Motley Rice Archives

April 12, 2024

Firefighting foam company reaches $750 million PFAS settlement

By Shannon Kelleher

The company Tyco Fire Products today reached a $750 million settlement to help resolve claims related to its firefighting foam, which allegedly contaminated drinking water systems with harmful PFAS chemicals for decades.

Once the settlement is approved, an estimated 7,000 to 8,000 US public water systems could receive money to treat contaminated drinking water, said Joe Rice, co-lead attorney for the plaintiffs with the Motley Rice law firm. Water systems that test positive for PFAS by May 15 may be eligible to benefit from the settlement.

“$750 million towards this problem, that is a huge contribution,” said Rice.

Tyco, a subsidiary of Johnson Controls, does not admit liability or wrongdoing by agreeing to the settlement.

The announcement builds on last summer’s landmark settlements from the companies 3M, Dupont, and others, which could total up to nearly $14 billion to assist affected water systems as they test for and clean up PFAS contamination. 3M’s settlement received final approval April 1.

Earlier this week, US regulators announced the nation’s first legally enforceable limits for levels of six toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water, a move the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says should prevent thousands of deaths and reduce serious illnesses in people across the country.

November 24, 2023

After historic drinking water settlements, PFAS personal injury lawsuits loom

By Shannon Kelleher

In the wake of landmark settlements requiring chemical giants 3M and DuPont to pay billions to US water systems for alleged toxic chemical contamination, litigation over personal injuries from PFAS exposure is starting to move forward.

The first round of personal injury cases to go to trial will involve people who developed one of four diseases after drinking water contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from firefighting foam used at airports or military sites in Colorado and Pennsylvania, which seeped into nearby communities’ drinking water, according to lawyers for plaintiffs.

No date has been set yet for a bellwether trial, which is probably at least a year down the road, said Anne McGinness Kearse, an attorney with the Motley Rice law firm, which will be representing plaintiffs in the litigation. Attorneys for both sides are currently in the process of determining which plaintiffs will be the first to have their cases heard. They are due to report a joint proposal to the court by Dec. 1. As with the water supplier cases, 3M and DuPont are the main defendants, said Kearse.

A separate round of litigation will focus on people exposed through occupational exposure to PFAS, a group that mostly includes firefighters who have been exposed to the chemicals through their firefighting gear and in aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), which has been used for decades to help quench fires.

“We are seeing what we believe are increases in the rates of cancer in our members at younger ages,” said Sean DeCrane, director of health and safety operational services at the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF). “That gives us a lot of concern.”