Toxic (Re)Tort | Mass & Toxic Tort Tracker
Verdicts & Settlements
Our Verdicts & Settlements section highlights significant verdicts and settlements in toxic tort and environmental cases, providing insight when valuing toxic tort cases.
2025 Cases
September 2025
LaPointe v. American Art Clay Co.
September 18, 2025 | No 2181CV06597 (Mass. Super. Ct.).
A Massachusetts jury awarded $23 million in compensatory damages and $60 million in punitive damages to a plaintiff who claimed that his wife’s death from mesothelioma was caused by exposure to asbestos in talc-based clay products while working at a ceramics studio from the 1950s to the 1970s.
United States v. Illinois
September 17, 2025 | No. 3:25-cv-08122 (N.D. Ill.).
A federal judge in Illinois entered a consent decree in which the State of Illinois agreed to pay $10.5 million to clean up radioactive contamination at a Superfund site. The agreement resolves the state’s liability under CERCLA in exchange for offering support services for the EPA’s cleanup efforts.
Beach v. 3M Co.
September 11, 2025 | No. 24STCV28404 (Cal. Super. Ct.).
A California jury awarded $29 million to a couple alleging that the husband, a former dentist, developed mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos in joint compound, wall texture, ceiling texture, and periodontal dressings. Despite nearly two dozen entities being listed on the verdict form, the jury only apportioned fault to the two defendants at trial, Kaiser Gypsum Company Inc. and Pulpdent Corporation. The jury also found that the dental supply company acted with malice, oppression, or fraud.
Feindt v. United States
September 9, 2025 | No. 1:22-cv-00397 (D. Haw.).
A federal judge in Hawaii entered a final judgment of nearly $600,000 for the claims of 17 bellwether plaintiffs (6 adults and 11 children) who alleged injuries from drinking water polluted with PFAS after a jet fuel spill at the Pearl Harbor Naval Base. The plaintiffs brought claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act against the United States, and the government stipulated to liability. Following a 10-day non-jury trial, the court issued findings of fact and conclusions of law on causation as well as the types and amounts of damages that should be awarded to each of the bellwether plaintiffs. Having “fully resolved” the claims of these plaintiffs, the court found that “there is no just reason for delay as to the entry of a final judgment” in their favor and against the United States.
Long v. 3M Co.
September 5, 2025 | No. 23CV27457 (Or. Cir. Ct.).
An Oregon jury awarded $33 million in compensatory damages to a 71-year-old former shipyard laborer who alleged that he developed mesothelioma after years of working with asbestos-containing gaskets and packaging sold by John Crane. The jury attributed 30% of the liability to John Crane and found that the conduct of three nonparties was also a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff’s disease. The jury found that there was insufficient evidence for punitive damages. The first trial of the case ended in a mistrial after four days of jury deliberation.
August 2025
Weaver v. Vanderbilt Minerals LLC
August 28, 2025 | No. EFCV-22-164221 (N.Y. Sup. Ct.).
After a four-week trial, a New York jury awarded $4.5 million in compensatory damages and $7.75 million in punitive damages to a plaintiff who allegedly developed mesothelioma from environmental exposure to asbestos while living in the vicinity of a Vanderbilt Minerals talc mine in upstate New York.
United States v. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.
August 20, 2025 | No. 5:25-cv-00904 (N.D.N.Y.).
A federal judge in New York entered a consent decree in which 15 companies accused of contaminating a New York Superfund site with PCBs agreed to pay $12.7 million to the United States under CERCLA for incurred remediation costs.
July 2025
Lovell v. Johnson & Johnson
July 29, 2025 | No. 21-2086 (Mass. Super. Ct.).
A Massachusetts jury awarded $42.6 million in compensatory damages to a couple who claimed that asbestos in Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder caused the husband to develop mesothelioma. The plaintiffs had been married for 45 years and alleged that they used the talc product for decades on themselves and their four children.
Schoepke v. EIDP
July 24, 2025 | No. N23C-09-059 (Del. Super. Ct.).
