{"id":19281,"date":"2025-01-16T17:08:42","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T22:08:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/?post_type=whitepapers&p=19281"},"modified":"2025-01-16T17:08:44","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T22:08:44","slug":"law-com-quotes-paul-napoli-on-top-settlement-in-annual-report-of-class-action-review","status":"publish","type":"whitepapers","link":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/whitepapers\/law-com-quotes-paul-napoli-on-top-settlement-in-annual-report-of-class-action-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Law.com Quotes Paul Napoli on Top Settlement in Annual Report of Class Action Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The total dollar value of class action and mass tort settlements dropped in 2024 but continued to surpass $40 billion for the third year in a row, according to the Duane Morris Class Action Review 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PFAS generated the largest class action settlement in 2024: 3M\u2019s deal worth at least $10.3 billion<\/a> to thousands of public drinking water providers. The settlement, as well as three other PFAS deals last year with DuPont<\/a>, Tyco <\/a>and BASF, <\/a>which collectively totaled more than $2.25 billion, was part of the multidistrict litigation focused on aqueous film-forming foam used in firefighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul Napoli<\/a>, of Napoli Shkolnik in Santurce, Puerto Rico, said the 3M settlement was \u201cjust scratching the surface.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPFAS cases are here for a long time,\u201d he said. \u201cWhile the water providers have been resolved, there are still airports, water treatment facilities, and other municipal properties such as fire hazards. The U.S. government has significant liability for the 700 military sites it\u2019s contaminated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul Napoli, co-lead class counsel in the report\u2019s largest settlement of 2024, the PFAS agreement with 3M, gave a different answer to the trend: the dollars jumped two years ago as companies reemerged from the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI did notice during COVID our settlements went up sharply, and I think part of that was because companies were looking to increase their bottom line and fix their balance sheets by removing some pendant liabilities, and a lot of those liabilities were lawsuits,\u201d Napoli said. \u201cSo using the cash, they had to settle cases.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the Law.com | ALM article here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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