On January 22, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) issued a revised notice of proposed rulemaking establishing aggressive standards on the presence of three emerging contaminants in drinking water. The proposed...more
The Vermont State legislature has enacted a bill designed to set strict limits on the presence of perfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS) in drinking water....more
On December 18, the New York Drinking Water Quality Council recommended that the New York State Department of Health (DOH) adopt stringent new standards for the presence of three emerging contaminants in drinking water. The...more
DC High Court Adopts Daubert Approach to Expert Testimony -
In a direct victory for mobile phone manufacturers and service providers, and with implications for any other case involving expert testimony in the District of...more
12/12/2016
/ Admissibility ,
Contamination ,
Daubert Standards ,
Drinking Water ,
Evidence ,
Expert Testimony ,
Manufacturers ,
Mobile Devices ,
Preemption ,
Take-Home Exposure ,
Toxic Exposure
In a case that may make it easier to prove causation in Maryland lead paint cases, the Maryland Court of Appeals held that neither direct evidence of the source of lead nor expert testimony was necessary when a trier of fact...more
In another development in the ongoing ammonium perfluorooctanoate (“C-8”) multidistrict litigation, a federal trial court in Ohio upheld an October 2015 jury verdict against E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (“DuPont”). ...more
In a decision that may have implications in other cases related to alleged lead in drinking water, a District of Columbia trial court dismissed negligence and consumer protection claims against the District’s water utility,...more
An Ohio federal jury in October handed out the first verdict in multi-district litigation (“MDL”) against E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Co. related to ammonium perfluorooctanoate, or C-8, in drinking water around DuPont’s...more
Underscoring the importance of sound science in expert opinions, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld the exclusion of expert testimony that did not adequately draw or extrapolate from reliable...more
A West Virginia federal court certified a class for purposes of determining Defendants’ liability for a chemical spill that disrupted the water supply for approximately 300,000 residents in the Charleston area. Good v. Am....more
An Ohio federal district court gave E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Co. a partial victory in litigation over ammonium perfluorooctanoate (“C-8”) drinking water contamination in Ohio and West Virginia by granting partial summary...more
8/5/2015
/ Abnormally Dangerous Activities ,
Battery ,
Chemical Spills ,
Civil Conspiracy ,
Contamination ,
Drinking Water ,
DuPont ,
Manufacturers ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
Negligence Per Se ,
Pain and Suffering ,
Private Right of Action ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trespass ,
Wrongful Death
In a ruling that could broaden parent company exposure to suit in West Virginia, the Southern District of West Virginia found that it had personal jurisdiction over the out-of-state parent company of an in-state water company...more
MASS TOXIC TORTS -
West Virginia Chemical Spill Prompts Wave of Lawsuits -
The January 9th, 2014 chemical release at a Freedom Industries, Inc. facility in West Virginia has shown, yet again, that major...more
4/28/2014
/ Chemical Spills ,
Class Certification ,
Contamination ,
Damages ,
Drinking Water ,
Expert Testimony ,
Failure To Warn ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Medical Monitoring ,
Toxic Exposure