DuPont Co. was found liable for a woman’s kidney cancer in the first of 3,500 lawsuits over a toxic Teflon ingredient found in Ohio and West Virginia water

DuPont Found Liable in First of 3,500 Toxic-Water Lawsuits

Denise Trowbridge and Tiffany Kary
October 7, 2015 — 3:55 PM EDT Updated on October 7, 2015 — 6:09 PM EDT


Ohio jury says woman with cancer should get $1.6 million

Federal trial was over handling of ingredient for Teflon


DuPont Co. was found liable for a woman’s kidney cancer in the first of 3,500 lawsuits over a toxic Teflon ingredient found in Ohio and West Virginia water, but spinoff Chemours Co. will have to bear the cost.

A jury in Columbus, Ohio, returned its verdict Wednesday after less than two full days of of deliberation, finding DuPont responsible for negligence and infliction of emotional distress, and awarding $1.6 million in damages.

The federal jury found DuPont didn’t act with actual malice in the way it handled C-8. The toxic chemical was used to make Teflon at the company’s plant in Parkersburg, West Virginia, and got into the drinking water of plaintiff Carla Marie Bartlett, 59.

Bartlett’s case was the first to go to trial among 3,500 similar suits from people who claim they got sick or had a family member die because of C-8 in public water or private wells in Ohio and West Virginia.

“This case sets the tone for DuPont and Chemours in this lengthy legal battle,” Tom Claps, a litigation analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group LLP, said in a research note Wednesday. Claps said the companies “dodged a major bullet” as no punitive damages were awarded and predicted the case will end in a settlement. He said that while this lawsuit is a blueprint, juries will consider each case on its own merits.
Phased Out

C-8, or perfluorooctanoic acid -- also known as PFOA -- is a soap-like substance that once gave Teflon its nonstick quality. DuPont has phased out the use of the chemical, reformulating products that go into fabrics, small appliances and components used in food processing.


Bartlett claimed that Wilmington, Delaware-based DuPont knew the chemical was toxic and hid that information from the public and regulators. Her lawyers cited internal tests, including one in 1981 that showed a high level of birth defects among children of female workers at the Parkersburg plant. DuPont failed to report that and other data about the chemical to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, resulting in a $16.5 million penalty in 2005.

“This is not a run-of-the-mill case. This was allegedly a systematic behavior,” said Carl Tobias, a professor of law at the University of Richmond in Virginia. “It doesn’t sound like an accident. It sounds worse than an accident,” said Tobias, whose specialties include products liability.

“DuPont acted reasonably and responsibly at each stage in the long history of C-8, placing a high priority on the safety of workers and community members,” Janet Smith, a company spokeswoman, said in a statement after the verdict.
Appeal Planned

Chemours will continue to fight the claims on appeal, Smith said. DuPont will also appeal, according to company spokesman Gregg Schmidt.

“DuPont does not believe that PFOA contributed to the plaintiff’s past health problems so the company disagrees with the jury’s decision regarding compensatory damages,” he said in a statement.

Bartlett’s lawyers argued that DuPont knew the chemical was getting into drinking water as early as 1984, when the company told employees living near the plant to secretly collect tap water from their homes and that water was found to contain the chemical.

“They made the Ohio River their personal toxic dumping ground so they could make more money on Teflon,” Bartlett’s lawyer, Mike Papantonio, told the jury in closing arguments before a packed courtroom. He said if the company had spent extra money and incinerated the chemical as 3M Co. had told them to, the water wouldn’t have been contaminated.

3M made C-8 before phasing it out in 2000. At that point DuPont began making its own.
Papantonio told the jury that the evidence presented at trial showed DuPont knew the dangers all along, and kept hiding them, even instructing employees in 1992 not to donate their blood because it was infected.
Not Regulated

In its defense, DuPont lawyer Damond Mace said C-8 isn’t harmful, isn’t regulated and isn’t on the EPA’s National Primary Drinking Water Regulations list of contaminants. 3M, which had been using the chemical for more than 30 years by the 1970s, also said there were no adverse health effects, Mace said.

“There were no laws restricting the use of it,” Mace told the jury. “It could be legally washed down the drain, like the dish soap we use at home and wash down the drain every day.”

DuPont took precautions and was proactive, however, because 3M had told them C-8 was persistent in blood. The company set an acceptable concentration of 50 parts per billion in drinking water when other groups deemed 500 parts per billion acceptable, the lawyer said.

