Bates White expert testifies on damages and class certification issues in groundwater contamination matter
In the matter James D. Sullivan et al. v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corporation, Bates White was retained to testify about damages and class certification issues. The Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics plant, located in New Hampshire, paid for the installation of a water treatment system after elevated PFAS emissions were detected in the groundwater. Many residents were previously on a groundwater well system and were required to switch to the municipal water system. The plaintiffs alleged that Saint-Gobain was responsible for the excess costs of being on the municipal water system.
On behalf of Saint-Gobain, the firm analyzed plaintiffs’ claimed damages calculations and demonstrated that the remedies Saint-Gobain agreed to fund had already reversed any alleged harm that may have been suffered by the vast majority of the proposed class members. Bates White demonstrated that many of the plaintiffs are economically better off due to the switch and that an evaluation of true damages should be done on an individual basis rather than as a class.