A Delaware jury awarded $9 million in compensatory damages to the estate and family of a farmer who died from mesothelioma after allegedly being exposed to asbestos from using Remington brand shotgun shells from the 1960s to the 1980s. The jury found that the defendants were negligent but that their conduct did not constitute willful or wanton disregard for the rights or safety of the decedent.
Carpenter v. 3M Co.
July 3, 2025 | No. 20STCV46727 (Cal. Super. Ct.).
A California jury returned a defense verdict in an asbestos case, finding that the plaintiff’s alleged exposure to asbestos-containing automobile parts was not a substantial factor in causing his lung cancer. Substantial factor was the first, and therefore only, question answered by the jury on the verdict form.
June 2025
DaSilva v. ArvinMeritor Inc.
June 20, 2025 | No. 25CV036124 (Cal. Super. Ct.).
A California jury returned a defense verdict in an asbestos cement pipe case. The jury found that defendant P.E. O’Hair failed to adequately warn users about the dangers of the pipe but concluded that the failure to warn was not a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff’s mesothelioma.
Paluzzi v. Johnson & Johnson
June 18, 2025 | No. 2181CV02019 (Mass. Super. Ct.).
A Massachusetts jury awarded $8 million in compensatory damages to a plaintiff who allegedly developed mesothelioma from using consumer talcum powder products that were purportedly contaminated with asbestos. The jury found that defendant Johnson & Johnson was liable under breach of warranty and negligence theories for defective design but not for any product warnings.
Poole v. Twin Hill Acquisition Co.
June 11, 2025 | No. RG17876798 (Cal. Super. Ct.).
A California jury awarded more than $18.6 million in compensatory damages to five American Airlines flight attendants who claimed that formaldehyde, toluene, and heavy metals in their uniforms caused them to suffer dermatological, respiratory, and neurological injuries. Ninety percent of the fault was apportioned to the uniform manufacturer Twin Hill and 10% to American Airlines.
May 2025
Walker v. Becton Dickinson
May 7, 2025 | No. 21-c-08201 (Ga. St. Ct.).
A Georgia jury awarded $20 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages to a plaintiff who claimed that his non-Hodgkin lymphoma was caused by EtO emitted from a medical sterilization plant. However, the court declared a mistrial in the punitive damages phase after a juror admitted during post-verdict polling that she only agreed with the rest of the jury on the question of whether the operator of the plant intended to cause harm because the judge had instructed that a verdict must be unanimous.
April 2025
In re Flint Water Cases
April 3, 2025 | No. 5:16-cv-10444 (E.D. Mich.).
A federal judge in Michigan granted final approval of a $53 million settlement to resolve claims brought by minors and plaintiffs designated as “legally incompetent or incapacitated individuals” in the lead-contaminated water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
Town of Islip v. Datre
April 2, 2025 | No. 2:16-cv-02156 (E.D.N.Y.).
A federal judge in New York ordered a building company and its owners to pay more than $4 million in remediation and reimbursement costs to the town of Islip following a jury trial and verdict. The judge found that the jury had more than sufficient evidence to find that the defendants were negligently liable for public nuisance from dumping of tens of thousands of tons of hazardous construction waste and other materials at a town-owned park. Soil samples taken from the park revealed the presence of asbestos, pesticides, and heavy metals in the materials deposited by the defendants.
March 2025
Isaacks v. Terumo BCT Sterilization Services Inc.
March 14, 2025 | No. 2022CV031124 (Colo. Dist. Ct.).
A Colorado jury returned a defense verdict in a case brought by four women who contended that EtO emissions from a medical sterilization plant caused their cancers. The jury found that the defendants were not negligent in emitting small amounts of EtO into the environment.
January 2025
Rose v. Pharmacia LLC
January 14, 2025 | No. 18-2-58239-3 (Wash. Super. Ct.).
