A Michigan state court dismissed an enforcement action by the State of Michigan against the Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority seeking remediation of PFAS contamination allegedly caused by the airport’s use of aqueous film forming foam (AFFF). The court held that the federal aviation safety law preempts the state’s cleanup mandates. The ruling emphasizes…
The Michigan State Court of Claims agreed with 3M Company (“3M”) that the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (“Mich. EGLE”) issued a deficient regulatory-impact statement when promulgating rules establishing the allowable maximum-contaminant levels of seven PFAS and PFOA chemicals in drinking water. The court found that the Mich. EGLE failed to consider…
U.S. District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou granted final approval to an $11.9 million settlement deal to resolve allegations that a paper mill in Michigan that produced paper products using PFAS chemistry had contaminated local water supply as a result of improper storage at the site’s landfill. Judge Jarbou also approved of attorney fees of $3.9…
Plaintiffs, a group of Michigan residents, alleged that 3M and Wolverine’s PFAS-containing Scotchgard products polluted their drinking water and lowered property values. The companies moved to dismiss the complaint, which alleged claims for negligence, private nuisance, and public nuisance and sought medical monitoring, monetary damages, and remediation funding. The court ruled that the plaintiffs did…
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) rejected Michigan’s attempt to keep its PFAS lawsuit, filed in January 2020 (Nessel v. Chemguard, Inc., 2021 WL 744683, at *3 (W.D. Mich. Jan. 6, 2021)), in Michigan, instead sending the suit to multidistrict litigation in South Carolina. The JPML determined that Michigan could not separate its claims…