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

Mealey's Toxic Torts

May 20, 2025
Government Balks At Bid To Compel Firm’s Billing Records For Work At Camp Lejeune

RALEIGH, N.C. — The U.S. government on May 19 filed a brief opposing a motion to compel in North Carolina federal court arguing that it has produced all Camp Lejeune-related billing records sought by the Plaintiffs Leadership Group (PLG) related to work performed by an environmental and groundwater consulting firm before the Camp Lejeune Justice Act (CLJA) was enacted and that “the burden and expense” of requiring the firm to look for additional billing records “far exceeds the benefit considering the extensive information that PLG has already received.”
May 20, 2025
Herbicide Distributer: Glyphosate Cancer Claims Fail, Dismissal Warranted

SAN FRANCISCO — A company that distributes herbicides on May 19 filed a reply brief in California federal court in support of its motion for summary judgment that it is not liable for a man’s cancer diagnosis from exposure to the herbicide Roundup because it did not sell Roundup to the utilities company that employed the plaintiff as a member of a crew that managed vegetation through the use of chemical pesticides.
May 19, 2025
Coal Miner Insists RFK Jr.’s Cuts To NIOSH Black Lung Program Violate The Law

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Two days after a federal judge in West Virginia issued an injunction enjoining the reduction in force (RIF) notice at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Respiratory Health Division in Morgantown, W.Va., a coal miner with black lung filed a brief arguing that the judge should deny a motion to dismiss his putative class action against Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., insisting that he has standing for his claim that Kennedy violated federal law when he terminated the majority of staff at the NIOSH office.
May 19, 2025
Amici Tell Supreme Court Ruling ‘Flies In The Face Of’ FIFRA Preemption

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Several parties have filed amicus curiae briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of Monsanto Co., which seeks review of a $1.25 million damages award won by a man who sued the company for injuries from exposure to the herbicide Roundup. In one brief, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others argue that the lower court’s decision “flies in the face of” the preemption provision in the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and say a state may not adopt labeling requirements that are “in addition to or different from” those required under FIFRA’s regulatory framework.
May 19, 2025
In Removing Case To Federal Court, PFAS Makers Say They Are Immune From Liability

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Chemical companies have removed to Ohio federal court a lawsuit brought by a water company that alleges that its water supply has been tainted with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), arguing that, not only does the case belong in a federal forum, but the defendants are immune from liability based on the federal government contractor defense recognized in Boyle v. United Technologies Corp.
May 16, 2025
Judge Says Class Has Plausible Claim Against Costco Related To PFAS In Baby Wipes

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California has ruled that under current pleading standards, Costco Wholesale Corp.’s motion to dismiss a class action alleging that Kirkland Signature Baby Wipes contain unsafe levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), “must be denied,” because the plaintiff has a plausible claim for economic injury.
May 16, 2025
Judge Grants DuPont’s Request For Lone Pine Order In PFAS Drinking Water Cases

NEW BERN, N.C. — A federal judge in North Carolina has granted the request of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. and its affiliates for a Lone Pine case management order requiring plaintiffs to submit expert declarations confirming their injuries and proximate causation in numerous separate but related lawsuits alleging that DuPont is liable for contaminating drinking water with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The lead case involves Eric Conklin, a man with cancer who says DuPont has a history of “willfully and wantonly” discharging PFAS into the Cape Fear River.
May 15, 2025
Camp Lejeune Plaintiffs Seek Records Of Firm That Worked For Justice Department

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Plaintiffs Leadership Group (PLG) in the Camp Lejeune water crisis litigation filed a brief arguing that the judge presiding over the case in North Carolina federal court should compel the production of billing records from an environmental and groundwater consulting firm prior to 2022, before the Camp Lejeune Justice Act (CLJA) was enacted, but at a time the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) claims the firm was contracted to work on the DOJ’s defense of litigation related to Camp Lejeune.
May 15, 2025
5th Circuit: Deepwater Horizon Case Properly Dismissed For Lack Of Causation

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that a district court correctly excluded a plaintiff’s expert and dismissed for lack of causation his case against BP Exploration & Production and its affiliate related to alleged injuries from exposure to chemicals during remediation activities following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
May 15, 2025
Woman With Cancer Says Monsanto ‘Actively Concealed’ True Risks Of Roundup

SHERMAN, Texas — A woman with cancer on May 14 sued Monsanto Co. in Texas federal court arguing that it is liable for “misconduct and gross negligence” with respect to the manufacture and sale of the herbicide Roundup, which she says “contains no warnings relative to the health hazards caused by exposure” to it. She insists that Monsanto “actively concealed” the true risks associated with Roundup.
May 15, 2025
EPA Keeps Some, Drops Other Drinking Water Standards For PFAS Chemicals

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin on May 14 announced that the agency would keep the current national drinking water regulations for two types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) but said the EPA intends to rescind regulations for other PFAS chemicals while it reconsiders regulatory determinations for them.
May 15, 2025
Monsanto Is Not Entitled To Relief From $175M Roundup Award, Appellate Panel Says