A Washington jury awarded $25 million in compensatory damages and $75 million in punitive damages to plaintiffs who allegedly sustained injuries from exposure to PCBs leaking from fluorescent light fixtures at a Seattle area school. The jury found that defendant Monsanto negligently supplied PCBs that were not reasonably safe as designed and did not contain adequate warnings or instructions. However, the jury determined that the not-reasonably-safe condition was a proximate cause of injury or damage to only four of the 15 plaintiffs and that the harm from the PCBs did not occur within the useful safe life of the product.
2024 Cases
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December 2024
Glass v. Braun Medical Inc.
December 5, 2024 | No. 210500315 (Pa. C.P.).
A Pennsylvania jury returned a defense verdict in a lawsuit brought by a widow who claimed that a medical device company’s use of EtO at its sterilization facility caused her husband’s wrongful death. The plaintiff alleged that her husband frequented numerous businesses, stores, and shops in areas near the facility and was exposed to and inhaled excessive and dangerous amounts of EtO emissions, which caused him to develop cancer. She asserted various causes of action, including a violation of her husband’s right to clean air under the Pennsylvania Constitution. The jury found that none of the defendants were negligent.
November 2024
Day v. 3M Co.
November 21, 2024 | No. PC-2018-5044 (R.I. Super. Ct.).
A Rhode Island jury returned a defense verdict in a case alleging that a woman died after exposure to asbestos from laundering her former husband’s work clothing. The jury found that defendant Union Carbide’s products were not defectively designed and that the company did not fail to warn about the potential hazards of asbestos.
Barnes v. Dresser LLC
November 6, 2024 | No. 1:21-cv-00024 (W.D. La.).
A Louisiana jury returned a defense verdict in the trial of two bellwether plaintiffs in a lawsuit alleging contamination of groundwater with TCE and PCE.
October 2024
Solis v. Brake Parts Inc.
October 24, 2024 | No. 20STCV41475 (Cal. Super. Ct.).
A California jury returned a defense verdict in a case alleging that a woman died after being exposed to asbestos from laundering the work clothing of her husband and son. The case went to trial against defendant Brake Parts Inc., which allegedly sold asbestos-containing brakes. The jury found that the products performed as expected and that their benefits outweighed the risks. The jury concluded that Brake Parts Inc. was not negligent and could not have reasonably known that users would not realize the danger of its products.
United States v. Hilcorp Energy Co.
October 17, 2024 | No. 1:24-cv-01055 (D.N.M.).
The EPA reached a settlement with a hydraulic fracking operator to resolve violations of new federal Clean Air Act standards for toxic emissions from crude oil and natural gas facilities, as well as claims brought under New Mexico’s administrative code. The EPA alleged that defendant Hilcorp’s failure to comply with federal and state regulations resulted in unlawful excess emissions of VOCs and greenhouse gases. In the consent decree, Hilcorp agreed to pay a civil penalty of $9.4 million and to replace its process-control equipment with equipment that does not emit air pollution.
State of California v. Monsanto Co.
October 10, 2024 | No. 22STCV07958 (Cal. Super. Ct.).
The State of California reached a $35 million settlement with Monsanto over the company’s alleged decades-long pollution of state waterways and stormwater and wastewater systems with PCBs. The state brought claims against Monsanto and its spinoff corporations, alleging that from 1922 to 1977 the company sold household products containing toxic PCBs, which could not be contained and eventually spread into major waterways. Monsanto removed the case to federal court, but it was remanded a few months later for lack of diversity jurisdiction because the court found that the state was a real party in interest.
In re Flint Water Cases
October 3, 2024 | No. 5:16-10444 (E.D. Mich.).
A federal judge in Michigan granted final approval of a $25 million settlement to resolve a class action against the engineering firm that was involved in the decision to switch the water supply in Flint, Michigan, which caused the city’s lead-contaminated water crisis. After deducting attorneys’ fees and costs, the settlement funds are to be allocated 48% to the adult personal injury subclass, 50% to the property damage subclass, and 2% to the business economic loss subclass.
