Napoli Shkolnik 2023 In Review: Law Firm Reaches Groundbreaking Victories for Victims of Water Contamination; Important Litigation Filed in Insulin Pricing Scheme, Air Pollution, and More
NEW YORK, January 24, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--National law firm Napoli Shkolnik has concluded another successful year of landmark settlements and significant legal action in the areas of environmental litigation, mass tort, and human rights.
Among the firm’s accomplishments of 2023 were significant breakthroughs in the ongoing multidistrict litigation (MDL) against manufacturers of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF). In June, Napoli Shkolnik, along with other co-lead counsel, reached a $1.185 billion agreement with DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva for their role in polluting public water supply systems throughout the United States with AFFF, which contains toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Also known as forever chemicals, PFAS are linked to a multitude of serious health problems, including increased risk of certain cancers, increased risk of high blood pressure in pregnant women, and decreased vaccine response.
Shortly after the settlement with DuPont, Napoli Shkolnik and the other co-lead counsel reached a $12.5 million settlement with 3M Company, the largest amount ever paid by a single company to resolve claims involving contaminated drinking water. The funds will go to cities, towns and other public water providers over a 13-year period to test for and treat PFAS contamination. Napoli Shkolnik Partner Paul Napoli serves on the PFAS Settlement Steering Committee, which is tasked with providing allocation estimates to public water systems to give a clearer picture of how the combined $13.6 billion in settlement funds may be distributed.
Other environmental litigation actions this year included the filing of a lawsuit behalf of the city of Wausau, Wisconsin against 15 PFAS manufacturers and dozens of major insurance players after all of the city’s drinking water wells were found to be contaminated with the forever chemicals. The firm also joined Local Counsel Wampler, Carrol, Wilson & Sanderson, P.C., in filing a Class Action lawsuit in Shelby County, Tennessee State Court seeking compensation for injuries suffered by the South Memphis community due to exposure to the toxic emissions from Sterilization Services of Tennessee, a local medical sterilization facility. Since 1979, the facility has emitted dangerous amounts of ethylene oxide, a known human carcinogen, into the air, placing the immediately surrounding community at increased risk of developing certain cancers, fertility issues and birth injuries, and other serious health conditions.
Napoli Shkolnik was proud to file one of the first lawsuits on behalf of a Marine exposed to toxic water at U.S. Marine Base Camp Lejeune following the passage of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022. The lawsuit, filed in February in the Eastern District of North Carolina, seeks compensation for injuries, damages, and losses suffered by B. Lamar Urquhart, a veteran, due to his exposure to toxic substances in the water at the base camp. The Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022, signed into law by President Biden last year, finally gives veterans an avenue to obtain compensation from the federal government for their pain and suffering linked to Camp Lejeune.
On the pharmaceutical litigation front, Napoli Shkolnik filed an insulin pricing scheme complaint in August on behalf of Cattaraugus County, New York against nearly two dozen defendants, including the three dominant insulin manufacturers, Eli Lilly and Company, Novo Nordisk Inc. and Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC, and three major pharmacy benefit managers, CVS/Caremark, Express Scripts and OptumRx. The lawsuit claims the defendants engineered insulin price increases via an illicit kickback scheme which has exponentially increased their profits at the expense of payers like Plaintiff and its plan members. The Plaintiff has requested a jury trial which will be scheduled at a later date.
The year 2023 also saw the firm win a verdict of negligence against defendants Sixty Lower East Side, LLC; Sixty Hotels, LLC; and Sixty Hotel Manager, LLC on behalf of a woman who was assaulted in 2018 by a massage therapist provided by the hotel. The damages phase of the trial was scheduled to commence in September.
Looking forward, Napoli Shkolnik is pleased to announce its creation of the Future Leader Program, a developmental program for the firm’s strongest performing employees that have expressed interest in management roles. The program’s rigorous and enriching curriculum is designed to continue Napoli Shkolnik’s legacy of delivering justice for their clients. The Future Leader Program will include preliminary work and monthly meetings to discuss topics ranging from communications to handling difficult situations, as well as sharing and learning from fellow colleagues’ experiences.
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Contacts
Maria Hayashi
Marketing Director
Napoli Shkolnik PLLC
(212) 397-1000 Ext.1006 | MHayashi@NapoliLaw.com
360 Lexington Avenue, Eleventh Floor, New York, NY 10017