DuPont said independent studies over the past 10 to 15 years show C-8 is present in low levels in just about everyone’s blood.

The outcome of the first case is seen as significant, although companies usually go through a handful of trials before deciding whether to start negotiating settlements. The next trial is set for Dec. 1, according to Chemours.

Any damages from the lawsuits will be borne by Chemours, which was spun off in July. It has carried on the Teflon business and agreed to take on many of DuPont’s legal obligations.

The case is In re Du Pont de Nemours and Company C-8 Personal Injury Litigation, 13-md-2433, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio (Columbus).

DuPont Co. was found liable for a man’s testicular cancer in the second lawsuit to go to trial in 3,500 lawsuits over a toxic Teflon chemical found in Ohio and West Virginia waters

Dupont, Chemours Handed Another Loss in Teflon Chemical Case

Tiffany Kary and Denise Trowbridge
July 6, 2016 — 2:56 PM EDT Updated on July 6, 2016 — 4:30 PM EDT


Ohio man blamed waterborne chemical for his testicular cancer

Spinoff Chemours has agreed to cover damages from lawsuits

 
DuPont Co. was found liable for a man’s testicular cancer in the second lawsuit to go to trial in 3,500 lawsuits over a toxic Teflon chemical found in Ohio and West Virginia waters, for which spinoff Chemours Co. had agreed to bear the cost.

A jury in Columbus, Ohio, returned its verdict Wednesday after less than a day of deliberation, finding DuPont responsible for negligence and $5.1 million in associated damages. It also found actual malice, meaning the company will face punitive damages.

In October, a jury awarded $1.6 million to a woman who sued over the contamination. DuPont is appealing that verdict. Chemours had agreed to cover any damages awarded in the trials. A second case settled on undisclosed terms.

“This type of litigation typically takes place over many years and interim results do not predict the final outcome of cases,” Cynthia Salitsky, a Chemours spokesperson said in a statement.

Stalitsky also said Chemours might challenge its responsibility for damages. “DuPont is the named defendant in each of the cases and is directly liable for any judgment. In the event DuPont claims that it is entitled to indemnification from Chemours as to some or all of the judgment, Chemours retains its defenses to such claims,” Stalitsky said.

DuPont spokesman Dan Turner declined to comment.

Chemours plunged more than 22 percent to $5.93 in New York, the biggest decline in more than a year. DuPont declined 1.8 percent to $61.9.
Drinking Water

In the most recent trial, which began May 31, David Freeman, who lived near the company’s Washington Works plant since 1993, claimed DuPont knowingly dumped toxic C-8 into local waterways. The chemical, used to make Teflon at a plant in Parkersburg, West Virginia, got into Freeman’s drinking water.

“Their goal was to protect the Teflon brand at the expense of the community,” Freeman’s lawyer Mike Papantonio said of DuPont in closing arguments Tuesday. “They know it caused cancer. They aren’t interested in keeping people healthy. They’re interested in how much it’s going to cost them after 57 years of doing it.”

DuPont lawyer Damond Mace said the evidence showed the company wasn’t expecting any injuries noting that high-level supervisors at the plant drank the same water as Freeman. C-8 “is not some skull and crossbones chemical,” Mace told the jury. “Salt, sugar, caffeine, these are all chemicals we’re around every day. It’s about dose,” he said.
C-8

DuPont knew since at least 1961 that C-8 is toxic and didn’t disclose to regulators or the public the results of an in-house study that found birth defects among its own workers’ children, Freeman alleged. The company faces about 3,500 suits from people who claim they got sick or lost family members because of C-8 in public water or private wells in Ohio and West Virginia.

DuPont was fined $16.5 million in 2005 for failing to report the birth-defect findings and other data to the Environmental Protection Agency.


C-8, or perfluorooctanoic acid -- also known as PFOA -- is a soap-like substance that once gave Teflon its nonstick quality. 3M Co. originally made the chemical and sold it to DuPont. When 3M phased the chemical out in 2000, DuPont started making its own. Neither company uses it anymore. A reformulated version is used in products such as fabrics, small appliances and components used in food processing.
First Trial

In the first trial, the plaintiff’s lawyers argued that DuPont knew the chemical was getting into drinking water as early as 1984, when the company tested tap water it told employees living near the plant to secretly collect.

