Tyco Fire Products LP agreed to pay $750 million to settle lawsuits from water suppliers across the US.
The settlement aims to resolve claims that Tyco's firefighting foam, specifically aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), contaminated drinking water with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The agreement, if approved by the court, would also release claims against companies related to Tyco's AFFF products, including Johnson Controls, Chemguard, and others.
This is the third major PFAS contamination settlement involving water suppliers. Last summer, DuPont and 3M previously reached similar agreements for $1.2 billion and $10.5-12.5 billion respectively. Tyco also settled a limited scope PFAS contamination lawsuit with residents near their Wisconsin facility in 2021 for $17.5 million.
Unlike the DuPont and 3M deals, the Tyco settlement only applies to water providers with existing PFAS detections in their water as of May 15, 2024.
The Tyco settlement's approval process is underway. It remains unclear how this will affect upcoming bellwether trials against AFFF manufacturers scheduled for later this year. Tyco is named as a defendant in one of these trials. The timing of the settlement coincides with the EPA setting new regulations for PFAS.
The Tyco settlement might encourage similar agreements with other defendants in the bellwether cases. The MDL Court is encouraging mediation between remaining defendants.
Overall, this settlement marks another significant step towards resolving PFAS contamination lawsuits, but it excludes water suppliers without prior detections.
For more info, you can read the settlement here.
