9th Circuit Keeps 3M PFAS Case in Federal Court
The Orange County Water District, along with several other cities, sued 3M and other companies in California state court in 2020, alleging their operations polluted the local surface water and groundwater with PFAS. 3M removed the state complaint to federal court in 2021, arguing that at least some PFAS releases were the result of product sales to the U.S. military, and so the company plans to assert the federal government contractor defense, making federal court the proper venue. The federal district court disagreed that the case was properly in federal court and sent the case back down to state court. The 9th Circuit reversed, holding that the case had properly been removed to federal court based on 3M’s arguments.
March 1, 2022 | Orange County Water District et al. v. 3M Co. et al. Case No. 21-55778 (9th Cir.)