At the earlier trial, lawyers for DuPont said C-8 isn’t harmful, isn’t regulated and isn’t on the EPA’s National Primary Drinking Water Regulations list of contaminants. 3M also said there were no adverse health effects, according to defense lawyers. DuPont took precautions because 3M had told them C-8 was persistent in blood.

The company set an acceptable concentration of 50 parts per billion in drinking water when other groups deemed 500 parts per billion acceptable, the defense said. Since then, in May, the EPA lowered the recommended exposure to the chemical in drinking water.

Under the new lifetime health advisory, drinking water exposure to PFOA and a chemical known as PFOS should not exceed 70 parts per trillion combined. DuPont said independent studies over the past 10 to 15 years show C-8 is present in low levels in just about everyone’s blood.

Thousands of cases have been consolidated in Ohio federal court to streamline the litigation process. Any damages from the lawsuits should be borne by Chemours, which was spun off in July 2015. It has carried on the Teflon business and agreed to take on many of DuPont’s legal obligations.

“We believe $5.1 million in damages awarded were in excess of investor expectations,” Citibank Inc. analysts led by James P Finnerty wrote in a note today.

Brandon Barnes, a litigation analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said it’s an “open question” whether that agreement would extend to punitive damages, or whether DuPont might have to bear those costs. Around $800 million to $1.5 billion is at risk in the litigation, Barnes estimated.

A trial to determine punitive damages is scheduled to begin Thursday.

The case is In re Du Pont de Nemours and Company C-8 Personal Injury Litigation, 13-md-2433, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio (Columbus).

Chemours will pay $6 million to remove the toxic chemical C8 from the water supply in Vienna, West Virginia

(Photo: DANIEL SATO/THE NEWS JOURNAL)


Chemours to pay $6M for West Virginia water filters 
Jeff Mordock, The News Journal 5:43 p.m. EDT May 24, 2016

Chemours will pay $6 million to remove the toxic chemical C8 from the water supply in Vienna, West Virginia, one of the towns impacted by contamination linked to a former DuPont plant.

Under an agreement with the city of Vienna, Chemours will install activated carbon filters to eliminate traces of C8, also known as perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, from the water supply.

Wilmington-based Chemours announced the move after the Environmental Protection Agency lowered the safe level of C8 in water supplies to 0.07 parts per billion from 0.4 parts per billion. After the EPA disclosed the new guidelines, the Vienna Water Department advised residents not to drink city water.

In February, tests paid for by the city of Vienna found five of its wells had C8 levels just above 0.01 parts per billion.

The C8 contamination has been traced back to Washington Works, which sits in Parkersburg, West Virginia, about 7 miles south of Vienna. Lawsuits and EPA investigations revealed that more than 1.7 million pounds of C8 had been released into the region's water, soil and air between 1951 and 2003, when DuPont operated Washington Works. The plant was transferred to Chemours after the company was spun off from DuPont last July.

Last month, a series by The News Journal detailed the pollution in Parkersburg.



C8 was used in the manufacturing of Teflon, one of DuPont's best-selling products. Teflon also was shifted to Chemours, although the company has never manufactured or used C8. DuPont completely phased out its use of the chemical in 2003.

DuPont settled a class-action lawsuit over C8 pollution in 2005. Under the settlement, the Wilmington chemical giant was required to install filtration systems in six water districts surrounding Washington Works that were most impacted by the C8 pollution. Vienna was not one of the water districts identified.

Chemours is required to indemnify DuPont for court costs and legal damages that could be awarded in the nearly 3,500 court cases pending against DuPont for C8 exposure. However, Chemours is under no legal requirement to pay for the filtration system.

On Monday, Delaware officials agreed to provide $7.9 million in taxpayer grants to keep Chemours in Delaware. The company is considering moving out of its downtown Wilmington location and is said to have had talks with representatives from Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Janet Smith, a Chemours spokeswoman, said the water treatment filtration system could be operational in a few months, if not sooner.

"We have already begun to gather the technical information and resources necessary to design, to construct and to install granular carbon treatment systems where PFOA exceeds the health advisory," she said.

Chemours will offer interim solutions such as providing Vienna residents with bottled water until the filtration system is installed, Smith said.

DuPont spokesman Dan Turner referred all requests for comment to Chemours.

