Our prior reports discussed when an ethylene oxide case would go to verdict, and what the ensuing result would look like. We no longer need to speculate. On September 19, 2022, a Cook County (Illinois) jury awarded $363 million to a plaintiff who alleged that she...
Environmental
MDL For PFAS AFFF Sees Long-Awaited Government Contractor Ruling
On September 16, 2022, the presiding Judge in the MDL for PFAS AFFF issued a ruling denying defendants' motions to apply the government contractor defense to the MDL, which would have in effect wiped out a considerable number of cases on the MDL. The ruling brings to...
New York Fashion PFAS Legislation Will Dramatically Impact Businesses
On May 24, 2022, the New York Assembly and Senate passed a bill, S.6291, that would ban the sale of any apparel in the state of New York that contain intentionally added PFAS starting on December 31, 2023. The New York fashion PFAS legislation, which must be signed...
PFAS AFFF MDL Moves Forward With Bellwether Trial Chosen
In response to the presiding Judge's request that the parties in the PFAS AFFF MDL choose the order in which the first three cases chosen for trial in the MDL will proceed, the parties submitted a letter to the Judge informing him that the case of Stuart (FL) v. 3M,...
PFAS Hardwick Case – Significant Court Ruling May Reduce Class
On September 9, 2022, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals granted interlocutory review of an enormously significant PFAS class action lawsuit filed in Ohio - Hardwick v. 3M. We previously wrote about the details of the Ohio court's decision to grant class certification...
PFAS Consumer Fraud Lawsuit Just the Latest…and Only the Beginning
On August 26, 2022, a PFAS consumer fraud class action lawsuit was filed in New York against Proctor & Gamble over alleged PFAS content in the Oral B brand of floss. The lawsuit is but the latest in a growing line of PFAS lawsuits that allege that certain consumer...
California PFAS Bills Set To Have Business Impacts
This week, California's Governor Newsom is expected to sign into law three major California PFAS bills, each of which will have significant impacts on businesses nationally and globally. Two of the bills would ban products from being sold in the state that contain...
PFAS Free Federal Goals Will Impact Suppliers
On August 31, 2022, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) released a report entitled "Implementing Instructions for Executive Order 14057 Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability." In the report, the CEQ strongly...
PFAS Lawsuit Continues Trend of Downstream Liability Risks
On August 12, 2022, a cattle farmer in Livingston County, Michigan filed a PFAS lawsuit against a manufacturing company that allegedly contaminated the farmer's land with PFAS, which in turn contaminated the cattle that he relied on to sell for beef. Plaintiff Jason...
AFFF PFAS MDL Supplemental Briefing Filed With Court
On August 19, 2022, the parties in the AFFF PFAS MDL presented oral arguments to the Court in a long-awaited hearing on the government contractor defense. At the hearing, the Court requested supplemental briefing from the parties on the specific issue of what studies...










