Thread regarding 3M layoffs

Another reminder that PFAS is a global liability and the actions in Belgium were just the beginning.

May 23 - The Dutch government said on Tuesday it would hold U.S. industrial group 3M Co liable for polluting the Western Scheldt river with potentially harmful substances known as PFAS or "forever chemicals". The Netherlands said it would hold the company responsible for pollution in the Dutch part of the river allegedly caused by its nearby Belgian plant. Higher than acceptable pollutant levels have resulted in financial damages for the fishing fleet and the government, the Netherlands said.

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/surprising-no-one-those-pursued-to-pay-9350658/

Unlike the massive earplug MDL, the number of potential litigants for PFAS claims is unbounded, both in terms of actual numbers of claimants and their geographic location. Winter is coming.

Oh no. Will 3M go bankrupt as well?

The case selected for this initial bellwether trial is the City of Stuart v. 3M Co. et al. (2:18-cv-03487). The outcome of the trial in the City of Stuart case will have a massive impact on the future course of the litigation. It will be the first time a jury will decide the scientific evidentiary battle that has been waged between the plaintiffs and defendants such as DuPont and 3M.

If the jury resolves this debate in favor of the plaintiff and awards a significant verdict, it could prompt a multi-billion-dollar settlement involving dozens of major companies. It could also set the stage for future cases involving similar tort claims by local municipalities based on environmental contamination.

March 16, 2023: AFFF Class Action Now Has Over 4,000 Cases

Over the last 30 days, 354 new AFFF firefighting foam cases were added to the class action MDL, bringing the total number of pending AFFF cases up to 4,058. This is the second month in a row that the firefighting foam MDL has posted an abnormally high volume of new case filings.

From National Law Review on May 16, 2023:

"We have written in the past that the PFAS litigation has the potential to mirror and eventually surpass the asbestos litigation in terms of its scope and the liabilities that it imposes on downstream companies (i.e. – those who did not manufacture PFAS). Consider that when the asbestos litigation truly began to gather litigation steam in the early 1980s, the suppliers of raw asbestos fiber and manufacturers of products such as thermal insulation and spray fireproofing (akin in many ways exposure-wise to AFFF) were the companies pursued in the litigation. Over time, due to the number of asbestos lawsuits and associated costs, these companies sought and obtained bankruptcy protection from the courts. Rather than resulting in the end of asbestos litigation, plaintiffs’ counsel pivoted and began suing companies that utilized asbestos in component parts, such as gaskets, brake linings, clutches, boilers, etc. Today, the litigation has evolved further and has started targeting cosmetics and beauty products.

It is not outside of the realm of possibility to imagine a similar trajectory for the PFAS litigation. Of course, much of this will depend on the scientific community reaching conclusions regarding the dose of PFAS, if any, capable of causing disease in humans from the slew of consumer goods that used PFAS throughout the decades. The science is not there yet, at least to a level of consensus that would enable plaintiffs’ attorneys to file PFAS personal injury cases en masse, but it is coming. Several groups of scientists are working on reaching conclusions on this very topic.

Time will tell if the Kidde-Fenwal news is one of very few companies that seek bankruptcy protection, or if it is the first in a long line of such companies. Regardless, companies, insurers, and financial world risk assessors must pay close attention to this development and determine the impact on other similarly situated companies.

The first PFAS MDL bellwether case is set for trial on June 5, 2023. In that case, the City of Stuart, Florida will present its case that it should be awarded over $100 million to pay for past, present and future testing, remediation an technological steps taken to remove certain PFAS from the city’s drinking water. Last fall, the Judge overseeing the MDL indicated that the parties would need to begin considering the next phase of case types on the docket once the first water pollution case is resolved – personal injury cases. The cases will address whether PFAS-containing AFFF was responsible for plaintiffs’ alleged personal injuries.

On May 5, 2023, presiding Judge Gergel issued an Order in which he ordered the parties to select cases involving an Air Force base and a Navy facility, from which a certain subset of plaintiffs will be chosen (either by agreement of the parties or by order of the Court) to be the first bellwether personal injury trial on the AFFF MDL. The sites from which the bellwether will be chosen are Peterson Air Force Base and/or Colorado Springs Municipal Airport and the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove and/or the Naval Air Warfare Center Warminster in Pennsylvania. The trial would likely take place in 2024. In addition to narrowing down the sites from which a bellwether will be chosen, the Court also made it clear that any bellwether trial would be required to have a plaintiff with either kidney cancer, testicular cancer, hyperthyroidism, or ulcerative colitis. Further, the plaintiff “…must allege exposure to PFAS from an AFFF source in their drinking water and may not allege PFAS exposure from direct exposure to AFFF.” The parties must have a list of proposed plaintiffs to the Court by July 28, 2023, from which one plaintiff will be chosen as the bellwether PFAS MDL personal injury plaintiff by August 11, 2023.

All the more reason to take 3Ms lump sum pension and sell off GESPP at a loss.

The end will be ugly.

I've used kidde extinguishers for years.

Goodbye 3M. Send condolences to Mcnerney, James.