Court Allows Expert Testimony in First AFFF Bellwether Trial Against 3M

Levin Papantonio Rafferty (LPR) law firm announces that the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina Charleston Division has rejected 3M's omnibus motion to exclude expert testimony at a trial in which the City alleges that the Defendants' aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) contaminated the city's water supply with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). 

District Court Judge Richard Gergel's order affirmed that the testimony presented by experts on behalf of the City of Stuart is "the product of reliable principles and methods," as governed by the Daubert standard.

"Winning a Daubert motion requires a hyper-focus on methodology," said LPR Attorney and Shareholder Wes Bowden, who together with LPR Attorney and Shareholder Ned McWilliams, is representing the City of Stuart (Plaintiff) in multidistrict litigation (MDL No. 2873) against 3M and other Defendants.

"We had a strong offense strategy going into this hearing," Bowden continued. "We had to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that our experts possess the level of expertise required by law and that their testimony is based on reliable methodologies. We were committed, and we established the relevance and reliability of our experts’ testimony."

The outcome of a Daubert challenge in City of Stuart v. 3M  is significant on many levels, according to McWilliams. "This is a scientifically complex case, and moving through this challenge has given us valuable insight as to what extent the jury will understand the elements of issue," McWilliams said. "It's incredibly significant, especially in the first bellwether trial for this MDL."

City of Stuart, Fl. v. 3M Co. et al., (No. 2:18-cv-03487) is a bellwether case in MDL No. 2873, In Re: Aqueous Film-Forming Foams Products Liability Litigation. More than 4,100 cases have been filed in the MDL and centralized in the U.S. District Court District of South Carolina for pretrial proceedings presided over by Judge Richard Gergel.

The AFFF MDL is a mass tort brought on behalf of water providers and other individuals who have been harmed by exposure to AFFF and/or required to incur cost associated with its remediation.

Three bellwether cases were selected to proceed to trial in 2023. The City of Stuart was chosen to be the first bellwether trial. Municipalities in all the bellwether cases allege that PFAS manufacturers, AFFF manufacturers, and suppliers are liable for remediation costs from drinking water sources being polluted with PFAS AFFF.

Wes Bowden is a shareholder at Levin Papantonio Rafferty. He has been involved in multiple mass tort cases involving environmental contamination. 

In 2019, Bowden was appointed to the AFFF MDL's Plaintiffs' Executive Committee.

In 2017, he served as co-lead counsel in Vigneron v. E.I. DuPont, obtaining a $12.5 million verdict on behalf of a client who suffered from cancer after drinking water contaminated with the chemical PFOA (C8) discharged by DuPont’s Washington Works Teflon manufacturing plant.

In 2016, Bowden worked as part of the trial team that secured a $5.6 million verdict on behalf of an Ohio resident who developed cancer after consuming PFOA (C8) discharged by DuPont into the air and drinking water of the surrounding community.

Ned McWilliams is a shareholder at Levin Papantonio Rafferty. He litigates pharmaceutical, environmental, mass tort and personal injury cases throughout the country. He has been appointed to leadership in many of the largest mass tort cases in the country.

McWilliams is presently serving on the Science and Discovery Committees in the Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFF) Products Liability Litigation (MDL 2873). 

On March 7, 2022, Mr. McWilliams was appointed as class counsel in Hardwick v. 3M Co. et al., case number 2:18-cv-01185, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The Hardwick class consists of every individual in the state of Ohio with measurable concentrations of certain PFAS chemicals. The case seeks redress in the means of requiring the manufactures of these chemicals to conduct robust comprehensive human testing to determine whether continued exposure is deemed safe.

The Levin Papantonio Rafferty law firm has been representing injured people across the globe since 1955. The firm has gained national recognition as one of the most successful personal injury firms in the world and has been featured on CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox, as well as Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Time Magazine, Forbes, and National Law Journal.

LPR attorneys handle lawsuits throughout the country and have earned more than $30 billion in jury verdicts and settlements, litigating against some of the largest corporations in the world.

Camp Lejeune: Representing individuals who were exposed to volatile organic compounds at Camp Lejeune and have been diagnosed with cancers.

Ethylene Oxide Contamination—Representing individuals who suffered exposure to ethylene oxide from a manufacturing plant or facility in their community and suffered from cancer or cancer or blood disorders.

Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)—Assisting public and private entities in recovering costs involved in the removal and remediation of PFAS.

BP Oil Spill: Served as one of the lead counsel in the national litigation against BP, which resulted in a multi-billion dollar settlement.

Conoco/Agrico Superfund Site: Represented a class of hundreds of property owners and residents in Pensacola, Florida relating to claims of groundwater contamination attributed to a former fertilizer facility. The case resulted in a $70 million settlement.

Dupont C8 Contamination: Reached a $670 million settlement on behalf of 3,500 individuals injured when Dupont released PFOA (C8) into the Ohio River and air around Parkersburg, West Virginia.

Dupont GenX Contamination—Represented individuals injured by Dupont and Chemours releasing GenX into the Cape Fear River in North Carolina.

Dupont Spelter Contamination—Represented a class of more than 2,300 persons harmed by heavy metal contamination in the Spelter, West Virginia area, resulting in a settlement valued over $350 million.

Pinecastle Bombing Range—Represented a class of property owners harmed after bombs and munitions were discovered in a residential and school area in Orlando, Florida. 

For questions about the firm’s legal practice, call 1 (800) 277-1193.