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania Superior Court panel ruled that Monsanto Co. was not entitled to relief from a $175 million jury award in a glyphosate cancer lawsuit, saying it was “unpersuaded by Monsanto’s claim that a punitive damages award in an amount six times the compensatory damages award is inherently violative of due process.”
May 14, 2025
School Says Monsanto’s Bid To Quash Deposition In PCB Case Should Be Denied

BURLINGTON, Vt. — A school district has filed a brief in Vermont federal court arguing that it should deny Monsanto Co.’s motion to quash the district’s Rule 30(b)(6) notice for deposition and motion for a protective order because “Monsanto’s Motion is designed to prevent Plaintiff from exercising its right to conduct discovery” in litigation pertaining to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
May 14, 2025
Georgia Governor Signs Law Limiting Liability For Makers Of Pesticides

ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on May 9 signed into law Senate Bill 144, which amends the Official Code of Georgia to “clarify that a manufacturer cannot be held liable for failing to warn consumers of health risks above those required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency with respect to pesticides.”
May 14, 2025
Judge Preliminarily Awards More Than $520,633 In Total Damages For Jet Fuel Spill

HONOLULU — A federal judge in Hawaii has issued preliminary findings of fact and conclusions of law in which she determined that the U.S. government is liable for a total of $520,633.15 in damages to plaintiffs who sued it related to groundwater contamination from a jet fuel spill at the Pearl Harbor Naval Base.
May 13, 2025
3M To Pay $450M To Settle New Jersey PFAS Litigation While DuPont Faces Trial

TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin on May 13 announced a $450 million settlement with 3M Co. only related to drinking water contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in litigation brought by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) against 3M, EIDP Inc., formerly E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., and its affiliates from DuPont’s Chambers Works plant.
May 12, 2025
Federal Judge Denies Insurer’s Motion For Judgment In Bad Faith, Lead Injury Suit

ST. LOUIS — In a May 9 docket note, a Missouri federal judge overruled an insurer’s motion for judgment as a matter of law submitted at the close of evidence in a jury trial on an insured’s claim for bad faith refusal to settle in a coverage dispute over underlying personal injury claims stemming from the insured’s lead-smelting operations.
May 09, 2025
RFK Jr.: Coal Miner’s Class Action Over Cuts To NIOSH Black Lung Program Fails

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. moved in West Virginia federal court to dismiss a putative class action filed by a coal miner with black lung who says Kennedy violated federal law when he terminated the majority of staff at the Respiratory Health Division of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Morgantown, W.Va., arguing that the plaintiff lacks standing under the U.S. Constitution and the claims are barred by sovereign immunity.
May 07, 2025
Judge Declares Mistrial, Calls For Retrial Of Punitives In Ethylene Oxide Case

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — A state court judge in Georgia on May 6 declared a mistrial in the punitive damages phase of a trial but let stand a compensatory damages verdict of $20 million in a lawsuit brought by a man who contends that a medical sterilization plant is liable for causing his cancer because it emitted ethylene oxide (EtO) into the environment.
May 05, 2025
Family Can’t Secure New Trial In Rhode Island Asbestos Case

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — While the evidence could have supported a verdict in favor of a mesothelioma sufferer's family and there were some anomalies at trial, the plaintiffs largely failed to object, and the jury was not improperly influenced into finding for the a fiber supplier, a Rhode Island justice said in denying a new trial and judgment as a matter of law.
May 05, 2025
Supreme Court Refuses Case About Jury Trial Sought in Camp Lejeune Water Crisis

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on May 5 refused to hear an appeal in which two individuals challenged a lower court’s decision that they are not entitled to a jury trial in their case against the U.S. government related to water contamination at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
May 05, 2025
Plaintiffs Say Ethylene Oxide Defendant Engaged In ‘Misconduct,’ Seek New Trial

GOLDEN, Colo. — The plaintiffs who contend that they developed cancer from exposure to ethylene oxide (EtO) from a medical sterilization plant have moved in Colorado state court for a new trial, arguing that the defendant “engaged in a systematic pattern of misconduct that prevented the jury from deciding this case on its merits,” which resulted in a defense verdict.
May 05, 2025
Man Says Paraquat Makers Concealed Information About Link With Parkinson’s Disease

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — A man with Parkinson’s disease has sued the makers of the pesticide paraquat in Illinois federal court alleging that they are liable for his injury because they had knowledge of epidemiological studies that link paraquat exposure with Parkinson’s disease and “actively and fraudulently concealed” that information from the public.
May 02, 2025
Amicus Asks Supreme Court To Review Monsanto’s Roundup Preemption Petition

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A public interest law firm on May 1 filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court supporting Monsanto Co.’s petition for review of a $1.25 million damages award won by a man who sued the company for injuries from exposure to the herbicide Roundup, arguing that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) expressly prohibits a state from imposing pesticide labeling requirements that are ‘“in addition to or different from’” those imposed under FIFRA.
May 01, 2025
Government: Evidence Of Vapor Intrusion Should Be Excluded In Camp Lejeune Case

RALEIGH, N.C. — The U.S. government has filed a brief in North Carolina federal court arguing that it should exclude evidence related to water contamination from vapor intrusion and emissions in the litigation over water contamination at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune on grounds that that evidence is “irrelevant” because those claims are not permitted under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022.