Noted mass tort settlement negotiator, Joe Rice, has been appointed to the plaintiffs’ leadership team overseeing the 3M’s $12.5 billion drinking water case by U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel, according to a recent report from Law.com. The case is part of the complex multidistrict litigation concerning perfluoralkyl or polyfluoralkyl substances, known as PFAS, in contaminated drinking water supplies. The contamination has come about through the use of aqueous film-forming foam by firefighters.
Rice’s appointment, which was approved on the 22nd of August, coincides with lawyers securing more than $13.5 billion in settlements from 3M and DuPont. These settlements aim to resolve lawsuits regarding the ‘forever chemical’ PFAS in public drinking water supplies.