Legal Resources
“PFAS Blueprint” In MN May Be Blueprint For Other States
On February 10, 2021, Minnesota announced its "PFAS Blueprint", a 191 page aggressive plan with its stated goal being to "protect our communities and environment from [PFAS]." The detailed plan sets out a proposal to bolster regulations regarding PFAS through both...
PFAS Water Utility Lawsuit Shows An Increasing Trend
In the latest PFAS water utility lawsuit (PAWC Complaint - PFAS), the Pennsylvania-American Water Co. ("PAWC") sued numerous PFAS manufacturers over allegations that the companies knowingly or negligently allowed the contamination of the drinking water in the state of...
Heavy Metals In Baby Food Pose Concern For Baby Food Industry
On February 4, 2021, the U.S. House of Representative's Committee On Oversight and Reform (Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy) issued a report entitled "Baby Foods Are Tainted With Dangerous Levels of Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium and Mercury", which sent ripples...
EPA PFAS Regulations: “PFAS A Priority” Says Incoming Administrator
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden's pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Michael Regan, underwent his confirmation hearing. His nomination received largely bi-partisan support, so it is expected that Mr. Regan will be confirmed as the new...
PFAS Air Emissions Regulations: NY Joins The Fray
On January 13, 2021, the state of New York, through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), became only the second state in the United States to regulate PFAS in air emissions. New York proposed a regulation on air emissions for...
A $30 Million Mistake
Last month, I wrote about a Massachusetts personal injury case in which the Supreme Judicial Court heard oral arguments that addressed an issue concerning improper “reptile based” comments made by plaintiff’s counsel during closing argument. Before jury deliberations...
$4 Billion PFAS Settlement: Why Downstream Commerce Companies Should Be Wary
On January 22, 2021, a $4 billion PFAS settlement was reached between DuPont de Nemours Inc., Chemours Co., and Corteva, Inc. for environmental liabilities stemming from PFAS pollution. In addition, an $83 million settlement was reached by the same companies with...
Prop 65 Changes Will Disrupt Business Compliance Planning
If your company is using the short-form warnings to comply with California’s Proposition 65 requirements, yet another major change is likely coming that will affect your Prop. 65 compliance plan. The proposed regulatory changes to the widely adopted use of short-form...
PFAS Product Liability Cases – Are the Floodgates Now Open?
For the past three years, we have put forth the prediction that the PFAS litigation would evolve by expanding beyond lawsuits against PFAS manufacturers for personal injuries to lawsuits against manufacturing companies that utilize PFAS as a component of their...
PFAS In The Spotlight After Georgia Runoff Elections
Georgia’s recent Senate runoff elections resulted in a Democrat controlled U.S. Senate. The impact of the Georgia election will play out over the next few years, with some predicting that the narrow majority that Democrats have in the Senate will not guarantee...
Air Pollution Cited As Cause of Death – Will Lawsuits Follow?
Ella Kissi-Debrah, a 9-year-old UK citizen, is believed to be the first person to have her death certificate list air pollution as a cause of her death. Ella suffered from an extreme case of asthma and the coroner reviewing her death determined that the high level of...
PFAS Under Biden Administration – Change Is Coming
With just over thirty days until President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris are sworn into office, the Biden-Harris team continues to work on the many aspects of transition to ensure that change can commence immediately after swearing in. While...