Chemours, DuPont Settle With 2,658 Residents Before PFAS Trial
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Chemours and DuPont have reached an out-of-court settlement with 2,658 North Carolina residents who alleged PFAS releases from the Fayetteville Works facility contaminated their properties and private drinking-water wells.
The settlement was reached on the morning opening arguments were scheduled to begin in federal court in Raleigh, according to reporting by Inside Climate News, NC Newsline and North Carolina Lawyers Weekly. Its financial terms and other conditions were not publicly disclosed.
The plaintiffs alleged that releases of GenX and other PFAS from Fayetteville Works affected the Cape Fear River, groundwater, air, soil and private wells near the facility. Because the case ended in a private settlement, no jury reached a verdict on those allegations.
The litigation had been pending for approximately eight years. Reporting described the proceeding as a bellwether case whose outcome could have influenced the handling of related claims.
Neither the amount paid nor the allocation of any settlement proceeds has been made public. The reporting also did not identify which party initiated the settlement discussions.
The private agreement is separate from the proposed federal consent decree covering Chemours operations in North Carolina, West Virginia and New Jersey. That federal agreement includes a $22.5 million civil penalty and $90 million in mitigation funding and remains subject to public comment and court approval.
The residents’ settlement also does not resolve separate litigation brought by North Carolina or by public water utilities seeking compensation and other relief related to PFAS contamination. The North Carolina Department of Justice said its case against Chemours, DuPont and affiliated companies remains in litigation.
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