Law firm Singleton Schreiber announced that, with its co-counsel from Fitzpatrick, Skemp & Butler, it has filed two class action lawsuits in Wisconsin Federal Court against corporations for contamination of private water supplies in the Town of Campbell, Wisconsin.
The firm filed its complaint against 3M, TYCO, Dupont, BASF and several other corporations involved in the manufacture of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) that contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are contaminants of emerging concern in the United States.
The complaints claim that the manufacturers’ AFFF contaminated hundreds of private wells on residential property in the Town of Campbell.
In the property damage complaints, plaintiffs and class members are residential property owners with private wells seeking compensation for loss in value to property and annoyance, discomfort and inconvenience, among other damages. In the medical monitoring complaints, plaintiffs and class members are current and former residents of the Town of Campbell, Wisconsin seeking compensation to establish an early detection program for illness and disease related to the chemical components of the firefighting foam, including "Forever Chemicals" known as PFAS, including PFOS and PFOA.
The firms also filed two class action complaints against the City of La Crosse, which used AFFF firefighting foam at the La Crosse Airport located on French Island on which the Town of Campbell is located.
The manufacturing companies allegedly distributed AFFF with knowledge, and with inadequate warnings, of the toxic effects of AFFF and/or its toxic PFAS components if released into the environment, reaching groundwater accessed by private wells, and then consumed by humans. The firm claims that AFFF manufacturers continued this conduct without regard to the residents of the Town of Campbell whose property would be impacted and who would foreseeably be exposed to these chemicals once they infiltrated the environment, including groundwater and private wells.
The complaints further state that releases of AFFF containing toxic PFAS components from La Crosse Regional Airport (LSE) migrated into groundwater and private household wells in the Town. Without knowledge of the presence of PFAS, private properties were contaminated, and residents were exposed to and ingested toxic PFAS components from AFFF,.
"These events, spanning several decades, harmed many innocent residents of the Town of Campbell, who never expected their drinking water to be a source of toxic chemicals," said Kevin Hannon, a PFAS litigation attorney at Singleton Schreiber. "They had no idea that their household water had been contaminated by toxic PFAS chemicals and were given no warning by the corporations supplying and creating the hazardous chemicals and substances."
The formal name for the court case is: Stuart Hyttinen, Tamara Hyttinen, Richard Luick, and Joye Luick individually and on behalf of all similarly situated individuals v. THE 3M COMPANY ; TYCO FIRE PRODUCTS, L.P.; JOHNSON CONTROLS INTERNATIONAL, PLC; CHEMGUARD, INC.; BUCKEYE FIRE EQUIPMENT COMPANY; E.I. DUPONT DE NEMOURS AND COMPANY; THE CHEMOURS COMPANY; THE CHEMOURS COMPANY FC, LLC; CORTEVA, INC.; DUPONT DE NEMOURS INC., f/k/a/ DOWDUPONT, INC.; ARKEMA INC.; AGC CHEMICALS AMERICAS INC.; DYNAXCORPORATION; CLARIANT CORPORATION; BASF CORPORATION; CHEMDESIGN PRODUCTS, INC.; AMEREX CORPORATION; ARCHROMA MANAGEMENT LLC; DEEPWATER CHEMICALS, INC.; NATION FORD CHEMICAL COMPANY; and CHEMICALS, INC. Case No. 23-cv-00706 (W.D. Wis.).