Jeffrey Dugas, campaign manager for Keep Your Promises DuPont, a watchdog group that alleges DuPont has not fulfilled all of its requirements under the 2005 settlement, called Chemours' actions "a good start," but stressed more action is needed. He said area residents need to be monitored for diseases linked to C8 exposure, including kidney and testicular cancers along with high cholesterol and ulcerative colitis.

"The fact that Chemours is filtering Vienna's water is welcome," Dugas said. "But Chemours should be filtering water in all the communities through Cincinnati, and the need for medical monitoring is crucial."

Harry Dietzler is a West Virginia attorney who has represented C8 victims in lawsuits against DuPont. He expressed concern over who will pay for the system's continued maintenance if Chemours struggles financially. Since becoming an independent company, Chemours has had only one profitable quarter, and its sales have declined. If Chemours is unable to remain profitable, it is not clear how the filtration system's maintenance costs will be funded.

DuPont is in the process of merging with the Dow Chemical Co. and then separating into three independent businesses. The C8 liability has yet to be assigned to any of the three post-merger companies. Attorneys representing plaintiffs who have sued DuPont over C8 exposure have filed motions seeking information about DuPont's post-merger liability. Both sides have filed dueling court motions that, at times, include bitter barbs against the other side.

"People in the community are concerned about the maintenance costs in light of the shell game that DuPont, Chemours and Dow appear to be playing," Dietzler said.

Lawsuit filed against Saint-Gobain over PFOA contamination in Drinking Water

By Ayla Ferrone Published: May 10, 2016, 7:53 am Updated: May 10, 2016, 5:52 pm

 

RUTLAND, Vt. (NEWS10) – Residents of Bennington and North Bennington have filed a class-action lawsuit against the company that Vermont officials have blamed for PFOA contamination in their drinking water.
The suit filed Friday in Rutland federal court accuses Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics of negligence in the handling and disposal of the suspected carcinogen perflurooctanoic acid.
Patrick Bernal, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, says Saint-Gobain knew or should have known that its use of PFOA in the manufacturing process and its eventual disposal was potentially hazardous to the environment.
Saint Gobain said Tuesday in a statement:

We understand that a lawsuit has been filed in the State of Vermont. We are evaluating the claims, and we respect the right of individuals to pursue their claims in a court of law. Saint-Gobain has acted quickly and openly since learning the presence of PFOA in private wells, including funding bottled water and point-of-entry filtration systems, as well as discussing potential long-term solutions.  We will continue to work cooperatively with the State to address concerns over the drinking water. Our priority has been and continues to be ensuring the residents of North Bennington have clean drinking water.”

Steve Bennett is one of the main plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit and lives and runs a small business in North Bennington. His private well was one of the many wells in the area that tested positive for PFOA. He and his family stopped using the water almost immediately
He makes maple syrup and was concerned the ground water was contaminated too.
“Everything that I made this year after we found out obviously we put on hold because we didn’t know whether or not it was going to be any good or not,” said Bennett
The groundwater tests came back and luckily showed no signs of PFOA, but Bennett is worried he and his family could feel the effects of contaminated well water in other ways.
He says he’s worried about the value of his property, a concern echoed by many other parties to the lawsuit.
“I don’t know what the damage is going to be to the property values,” said Bennett. “We’re going to be paying taxes on a property that we may not be able to sell at some point.”
Bennett says almost all of his neighbors’ private wells tested positive.
“There’s a stigma that’s going to be attached to it no matter what you do,” said Bennett.
The lawsuit seeks more than $5 million in damages for property value losses and general inconvenience to area residents. The lawsuit also seeks to connect Bennington and North Bennington residents to municipal water, which runs less than two miles from Bennett’s home.
Bennett’s not sure if that’s enough. He says he doesn’t think you can put a price tag on the suffering he and his neighbors have had to go through because of the PFOA contamination.
While the lawsuit pends, Bennett says he’s looking forward to getting back to business as usual. He’s going to put his garden in this year. But he’s not sure he’ll drink the water from his private well ever again.

Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics have asked a federal court in Vermont to throw out a multimillion dollar class-action lawsuit over PFOA contamination because the company is also in litigation with the state.

Jul. 25, 2016, 10:28 am by Bennington Banner



Saint-Gobain seeks lawsuit dismissal or stay
 
NORTH BENNINGTON — Attorneys for Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics have asked a federal court in Vermont to throw out a multimillion dollar class-action lawsuit over PFOA contamination because the company is also in litigation with the state. A memorandum filed last week argues that a complaint brought forward by North Bennington residents should be dismissed or stayed because the company is challenging the state’s advisory standard for the man-made chemical.

