232 F. Supp. 3d 233
N.D.N.Y.2017Background
- Hoosick Falls municipal water and many private wells were contaminated with PFOA from manufacturing sites allegedly operated by Saint-Gobain and Honeywell; testing showed levels far above EPA guidance.
- Plaintiffs are a consolidated putative class including municipal-water users, private-well owners, and persons with elevated blood PFOA; claims include negligence, strict liability (abnormally dangerous activity), trespass (private-well owners), nuisance, and medical/biomonitoring relief.
- Plaintiffs allege property harms (lost property value, remediation costs, loss of use) and bodily exposure (elevated PFOA in blood for some named plaintiffs), but no currently manifested illnesses.
- Defendants moved to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6): key defenses were that groundwater is a public resource (no private property injury), economic loss alone is insufficient, the claimed harm is a public nuisance (not private), and medical monitoring is unavailable absent a preexisting tort with physical injury.
- The Court denied dismissal of negligence/strict liability property claims and of private-well trespass and nuisance claims, dismissed municipal-water plaintiffs’ private-nuisance claims, and held medical-monitoring relief may be sought where a preexisting tort exists or where bodily accumulation provides the required present injury.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether property-based negligence/strict liability claims survive when harm stems from groundwater contamination | Plaintiffs: contamination of plaintiffs’ drinking water and consequent property stigma, remediation costs, and loss of use are cognizable property injuries | Defendants: groundwater is public property; contamination of groundwater alone cannot be plaintiffs’ private property injury; economic loss alone insufficient | Court: Claims survive — plaintiffs allege contamination of their potable water and property interests (stigma, remediation) sufficient to state tort claims |
| Whether private-well plaintiffs can bring trespass | Plaintiffs: contamination invaded private wells (possessory interest) | Defendants: groundwater isn’t private property so trespass fails | Court: Private-well trespass survives — invasion of the well/soil constitutes possessory injury |
| Whether nuisance claims are private or public (and thus who may sue) | Plaintiffs: nuisance for property users harmed by contamination | Defendants: harm is widespread; private nuisance unavailable because it affects many residents | Court: Municipal-water plaintiffs’ nuisance claims dismissed as public nuisance; private-well plaintiffs allege a special, individualized harm and their nuisance claims survive |
| Whether plaintiffs may recover medical-monitoring damages absent manifested disease | Plaintiffs: medical monitoring is proper consequential relief given exposure and, for some, blood accumulation of PFOA | Defendants: Caronia forbids medical-monitoring absent an existing tort based on present physical injury (symptoms/disease) | Court: Medical monitoring may be recovered as consequential damages where (a) plaintiffs have an existing tort (e.g., property damage, negligence) or (b) bodily accumulation (clinically demonstrable toxins) provides the present injury; dismissal denied |
Key Cases Cited
- Caronia v. Philip Morris USA, Inc., 22 N.Y.3d 439 (N.Y. 2013) (medical monitoring not an independent cause of action; allowed only as consequential damages for an existing tort involving physical injury or property damage)
- 532 Madison Ave. Gourmet Foods, Inc. v. Finlandia Ctr., Inc., 96 N.Y.2d 280 (N.Y. 2001) (limits negligence recovery for purely economic losses absent property damage or personal injury; duty analysis factors)
- Ivory v. Int’l Bus. Machs. Corp., 116 A.D.3d 121 (N.Y. App. Div. 2014) (groundwater characterized as a public resource; trespass claims based on groundwater alone problematic but trespass permitted where subsurface movement contaminates plaintiffs’ soil/wells)
- Baity v. Gen. Elec. Co., 86 A.D.3d 948 (N.Y. App. Div. 2011) (contamination of private wells can constitute a special injury allowing private nuisance claims)
- In re Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) Prods. Liab. Litig., 725 F.3d 65 (2d Cir. 2013) (recognizing duty to avoid contaminating water supplies under New York law)
- In re World Trade Ctr. Lower Manhattan Disaster Site Litig., 758 F.3d 202 (2d Cir. 2014) (discussing accumulation or clinically demonstrable toxins as a basis for fear-of-cancer/medical-monitoring claims)