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…
3M removed Michigan’s PFAS contamination case to federal court, arguing that its AFFF was developed in accordance with applicable federal military requirements and that, as a result, removal is proper because defendants sued for acts committed at a federal officer’s direction may remove. 3M also argues it plans to invoke the government contractor defense. Although…
Michigan’s state court case against manufacturers of PFAS-containing products other than AFFF will move into discovery, after the presiding Circuit Court judge ultimately ruled in the State’s favor on eight of nine motions to dismiss. August 21, 2020 | Nessel v. 3M Co., et al., No. 20:03366-NZ (Mich. Cir. Ct.)