PFAS Liability Litigation and Complex Coverage Issues: Strategies for Insurers, Policyholders, and Their Attorneys

Called "forever chemicals," PFAS have been used for decades and can literally be found everywhere and in everything. Exposure is commonplace in everything from drinking water to the workplace. Once grounded primarily on environmental claims, liability arising out of PFAS now includes mass torts, nuisance, personal injury, and other new kinds of claims, giving rise to billions in liabilities.

PFAS manufacturers and others who used PFAS in making their products (which would include manufacturers of AFFF) face staggering liabilities, even if production stopped decades ago. But liability is also sought to be imposed against sellers or producers of any product that contains PFAS, even inadvertently. Every new federal, state, and local regulation imposes more stringent requirements about the permissible amounts of PFAS to which people may be exposed. Compliance and safe harbors may become illusory.

Potential coverage issues include whether and when exposure to PFAS and/or AFFF results in any bodily injury; did the insured know, in light of then-available research, that exposure to PFAS might result in any alleged bodily injury or property damage; how many occurrences exist where claims are based on multiple and different exposures over time, in different locations, and the manner of exposure is different; and the applicability of any exclusions, especially different forms of the pollution exclusion.

Listen as this premier panel of coverage attorneys with substantial experience and expertise on PFAS-related liability and coverage issues offers guidance about the major liability challenges and complex coverage issues arising from PFAS exposure.