The coalition of law firms, including Taft, that have been working together for over a decade to lead litigation and secure settlements on behalf of those harmed by PFAS contamination, have announced another major settlement to address this “forever chemicals” contamination in U.S. drinking water

The coalition of law firms, including Taft, working together to lead litigation and secure settlements on behalf of those harmed by PFAS chemical contamination has announced additional significant developments in the implementation of their new settlements with 3M and DuPont-related companies that will provide benefits of up to $13.6 billion for public water providers across the country. Taft partner Rob Bilott is one of the coalition’s lawyers and has been working on these PFAS issues for more than two decades when he brought the first PFAS case in the country in 1999.

On Aug. 29, 2023, the federal court in South Carolina overseeing the ongoing nationwide litigation over damage caused by PFAS in aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) granted preliminary approval of the settlement with 3M, valued at up to $12.5 billion. This follows the Court’s similar preliminary approval of the settlement with DuPont and its related companies on Aug. 22, 2023, valued at an additional $1.185 billion. Together, these settlements represent the largest drinking water settlements in US history.

On May 17, 2023, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced that they had reached a settlement with Douglas Corp., a chrome plater, regarding its historical use and disposal of plating solutions containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) as