3M Company Agrees To Pay Water Authority Customers $12 Million To Settle Water Pollution Claims

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3M Co. Drinking Water Pollution Class Action Lawsuit Overview: 

• Who: 3M Company reached a $12 million class action settlement with consumers. 
• Why: Consumers alleged 3M Company was responsible for polluting their drinking water. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Alabama federal court. 

3M Co. has reached a $12 million class action settlement agreement with consumers who allege the company polluted their drinking water. 

The agreement was made with West Morgan-East Lawrence Water and Sewer Authority customers who claimed 3M had polluted the Tennessee River — their source for drinking water — with cancer-causing chemicals known as PFAS.

Customers were looking to represent area residents who purchased water from the authority or had their water distributed by five water utilities on behalf of the water authority between the periods of October 2013 to September 2016. 

“The settlement will preserve the rights of the members of the class to assert claims against the defendants for manifest bodily injuries or illnesses and any mental anguish resulting from such manifest injuries or illnesses, as well as for property damage claims arising out of or related to the application of PFAS containing biosolids on property owned by a class member,” the motion for approval states. 

The water authority said it has already been given relief from other defendants in the class action lawsuit — including Dyneon LLC and Daikin America Inc. — which it has used to install a new water filtration system able to adequately remove the PFAS. 

Under the agreement, 3M will be responsible for paying half of what it will cost to both administer the settlement and notify eligible Class Members — around 17,000 ratepayers, according to the motion for approval. 

Customers will drop all of their claims against 3M as part of the settlement agreement. 

Was your drinking water contaminated by 3M? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Kevin S. Hannon of The Hannon Law Firm LLC, Timothy C. Davis, W. Lewis Garrison Jr., Christopher B. Hood and Mark R. Ekonen of Heninger Garrison Davis LLC. 

The 3M Co. Drinking Water Pollution PFAS Class Action Lawsuit is Lindsey, et al. v. 3M Company, et al., Case No. 5:15-cv-01750, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.

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