State lawyers are lining up in court to fight PFAS, the
vexing group of chemicals linked to cancer but used broadly in cookware,
firefighting foam and other materials.
Litigation has increased as research and public awareness of
potential impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances has grown in recent
years. Now, state lawsuits against chemical manufacturers are piling up,
raising the stakes for all involved.
"I think you're going to see a waterfall effect. You're
going to see more states doing that," said Akerman LLP attorney Matthew
Schroeder, who advises companies on PFAS-related legal risks.
"States are going to follow, cities are going to
follow, attorneys general are going to follow," he added. "And it's
going to, in turn, lead to significantly more class-action lawsuits."
Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
has linked some forms of PFAS — an umbrella term for a broad set of related
man-made chemicals — to cancer, thyroid problems and other health issues.
Thousands of individual plaintiffs have already gone to
court over the past two decades with alleged injuries. States were largely
absent from the legal scene until a series of lawsuits hit the courts over the
past year.
New Hampshire is the latest to join the fray, filing two
lawsuits last week against major manufacturers for their products' impacts on
natural resources. New Jersey filed its own case three weeks ago, raising
environmental and consumer fraud claims. Others taking legal action include
Ohio, New York and New Mexico. PFAS-related cases in North Carolina and Vermont
recently settled.
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