Duane Morris Class Action Review - 2023 - Report - Page 283
II.
Rulings In Products Liability Class Actions And Mass Torts
A.
Rulings Granting Class Certification In PFOA Cases
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and other similar compound cases have emerged as
hotbed of litigation in recent years. PFOA and similar compounds are used in a wide
array of products and are sometimes labeled “forever chemicals” because they have a
long half-life in the body. These types of lawsuits allege that defendants should have
known the potential to cause bodily and environmental harm of products containing
PFOA.
In Baker, et al. v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 189615
(N.D.N.Y. Sept. 30, 2022), the plaintiffs brought a putative class action against several
defendants alleging contamination of groundwater with PFOA, ammonium
perfluorooctanoate (APFO), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and fluorinated ethylene
propylene (FEP) in the Village of Hoosick Falls, New York, blaming the defendants with
responsibility for the contamination. Further, plaintiffs alleged that they suffered loss of
property value and damages because the groundwater became non-potable. Id. at *6.
The plaintiffs sought to represent a class of Hoosick Falls residents whose groundwater
was contaminated with PFOA, AFPO, PTFE, and FEP. Id. The court approved a
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Duane Morris Class Action Review – 2023
