The U.S. Court of Federal Claims has dismissed a $400 million lawsuit filed by property owners near Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico who alleged the Air Force’s decades-long use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam amounted to a taking of their property without just compensation. The court cited three “independent yet overlapping” grounds for dismissal….
A divided Fourth Circuit panel held that district courts in Maryland and South Carolina erred in remanding certain cases that 3M removed to federal court based on the federal officer removal statute. The states originally sued 3M in state court and expressly disclaimed any liability based on PFAS contamination caused by aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF)….
The Middle District of Tennessee dismissed a citizen suit involving PFAS chemicals brought by a nonprofit organization under the Clean Water Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Tennessee Riverkeeper, which claims it is “dedicated to the preservation, protection, and defense of the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers,” sued a private landfill operator that allegedly contaminated…
Lawsuits brought by industry groups challenging the EPA’s recent regulation of PFAS—including its designation of PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under CERCLA and its final rule setting maximum contaminant levels in drinking water for six PFAS chemicals—came to a halt in February. In separate filings, the EPA asked the D.C. Circuit to hold the…