The residents’ complaint accuses Saint-Gobain of negligence in disposing of PFOA, and trespass and battery for contaminating private drinking water supplies with the suspected carcinogen.

It’s one of several class-action suits filed in federal court after the chemical, used for decades when making the nonstick coating Teflon, turned up in public and private water supplies in the region.

Across the state line in New York, five class-action lawsuits have been consolidated. The cases were all filed against Saint-Gobain and Honeywell International, the companies that last month signed consent orders holding them responsible for contamination around Hoosick Falls.

The most recent one was filed on behalf of the local Tops Friendly Supermarkets and seeks $2.1 million for a loss of value to the grocery store building on Route 22.

PFOA, or perfluorooctanoic acid, has been linked to kidney and testicular cancers, as well as high blood pressure and cholesterol and thyroid problems. Of the 483 wells around North Bennington tested since February, 249 were found to have PFOA levels above what the state says is safe, or 20 parts per trillion (ppt). The highest amounts of 2,730 and 2,330 ppt were found on Harrington Road and Asa Way, according to results posted on Friday by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. DEC believes the contamination source is the former Saint-Gobain/ChemFab plant in the village.

A complaint filed in May by three law firms on behalf of four North Bennington residents seeks $5 million in damages from Saint-Gobain, as well as a court order for the company to pay to connect affected homes to municipal water, clean up contamination and implement long-term medical studies.

Lawyers for Saint-Gobain last week filed a motion to dismiss or stay the lawsuit proceedings because the company has challenged Vermont’s 20 ppt limit for PFOA, which a memorandum states is “the lowest set by any state, federal or even foreign government.”

“As a matter of science, Vermont public policy, and administrative procedure, these rules should not stand,” the memorandum states.

The memorandum for Saint-Gobain was filed by Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC of Brattleboro and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP of New York City.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has set a limit of 70 ppt. The Vermont Department of Health issued a health advisory level of 20 ppt in March. The DEC then issued an emergency interim groundwater enforcement standard of 20 ppt. The Agency of Natural Resources has begun proceedings to set a final standard.

Saint-Gobain challenged the standard in state court “on both substantive and procedural grounds,” the memorandum states. The company claims that Vermont state agencies didn’t provide sufficient notice to identify affected parties, or allow those parties to comment, didn’t consider economic impact, and challenges the state’s “failure to assert a scientifically supportable basis for the Interim Standard and Emergency Rules.” Attorneys for Saint-Gobain argue that the lawsuit should not proceed because the North Bennington residents rely on the rules that are subject to pending challenges in state court.

In Hoosick Falls, N.Y., five cases have been consolidated under a court order by a federal judge. Plaintiffs have requested the court appoint Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C. and Faraci Lange, LLP as co-lead interim class counsel. A memorandum in support of the motion states that both New York City law firms “have a wealth of experience handling groundwater contamination cases very similar to the instant matter.” Plaintiffs claim a loss of property value due to contamination and allege negligence against Saint-Gobain and Honeywell.

Among the plaintiffs is Hoosick Falls Associates, a company that owns the property that contains the local Tops supermarket. A complaint was filed in May by Albany, N.Y., law firm Couch White, LLP.

The property at 21495 New York State Route 22 is three-tenths of a mile away from the manufacturing plant at 14 McCaffrey St., a Class 2 state Superfund site, the complaint states. Saint-Gobain has owned that site since 1999 and that company, along with Honeywell, signed consent orders last month for the site.

The property was listed for sale and its market value in November 2015 was $2.1 million, according to the complaint. Three buyers expressed interest in buying the property, but rescinded their interest after PFOA contamination was discovered.

The complaint details a stigma attached to the property and claims that HFA will not be able to sell it.

Tops is served by a private water system and was one of the many businesses and homes where Saint-Gobain agreed to fund a point-of-entry (POET) water filtration system.

The supermarket has also been the designated bottled water pick-up site for residents in the village and town of Hoosick. Saint-Gobain agreed to fund that effort after the EPA last November issued a no-drink order on the village’s municipal system, which serves about 4,500 customers. The company has since paid for a filtration system on the municipal system.

Editor’s note: This article by Edward Damon first appeared in the Bennington Banner on July 25, 2016.