Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC and Susman Godfrey LLP Announce a Class Action Lawsuit That May Affect Anyone Who Owns or Rents Property That Receives Water from a Public Water Utility or Groundwater Source Containing Chemicals from Fayetteville Works

RALEIGH, N.C., March 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- 

There is a class action lawsuit against E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company and The Chemours Company FC, LLC ("the Defendants") that alleges that beginning in 1980, the Fayetteville Works plant, operated by the Defendants, discharged wastewater containing per- and polyfluorinated substances ("PFAS") into the Cape Fear River, contaminating the water.  The Court decided that this case should be certified as a class action on behalf of two "Classes" or groups of people that could include you.  The Court has not decided who is right.  There is no money or other benefit available now and no guarantee there will be.

What is this case about?

The lawsuit alleges that beginning in 1980, the Fayetteville Works plant, operated by the Defendants, discharged wastewater containing PFAS into the Cape Fear River, contaminating the water.  As a result, the lawsuit alleges that drinking water was contaminated and water pipes were damaged.  It alleges that PFAS can cause certain cancers and other diseases, and that people living close to the plant who drank the polluted water became sick because they were exposed to PFAS.  The lawsuit also alleges the Defendants knew PFAS was dangerous and did not tell anyone that they released these chemicals into the Cape Fear River and the environment around the Fayetteville Works plant.  The Defendants deny these claims and deny they did anything wrong.  The lawyers for the Classes will have to prove their claims in Court.

Who is included?

In this class action there are two Classes, and you are included if you are an owner or renter of residential property from February 1, 2015 to present whose property (1) is serviced by a public water utility servicing Bladen, Brunswick, Cumberland, New Hanover, or Pender Counties that draws water from or obtains water drawn from the Cape Fear River downstream of the Fayetteville Works plant ("Public Utility Class"); or (2) receives drinking water from a groundwater source with quantifiable concentrations of any of certain PFAS from the Fayetteville Works plant ("Groundwater Class").  There are also three damages subclasses: (1) current residential property owner-occupiers or renters who have not yet installed both reverse osmosis filters and new water heaters on their property ("Owner-Occupier/Renter Damages Subclass"); (2) property owners or renters who paid for bottled water, water heaters, and/or reverse osmosis filters from 2017 to present ("Purchaser Damages Subclass"); or (3) property owners who purchased their residential property prior to June 2017 and have not installed both reverse osmosis filters and new water heaters ("Long-Time Property Owner Damages Subclass"). 

Who represents the Classes?

The Court has appointed a group of attorneys to represent the Classes as "Class Counsel."  You do not have to pay Class Counsel or anyone else to participate.  Instead, if Class Counsel recovers money or benefits for the Class(es), they will ask the Court for their attorneys' fees and expenses.  If approved, these fees and expenses will be deducted from any money obtained for the Class(es) or paid separately by the Defendants.  You may hire your own lawyer to appear in Court for you, but if you do, you have to pay that lawyer.

What are my options?

To stay in the Class(es), you do not have to do anything.  If money or benefits are obtained, you will be notified of how to request a share.  If you stay in the Class(es), you will not be able to sue the Defendants on your own about the claims in this lawsuit.  If you want to maintain your rights to sue on your own, you must exclude yourself by June 12, 2024 by following the procedure set forth on the website for the case, www.NCPFASLitigation.com.  If you exclude yourself, you cannot get money or benefits from this lawsuit if any are awarded.

For more information:
Call: 1-877-495-0948
Visit: www.NCPFASLitigation.com

SOURCE Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC and Susman Godfrey LLP