(Editor’s note: This article by Derek Carson was published in the Bennington Banner on Jan. 29, 2016.)
BENNINGTON — A Vermont judge has denied Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics’ motion to dismiss or stay a class action lawsuit filed over PFOA contamination.
The suit was filed in May by residents of Bennington and North Bennington for $5 million in damages against Saint-Gobain, the company believed by the state to be responsible for contaminating private wells with the chemical, which was used for decades in the production of the non-stick coating Teflon. A memorandum filed in July by Saint-Gobain’s lawyers argued that the complaint brought forward by North Bennington residents should be dismissed or stayed because the company was challenging the state’s advisory standard for the man-made chemical.
Vermont has the lowest threshold for PFOA in the country, at a concentration of 20 parts per trillion in water. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has set a threshold of 70 ppt. The company has argued that the threshold was improperly or unfairly set after the contamination was discovered in the local wells.
In his decision, Judge Geoffrey Crawford, of the Rutland District Court, wrote in his decision that the plaintiffs’ claims and class designation do not hinge on the 20 ppt designation. Furthermore, he wrote, “The final administrative rules regarding groundwater and hazardous waste management have only just been issued. Assuming that Saint-Gobain elects to challenge those final rules in state court, the court process (including appeal to the Vermont State Court) will likely take years. Awaiting resolution of the state administrative and appeals process would cause substantial delay in this case. Moreover, the benefit of abstaining in favor of that process is marginal at best.”
“We’re glad that Judge Crawford has correctly decided to dismiss the motion,” said attorney Patrick Bernal, of Woolmington, Campbell, Bernal & Bent, one of four law firms representing the plaintiffs, “We viewed this motion all along as a dilatory tactic, and our clients are eager to get their case before a Vermont jury.”
