$1.185 Billion PFAS Settlement: Napoli Shkolnik Helps Secure Historic Recovery for U.S. Drinking Water Systems

For decades, aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) was the standard firefighting tool at military bases, airports, and industrial sites. It worked by smothering fuel fires quickly. The problem was the chemistry. AFFF contained per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly called PFAS or 'forever chemicals,' which do not break down in the environment. They leached into soil, migrated to groundwater, and ended up in public drinking water supplies serving tens of millions of Americans.

Public water utilities from coast to coast were left facing a mounting contamination crisis. Treatment upgrades to remove PFAS compounds from drinking water cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Utilities sued the companies whose products had spread the contamination, including DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva, which had manufactured PFAS-containing compounds used in AFFF for years before spinning off from or acquiring parts of one another. The cases were consolidated into a federal multidistrict litigation, MDL 2873, before U.S. District Judge Richard M. Gergel in the District of South Carolina.

Judge Gergel appointed three attorneys as co-lead plaintiffs' counsel to manage the litigation on behalf of thousands of water systems: Paul J. Napoli of Napoli Shkolnik, Michael A. London of Douglas and London, and Scott Summy of Baron and Budd. That appointment put Napoli at the center of one of the largest environmental contamination cases in American legal history.

On June 1, 2023, the co-lead team reached a binding agreement in principle with DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva. The parties executed a definitive settlement agreement on June 30, 2023. Under its terms, the three companies collectively paid $1.185 billion into a qualified settlement fund. Chemours contributed approximately $592 million, DuPont approximately $400 million, and Corteva approximately $193 million. The settlement class covered public water systems with detected PFAS at any level or those required to monitor under EPA rules. Approximately 88 percent of the U.S. population is served by water systems within the class.

Judge Gergel granted preliminary approval on August 22, 2023, and final approval on February 8, 2024, finding the settlement fair and class treatment the best available method for resolving the claims. The settlement did not cover personal injury claims and was limited to remediation and treatment costs borne by public utilities. It was one of four large AFFF settlements reached by the co-lead team in the MDL, alongside agreements with 3M ($12.5 billion), Tyco Fire Products ($750 million), and BASF Corporation ($316.5 million).