September 2024
United States v. Ovintiv USA Inc.
September 30, 2024 | No. 2:24-cv-00723 (D. Utah).
The Department of Justice reached a settlement with a fracking operator over alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at its oil and gas production facilities on an Indian reservation in Utah. In the consent decree, Ovintiv agreed to pay the federal and state governments a civil penalty of $5.5 million and to implement measures estimated to cost more than $10 million to significantly reduce emissions of VOCs and greenhouse gases, including methane, from 139 of its oil and gas facilities across Utah. Ovintiv also agreed to compliance measures such as periodic infrared camera inspections, enhanced maintenance requirements, and installation of storage tank pressure monitors at many facilities.
In re East Palestine Train Derailment
September 27, 2024 | No. 4:23-cv-00242 (N.D. Ohio).
A federal judge in Ohio granted final approval of a $600 million settlement to resolve a class action against Norfolk Southern alleging injuries from the release of toxic chemicals during the February 3, 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. The judge found that the “relief provided for in the Settlement Fund and Settlement Agreement is fair, adequate, and reasonable,” particularly when “considering the complexity and likely duration of litigation in this Action, including any appeals, and likelihood of success on the merits.”
Chirdon v. 3M Co.
September 26, 2024 | No. GD-22-016244 (Pa. C.P.).
A Pennsylvania jury awarded $2.3 million in compensatory damages and $1.5 million in punitive damages to a couple alleging that the husband developed mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos during his career as a boilermaker. The case went to trial against Foster Wheeler, where the husband worked for 8 to 10 weeks. The jury found no negligence on the part of four nonparties that were listed on the verdict form. The trial judge denied Foster Wheeler’s post-trial motions and awarded delay damages to the plaintiffs.
In re New Indy Emissions Litigation
September 18, 2024 | No. 0:21-cv-01480 (D.S.C.).
A federal judge in South Carolina granted final approval of an $18 million settlement to resolve a class action against the operator of a paper mill alleging damages from air pollution. The plaintiffs claimed that the mill disposed of foul condensate in open-air lagoons, causing hydrogen sulfide and other pollutants to evaporate in the air and an odor of rotten eggs to seep into their homes, resulting in property damage and health problems. The plaintiffs further contended that the lagoons and holding pond have leaked, causing dissolved solids, sulfates, and organic compounds to enter the nearby groundwater. The mill agreed to pay $18 million to satisfy the plaintiffs’ negligence and nuisance claims and to perform remedial activities valued at $85 million to resolve three other cases pending against it. The court noted that, considering “many of Plaintiffs’ allegations concerned alleged ongoing harms, Class Counsel’s success in achieving these remedial efforts cannot be understated.”
Zundel v. Amerilure Inc.
September 13, 2024 | No. 2281CV02145 (Mass. Super. Ct.).
A Massachusetts jury awarded more than $39 million in compensatory damages to a couple alleging that the husband’s mesothelioma was caused by exposure to asbestos in talc used during a medical procedure. The plaintiffs claimed that he developed mesothelioma in the exact site in his left lung where talc was applied during two pleurodesis procedures. The trial proceeded against talc supplier Cimbar Performance Minerals, and the jury found that the defendant was liable for both breach of warranty and negligence.
August 2024
Perry v. American International Industries
August 15, 2024 | No. 2023-CP-40-04072 (S.C. Cir. Ct.).
A South Carolina jury awarded $32.7 in compensatory damages and $30.7 million in punitive damages to a plaintiff who claimed that he developed mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos in consumer talc products. The plaintiff alleged that he used more talc than would be typical because of an allergy to deodorants. The defendants argued that their talc was free of asbestos and that the plaintiff’s exposures more likely occurred while changing brakes on automobiles. The jury found that the defendants were liable for negligence and strict liability, but that Johnson & Johnson did not engage in fraudulent misrepresentation in selling its products.
June 2024
Lee v. Johnson & Johnson
June 3, 2024 | No. 23CV40369 (Or. Cir. Ct.).
