The trial will kick off days after settlement was announced with Dupont, one of many Defendants in the aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) multidistrict litigation.
Levin Papantonio Rafferty (LPR) law firm attorneys Wes Bowden and Ned McWilliams are playing leading roles in the City of Stuart's firefighting foam trial that will commence on Monday in Charleston, South Carolina. The City of Stuart was chosen to be the first of three bellwether trials in the Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFF) Products Liability Litigation MDL No. 2873. (City of Stuart, Fl. v. 3M Co. et al., (No. 2:18-cv-03487)). Bowden, McWilliams, and Gary Douglas of the Douglas and London Firm will serve as trial counsel for the City.
This morning, Dupont, Chemours, and Corteveva, three Defendants in the national litigation, announced they have agreed to pay $1.185 billion in the first major settlement in MDL 2873, in which cities like Stuart allege that the Defendants' AFFF contaminated water supplies with harmful per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
At this point, we are dedicating our full attention to representing the City of Stuart next week, a trial whose outcome could inform future settlements.
NED MCWILLIAMS, Attorney, Levin Papantonio Rafferty, Trial Counsel for the City of Stuart, and Member of the Science and Discovery Committees in the national AFFF litigation (MDL 2873)
Bowden serves on the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee in the AFFF litigation, and McWilliams is a member of the Science and Discovery Committees in the MDL.
"The settlement is good news for the Plaintiffs in this litigation," McWilliams said. "At this point, we are dedicating our full attention on representing the City of Stuart next week, a trial whose outcome could inform future settlements."
AFFF, also known as firefighting foam, has been linked to various types of cancer, including kidney cancer, testicular cancer, pancreatic cancer, and prostate cancer. The costs associated with remediation are tremendous, and Bowden wants other municipalities to know they can still join this litigation to recover their costs.
"We encourage affected municipalities to help their communities by getting involved in this litigation.
WES BOWDEN, Attorney, Levin Papantonio Rafferty, Trial Counsel for the City of Stuart, and member of the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee in the national AFFF litigation (MDL 2873)
"When drinking water sources are polluted with these harmful chemicals, PFAS manufacturers, AFFF manufacturers, and suppliers are liable for remediation costs. We encourage affected municipalities to help their communities by getting involved in this litigation, and we can guide them through this process," Bowden said.
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.
About the City of Stuart's AFFF Complaint
Florida's Department of Environmental Protection detected PFAS in three of the City of Stuart's 24 wells. These wells were located near stations where AFFF, manufactured and sold by 3M, was used in firefighter training. The foam travelled underground and found its way into wells.
When the City of Stuart's former public works and utilities director David Peters learned of the contamination, he convinced the Stuart City Commission to invest in a state-of-the-art filtration system.
The City aims to recover expenses from the filtration equipment installation in the amount of more than $100 million, as well as punitive damages.
Pre-Trial Litigation to Date in the City of Stuart Case
Before the City of Stuart case has even gone to trial, Bowden and McWilliams have already successfully navigated multiple challenges in the case.
On May 12, 2023, U.S. District Judge Richard Mark Gergel granted the Plaintiff's motion to exclude the government contractor defense as an affirmative defense.
The Court also rejected 3M's omnibus motion to exclude expert testimony, with Judge Gergel's order affirming 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.
McWilliams underscored the significance of the Daubert outcome, given the scientifically complex nature of the City of Stuart case. "It gave us valuable insight into as to what extent the jury will understand the elements of issue," McWilliams said in an earlier statement. "It's incredibly significant, especially in the first bellwether trial for this MDL."
About the AFFF MDL
As of May 15, 2023, nearly 4,500 cases have been filed in the AFFF 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.
Defendants in the AFFF MDL include:
- DuPont
- 3M
- BASF Corporation
- Chemours
- Corteva
- Arkema
- AGC Chemicals Americas
- Dynax Corporation
- Kidde-Fenwal Inc.
- Clariant Corporation
- UTC Fire & Security Americas Corporation
- ChemDesign Products Inc.
About Wes Bowden
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.
About Ned McWilliams
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, 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 manufacturers 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.
About Levin Papantonio Rafferty
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.
LPR's current environmental litigation includes:
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.
LPR's history of environmental litigation includes:
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.
To interview Attorney Wes Bowden or Attorney Ned McWilliams, contact Sara Stephens | sstephens@levinlaw.com | 281-744-6560
