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ARTICLE · 26 MAY 2022

The Drumbeat Of PFAS Litigation Is Getting Louder

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On May 25th, Massachusetts filed suit against a number of companies alleged to have manufactured PFAS and/or aqueous film-forming foam.

United StatesEnvironment
Seth Jaffe
Seth Jaffe
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On May 25th, Massachusetts filed suit against a number of companies alleged to have manufactured PFAS and/or aqueous film-forming foam.  Massachusetts joins a number of other states which have already brought similar claims.  Indeed, Massachusetts filed the case in South Carolina, where an existing multi-district litigation concerning PFAS is already in progress.

The complaint asserts a number of different claims, including trespass and nuisance, but its focus is really product liability.  FWIW, the MDL in South Carolina is captioned "In re Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFF) Products Liability Litigation."  Notwithstanding that the suit has been brought as a products liability case, the relief sought is right out of a standard CERCLA or state superfund law complaint.  Its first request for relief asks the Court to:

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