San Mateo County filed a proposed RICO class action against 19 chemical companies alleging that their firefighter protective gear contains PFAS. The county alleges the defendants’ turnout gear is treated with PFAS, which then increases the risk of exposure to firefighters during firefighting activities. The defendants knew of the risks of PFAS, the complaint alleges,…
The Northern District of California granted in part and denied in part Apple Inc.’s motion to dismiss a proposed consumer class action alleging that the wristbands of Apple Watch products contained high levels of PFHxA. As previously reported by the PFAS Primer, the plaintiffs alleged Apple Watch products contained excessive levels of PFAS and that…
The Supreme Court denied certiorari in two lawsuits brought by the State of Maryland and the State of South Carolina against 3M and other defendants arising out of alleged PFAS contamination in their states. 3M removed those lawsuits under the federal officer removal statute—arguing the alleged contamination must have come from aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF),…
The District of New Jersey dismissed a class action brought against Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue alleging the presence of PFAS in the defendants’ Band-Aid products. The plaintiffs alleged that they “reasonably believed” that the Band-Aids were “safe for use around, adjacent to, and near skin and open wounds” and that they would have paid…
A D.C. Circuit motions panel denied the EPA’s motion to vacate four of six PFAS limits for drinking water. Industry groups and water utilities had challenged the EPA’s final rule setting maximum contaminant levels in drinking water for certain PFAS chemicals. The EPA sought to vacate four of the six PFAS limits (for HPFO-DA, PFNA,…