Emerald Coast Utilities Authority, a Plaintiff in the national firefighting foam litigation, will benefit from Dupont's settlement in the national AFFF litigation.
Levin Papantonio Rafferty (LPR) law firm announced today that a national settlement has been reached between Dupont, Chemours, and Corteveva and the Plaintiffs Executive Committee in the Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFF) Products Liability Litigation (MDL No. 2873) for $1.185 billion.
Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (ECUA), which supplies drinking water to more than 180,000 customers throughout Escambia County and Pensacola, is one of the many water providers in the AFFF multidistrict litigation (MDL) that will benefit from the settlement.
This settlement will provide much needed funding to water providers throughout Florida and the nation to combat the PFAS crisis.
NED MCWILLIAMS, Attorney, Levin Papantonio Rafferty and Member of the Science and Discovery Committees in the national AFFF litigation
Drinking water supplies throughout Florida and the nation have been contaminated with cancer-causing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)--for which there is no known safe level of exposure.
Water providers like ECUA have been harmed by AFFF, which use toxic PFAS as a primary ingredient. Firefighters and military personnel were never told of the hazards associated with these products and followed the Defendants' instructions to dispose of AFFF directly into the environment leading to drinking water contamination.
The resulting PFAS contamination of drinking water throughout Florida has required extensive investigation and treatment with costs often exceeding tens of millions of dollars for each water utility.
"This settlement will provide much needed funding to water providers throughout Florida and the nation to combat the PFAS crisis," said LPR Attorney Ned McWilliams, who is serving on the Science and Discovery Committees in the Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFF) Products Liability Litigation (MDL 2873).
LPR has been fighting for clean water and those who have been injured from PFAS exposure for nearly a decade.
WES BOWDEN, Attorney, Levin Papantonio Rafferty and member of Plaintiffs' Executive Committee in the national AFFF litigation
LPR Attorney Wes Bowden added that, "LPR is happy to be a part of the team leading the fight against 3M and DuPont." Bowden is a member of the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee in the AFFF MDL.
"LPR has been fighting for clean water and those who have been injured from PFAS exposure for nearly a decade," Bowden continued, referring to a 2017 settlement that LPR lawyers reached with DuPont for dumping its C8 chemicals into the Ohio River and into the air from the DuPont plant in Parkersburg, West Virginia.
"I applaud all those involved in holding DuPont accountable," Bowden said.
The AFFF MDL
AFFF, sometimes referred to as firefighting foam, has been linked to various types of cancer, including kidney cancer, testicular cancer, pancreatic cancer, and prostate cancer.
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.
In 2019, Bowden was appointed to the AFFF MDL's Plaintiffs' Executive Committee. McWilliams serves on the MDL’s Science and Discovery committees.
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.
First Bellwether Trial Slated for Next Week
Three bellwether cases in the AFFF MDL were selected to proceed to trial in 2023. The City of Stuart was chosen to be the first bellwether trial ( City of Stuart, Fl. v. 3M Co. et al., (No. 2:18-cv-03487)). Gary Douglas of the Douglas and London Firm, Bowden and McWilliams will serve as trial counsel for the City. The trial is scheduled to begin next week.
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 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, 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.
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
