KENT COUNTY, Mich. — Wolverine Worldwide and The 3M Company have settled a class action lawsuit for $54 million brought against them by residents of Kent County.
The lawsuit stems from the discovery of PFAS chemicals in the drinking water of several communities in northern Kent County in 2017.
PFAS chemicals are known as "forever chemicals" or "per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances," which take thousands of years to break down and are known to be harmful to your body after exposure.
These chemicals found in the drinking water were the result of a industrial leather treating process that Wolverine Worldwide used at their tannery in Rockford before it closed in 2009. The chemicals used in the process were developed by 3M for the process of waterproofing Wolverine's shoes.
The settlement will be distributed among the approximately 1,700 plaintiffs based on several factors including the level of PFAS contamination on their property.
"The allocations will be determined on various factors, including the levels of PFAS in the drinking water, as well as how many residents were in the home, how many years they owned the property. And also, you know, whether or not they are being either have been or being transitioned to municipal water, or whether they have to remain on filtration tanks," said Esther Berezofsky, lead attorney representing the plaintiffs from the Motley Rice firm in New Jersey.
The disbursement of the settlement is designed to be as equitable as possible for the plaintiffs in the case based off of the damages they incurred.
U.S. District Judge Hala Jarbou signed off on the preliminary approval of the settlement last week and the court has scheduled a final approval hearing for March 23, 2023.
The claims brought in the lawsuit were for property damages and not claims stemming from personal injury from PFAS exposure.
"We did not bring claims for personal injuries. So we did bring a claim for medical monitoring, and medical monitoring in different states is recognized differently. Michigan's law is not hospitable to medical monitoring claim sent and that is for people who have been exposed to be monitored for the conditions that are related to that exposure. So that is not part of the settlement," Berezofsky explained.
This does leave the option open down the road for further litigation against the companies should someone exposed to PFAS chemicals get sick as a direct result of that exposure.
The current preliminary class settlement comes after both Wolverine Worldwide and 3M agreed to pay $69.5 million combined to bring municipal water to residents in northern Kent County. That settlement was split between the two companies with 3M paying out $55 million.
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