overseeing PFAS multidistrict litigation (MDL) is attempting to smooth the way for plaintiffs to add Superfund law claims to their already pending cases while preventing technical issues over the cleanup process from getting in the way of making determinations on Superfund liability under those claims. Judge Richard Gergel of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina told plaintiffs during a Feb. 7 status conference that he is willing to sign off on an unopposed...

Minnesota Urges Court To Deny Cookware Group’s Bid To Halt PFAS Law

Minnesota regulators are urging a federal district court to deny a cookware group’s bid to temporarily halt the state’s landmark prohibition of PFAS-containing cookware, arguing the state’s law does not discriminate against out-of-state sellers, as the group alleges, and allows Minnesota to prohibit the sale of products within its borders. “Like most state policy decisions, [the law] will have some effect on how out-of-state entities do business in Minnesota (as it will for in-state entities),” lawyers for Minnesota Pollution Control...

Court Stays PFAS Water Rule Suit Pending Trump EPA Regulatory Review

The D.C. Circuit has granted EPA a 60-day stay of litigation challenging the agency’s PFAS drinking water rule, allowing the Trump administration time to review the landmark regulation setting stringent limits on six PFAS in drinking water and consider whether it will seek to make changes. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit late Feb. 7 entered an order granting a motion filed earlier in the day by EPA in American Water Works Association (AWWA), et...

EPA Asks Court To Stay Litigation Challenging Drinking Water PFAS Rule

EPA is asking a federal appellate court to pause litigation brought by drinking water utilities and the chemical industry contesting the agency’s landmark PFAS drinking water rule, in order to give the Trump administration time to examine the rule -- which set strict limits on six PFAS in drinking water. In a Feb. 7 motion submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in American Water Works Association (AWWA), et al. v. EPA , the...

Judge Rejects Plaintiffs’ Argument On CWA Waiver Of Immunity In PFAS MDL

The federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation (MDL) addressing contamination from PFAS in firefighting foam has effectively dismissed plaintiffs’ arguments that the Clean Water Act (CWA) waives the Defense Department’s (DOD) immunity to state-law water pollution claims and Federal Tort Claims Act trespass claims. In a Jan. 30 order , Judge Richard Gergel of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina also effectively rejected plaintiffs’ assertion that the Federal Tort Claims Act’s (FTCA) Discretionary Function Exemption (DFE) was...

POTWs Cite EPA Assessment To Urge Dismissal Of Suit Seeking Sludge Rule

Publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) are urging a federal court to dismiss a case brought by environmentalists seeking to force EPA to set PFAS limits in sludge, pointing to the agency’s recent risk assessment of two of the chemicals in sludge to argue plaintiffs would be making EPA skip necessary rulemaking to establish such regulations. “Plaintiffs ignore the Congressionally-mandated procedures for biosolids rulemaking and seek to substitute an unorthodox process foreign to the [Clean Water Act (CWA)] -- judicial, as...

Texas Seeks Jury Trial After 3M Removes PFAS Suit To Federal District Court

Texas officials are asking a federal judge to have a jury hear their case alleging 3M and DuPont misrepresented the safety of their PFAS-containing consumer products after the defendants removed the case, originally filed in state court, to a federal court. In a Jan. 30 notice , Texas asked the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, for “a trial by jury on all the issues.” Unlike other states, which have sought to keep their per- and polyfluoroalkyl...

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