Update on Multi-District PFAS Litigation

In July 2022, a complaint was filed on behalf of the Town of Princeton in federal court against several parties, including 3M and DuPont, seeking to recover the costs incurred by the Town to investigate and address the detections of PFAS in the Town Campus well and nearby private wells, soil and surface water. The case was combined in the AFFF Multi-District Litigation (MDL) with other cases from around the country against the same parties. 

 

On February 8, 2024, the Federal Court in South Carolina issued a 59-page Order and Opinion approving the proposed settlement between the approved class action group of public water suppliers (which includes the Town of Princeton’s water supply at the Town Hall Campus) and the DuPont and Chemours defendants.  The Order explains the history of the cases leading up to settlement, the settlement structure, and the reasons the Court agrees the settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate for this class action involving public water supply PFAS claims.

 

If no party appeals the proposed settlement, the Order will become final, and a fund of $1.185 billion will be established to pay claims from around the country.  Based upon the settlement formula and the very small size of the Town’s public water system, the Town would receive a one-time payment of $1,250.00 under the primary claims fund.  A separate “Special Needs Fund” is being established for other actions taken by water suppliers, such as taking wells offline, reducing flow rates, drilling new wells, pulling water from other sources, and/or purchasing supplemental water.  The attorneys representing the Town are fully aware of the costs being incurred by the Town to test and treat private wells in Princeton, but it remains uncertain if any of those costs will be considered as part of this Special Needs Fund. 

 

At this time, the Court has only approved the settlement with DuPont (see this).  The Court has not issued an order with respect to a similar settlement that has been negotiated with 3M Company, the known manufacturer of the materials that appear to be the source of PFAS detected in Princeton.  However, because of the small size of the PWS at the Town Hall Campus, the Town is not eligible to participate in the 3M settlement.  Therefore, the Town’s attorneys will continue to pursue the litigation against 3M and other remaining defendants to pursue recovery of the costs incurred by the Town in responding to the directive from MassDEP to address the PFAS detected at the Town Hall well in 2019.