An Oregon jury awarded $60 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages to a plaintiff who claimed that she was exposed to asbestos from using various consumer talc products. The defendants argued that the plaintiff’s mesothelioma was likely caused by her exposure to asbestos at a factory in South Korea near where she was raised. The jury found that the defendants were negligent and sold a product in a defective and unreasonably dangerous condition, causing the plaintiff’s mesothelioma. In November 2024, however, the court granted Johnson & Johnson’s motion for a new trial. The court found that without plaintiff’s counsel’s “recurring and pervasive misconduct,” it is likely “that the outcome of a trial between these parties would be different—and that the size of the verdict for Plaintiffs would be smaller because it would not have been impermissibly influenced by inadmissible evidence and improper argument.”
May 2024
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection v. Handy & Harman
May 10, 2024 | No. BER-L-8605-19 (N.J. Super. Ct.).
Companies that operated a manufacturing site from 1966 to 1985 where TCE was discharged into soil and groundwater settled state and federal environmental law claims for $14 million. In the consent judgment, the parties agreed to pay natural resource damages and past cleanup and removal costs. In return, the State of New Jersey agreed to release the defendants from any current or future liability arising from the discharge of hazardous substances from the facility.
March 2024
Bolton v. John Crane Inc.
March 25, 2024 | No. 2021-CP-42-02480 (S.C. Cir. Ct.).
A South Carolina jury awarded $1.75 million to a widow whose husband allegedly died from exposure to asbestos in John Crane gaskets while working in maintenance at a Celanese Corporation plant in the 1970s. The jury found that John Crane was liable for negligence but not for strict liability or breach of implied warranty and that the defendant did not act in a willful, wanton, or reckless manner.
Cain v. Foseco Inc.
March 15, 2024 | No. 2023-L-003699 (Ill. Cir. Ct.).
An Illinois jury awarded $7.43 million to a former brick mason who claims that he developed mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos hot top boards used in the steel-making process. The plaintiff also alleged that he worked in proximity to workers who were handling asbestos-containing pipe coverings. The trial proceeded against two defendants, and the jury found both to be liable.
January 2024
In re Behr Dayton Thermal Products LLC
January 23, 2024 | No. 3:08-cv-00326 (S.D. Ohio).
A federal judge in Ohio granted final approval of a $9 million settlement to resolve a class action against the owners of an automotive parts and analytical instruments facility and a laundry and cleaning facility that allegedly failed to take adequate steps to prevent the migration of VOC-contaminated groundwater to surrounding neighborhoods. The plaintiffs claimed that the defendants’ use of TCE, PCE, DCE, and VOCs contaminated water, soil, vegetation, air, and property. The settlement agreement did not release any claims for bodily injury or medical monitoring.
2023 Cases
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December 2023
Jackson v. A.W. Chesterton Co.
December 21, 2023 | No. 2019-L-009793 (Ill. Cir. Ct.).
An Illinois jury awarded $30 million in compensatory damages to a widow whose husband was allegedly exposed to asbestos-contaminated talc that his father brought home from the tire manufacturing facility where he worked starting in the 1960s. The plaintiff contended that the talc the facility used to keep tires and rubber components from sticking together contained asbestos.
Bard v. Pharmacia LLC
December 18, 2023 | No. 21-2-14305-5 (Wash. Super. Ct.).
A Washington jury awarded $73 million in compensatory damages and $784 million in punitive damages to seven plaintiffs who allegedly sustained injuries from exposure to PCBs leaking from fluorescent light fixtures at a Seattle area school. The plaintiffs sued Monsanto and its successor Pharmacia LLC, claiming that the defendants were liable for selling a product that was “not reasonably safe” and did not contain adequate warnings or instructions. The jury found that the sale of PCBs was a proximate cause of the plaintiffs’ injuries. In April 2024, the trial court reduced the total award to $438 million after finding that it included excessive punitive damages.
September 2023
Cook v. Foster Wheeler Energy Corp.
