DuPont agrees to $27M class action settlement over PFAS contamination claims

DuPont class action settlement overview:

• Who: DuPont has agreed to pay $27 million to settle claims made by residents of Hoosick Falls, New York.
• Why: Residents of Hoosick Falls claimed DuPont was responsible for PFAS contamination in the town’s drinking water.
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in New York federal court.

DuPont has agreed to pay $27 million to settle claims it is responsible for PFAS contamination in the drinking water of residents in Hoosick Falls, New York. The settlement reportedly comes days before a trial was set to begin. 

Hoosick Falls residents claimed a facility in the town used a foam containing perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, from the late 1960s to 2003, which polluted the air and groundwater causing elevated levels of the chemical in residents’ blood, reports Law360. 

The claims are similar to those filed in other parts of the country by residents living on or near military bases, airports, and industrial sites — as well as by firefighters — who developed cancer after being exposed to “forever chemicals” in firefighting foam that contaminated the local drinking water.

The residents argued DuPont did not warn them of the harm caused by PFOA, which is part of a class of compounds known as PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” that have been used for decades in a variety of products, including firefighting foam, nonstick cookware and food packaging.

DuPont was also accused of being linked to the manufacturing of Teflon products at the facility, and of knowing about the health risks posed by PFOA’s long before they informed the public. 

DuPont settlement brings total settlement in Hoosick Falls PFAS case to $92M

The facility was most recently owned by Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., which bought it from Honeywell International Inc., according to the complaint. Saint-Gobain, 3M Co. and Honeywell reached a $65 million settlement in 2021 to exit the lawsuit, reports Law360. 

The $27 million settlement with DuPont, meanwhile, reportedly brings the total amount achieved in the Hoosick Falls PFAS case to $92 million. 

“We are gratified to have reached what we believe will be the final resolution of this case that will provide significant added benefit to the residents of Hoosick Falls and the town of Hoosick,” co-lead counsel Stephen Schwarz of Faraci Lange said in a statement, as reported by Law360.

In a separate case involving PFAS-related claims, a group of consumers filed a class action lawsuit against Band-Aid maker Kenvue and its parent company Johnson & Johnson earlier this year over claims the companies’ Band-Aid bandages contain harmful PFAS chemicals.

Have you been diagnosed with cancer after consuming PFAS chemicals in your water supply? You may qualify to join a free class action lawsuit investigation.

The plaintiffs are collectively represented by James J. Bilsborrow and Robin L. Greenwald of Weitz & Luxenberg PC, Stephen Schwarz and Hadley L. Matarazzo of Faraci Lange LLP and Gerald Williams of Williams Cedar LLC.

The DuPont PFAS class action lawsuit is Baker, et al. v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., et al., Case No. 1:16-cv-00917, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.

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