September 28, 2023 | No. 1:21-cv-11362 (D. Mass.).
A Massachusetts jury returned a defense verdict in an asbestos case, finding that the plaintiff had not shown that Foster Wheeler breached the implied warranty of merchantability by selling boilers without adequate warnings or that it was negligent for not providing those warnings. The plaintiff alleged that her husband died as a result of exposure to asbestos while working as a fireman and boiler tender in the U.S. Navy from 1966 to 1968. Because the claims were based on work done on a vessel, the court found that maritime law applied unless it is silent on an issue, and that the bare metal and government contractor defenses and loss of consortium, punitive, and survival damages are available under maritime law.
Bjoin v. J-M Manufacturing. Co.
September 23, 2023 | No. 21STCV30709 (Cal. Super. Ct.).
A California jury returned a defense verdict in a case alleging that a man developed lung cancer from working with underground asbestos cement pipes supplied and manufactured by the defendants during the 1970s and 1980s. The jury found that the plaintiff qualified as a sophisticated user, that his use of a power saw to cut the pipe was highly extraordinary and not foreseeable, and that the defendants were not negligent. The trial court granted a nonsuit on the plaintiff’s fraudulent concealment claim. In July 2025, the judgment was affirmed by the appellate court, which found that the plaintiff failed to meet the “extremely high” burden of showing that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury’s verdict.
August 2023
Beneville v. John Crane Inc.
August 30, 2023 | No. 2019-L-012850 (Ill. Cir. Ct.).
An Illinois jury awarded $40.75 million in compensatory damages to the family of a man who died from mesothelioma after allegedly being exposed to asbestos in John Crane gaskets and packing while working as a pump man. Defendant John Crane argued that exposure to friable asbestos from its products was de minimis, that any chrysotile asbestos the plaintiff was exposed to did not contribute to his mesothelioma, and that the disease was more likely caused by his exposure to amphibole asbestos in pipe coverings.
Petro v. Aerco International Inc.
August 28, 2023 | No. 190324/2020 (N.Y. Sup. Ct.).
A New York jury awarded $28.5 million in compensatory damages to a plaintiff alleging that his lung cancer was caused by exposure to asbestos while working at the World Trade Center. The trial proceeded against three defendants that argued that the plaintiff’s disease was caused by other exposures to asbestos and his use of tobacco products as a youth before 1970. The jury found that the plaintiff was exposed to asbestos-containing fireproofing spray or overspray while working at the World Trade Center and that the defendants’ failure to exercise reasonable care was a substantial factor in the plaintiff’s development of lung cancer. The jury apportioned 70% of the liability to the defendants and 30% to nonparties.
July 2023
Duarte v. U.S. Metals Refining Co.
July 26, 2023 | No. 2:17-cv-01624 (D.N.J).
A federal judge in New Jersey granted final approval of a $42 million settlement to resolve a class action against the owners of a closed copper smelter that allegedly caused benzene, arsenic, cadmium, and dioxins to contaminate the plaintiffs’ properties. More than 1,000 properties were eligible for cash awards of at least $18,000 each. The defendants also reportedly spent more than $61 million on soil samples, community outreach, and remediation. The plaintiffs did not release any claims for personal injuries or medical monitoring, including any punitive or exemplary damages related to those claims.
Hernandezcueva v. American Standard Inc.
July 7, 2023 | No. BC475956 (Cal. Super. Ct.).
A California jury awarded $31.4 million in compensatory damages and $75 million in punitive damages to the family of a man who died of mesothelioma after allegedly being exposed to asbestos during renovations at an office building where he worked as a janitor in the early 1990s. In December 2023, the trial court granted the defendants’ motions for a new trial, finding that there were multiple instances of misconduct by jurors and plaintiffs’ counsel, that the plaintiffs failed to prove exposure to an asbestos-containing product, and that the damage awards were excessive. In the alternative, the court offered the plaintiffs a reduced verdict of $18.9 million, which the plaintiffs accepted.