July 17, 2025 Update on status of Settlement

A settlement has been reached with E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., the sole remaining defendant in the class action lawsuit commenced in 2016 arising out of the contamination of the water supply of the Village of Hoosick Falls and private wells throughout the Town of Hoosick with the carcinogen PFOA. 

Because this is a class action, the settlement must be approved by the judge assigned to the case, Hon. Mae A. D’Agostino, U.S.D.J. A motion for preliminary approval of the settlement will be filed. After preliminary approval is received, class members will have the opportunity to file claims to receive settlement benefits, opt out of the settlement or object to the settlement if they disagree with its terms.  Instructions and claim forms will be available on this website for class members to register for the settlement.  Notice of the opportunity to register will also be sent to participants in the prior settlement either electronically or by mail, and similar notice information will be disseminated through newspaper advertisement and social media.

Class counsel anticipates that the settlement agreement will be finalized with DuPont and a motion for preliminary approval submitted in approximately 45 days. Until that time, there are no actions that claimants need to take. It is not possible to file claims until the Court grants preliminary approval of the settlement. We ask that claimants be patient until the Court grants that approval.

After this process, the Court will hold a fairness hearing, and if satisfied that the settlement is in the best interests of the classes, will issue an Order of final approval of the settlement.    Property owners and residents who qualified for the Property Damage Class and the Medical Monitoring Class in the prior settlement, will also be eligible to participate in the same two classes for this settlement.  There was no legally available nuisance claim against DuPont, so there will be no further distribution to the Nuisance class.   Property owners and residents who did not participate in the prior settlement will still be eligible to participate in this settlement if they meet qualification criteria.   Information about the qualification criteria will be posted on this website as well. 

Once the instructions and forms become available, emails and telephone numbers to contact counsel with questions will also be posted.   Please wait to contact counsel until this information is posted because until then we are unable to tell you anything more than what is provided here. 

Thank you.

Faraci Lange, LLP

Weitz & Luxenberg, PC

Co-Lead Class Counsel

 

September 25, 2023 Update on status of Settlement for all Classes

The Class Action Settlement in Baker v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastic Corp, et al., has been fully disbursed to all eligible claimants who filed timely claim forms. The class action itself continues to be litigated against the sole remaining defendant, DuPont de Nemours & Co.  If a settlement with this defendant is eventually reached or there is a favorable verdict after trial, a new claims process will begin and information relating to that process will be posted on this website. Please check this site periodically for further updates. 

If you received a class action notice from a DuPont settlement involving Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) firefighting foam contamination and you have questions about whether you are included in that settlement, please call Class Counsel James Bilsborrow or Steve Schwarz as soon as possible. Their contact information is listed in FAQ 15.

July 11, 2022 Update on status of Settlement for all Classes

Final review of all Property Damage Class and Nuisance Class Claims has now been completed and the Claims Administrator is generating the checks for mailing.  Mailing of checks for Property Damage and Nuisance Claims will occur on or before July 28, 2022.  Claimants will have one hundred-twenty (120) days to cash checks before they will be voided.

Review of the Claims for the Medical Monitoring Class are continuing and are expected to be finalized soon.  The Medical Monitoring Administrator will be contacting all Claimants eligible for the Program with instructions on how to participate.  Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington will provide the monitoring services for the Program.  We expect the Program to commence sometime this fall.

June 7, 2022 Update on the status of Property and Nuisance Settlement Class Claim Review from Class Counsel:

• All claims have now been reviewed by the Claims Administrator as of June 1,2022
• A significant number of apparently fraudulent claims were filed with no or irrelevant documentation attached.  Claimants in this category will receive a notification that their claims are ineligible.
• A significant number of Municipal water residents filed claims for the Nuisance Settlement Class.  Under New York Law and the ruling of the Court, residents using Municipal water are not eligible for nuisance damages.  People who filed nuisance claims in this group will be notified by email that they are ineligible.  This will not affect their eligibility for the Medical Monitoring Settlement Class or the Property Settlement Class.
• A significant number of claimants for nuisance who were renters did not submit proof of a lease covering the period when the private well supplying the rented premises tested positive for PFOA.  Class Counsel and the Claims Administrator are following up with such Claimants to obtain needed documentation.
• A significant number of people filed property damage and/or nuisance claims for properties serviced by private wells where no PFOA contamination was found.  These claimants are being contacted and advised they are not eligible, even if a POET system was installed, because the Settlement requires a positive PFOA water test.
• There are a number of “mixed-use” properties (e.g. farms, vacant land, buildings with both commercial units and apartments) that qualify for the Property Settlement Class although the fair market value on the 2015 Tax Roll is based upon more than the value of the residence.  The property damage benefit applies only to the residence by the terms of the Settlement.  Class Counsel has worked with the Town of Hoosick to obtain the portion of the fair market value on the Tax Roll that represents the value only of the residence for each of these mixed-use properties, and Class Counsel has contacted all such property owners with this information. 
• The payment allocation for eligible Property Settlement and Nuisance Settlement Class Members cannot be determined until all claimants are determined to be eligible or ineligible.  After consulting with the Claims Administrator, Class Counsel’s best estimate of when this process can be completed so that all ineligible claimants are notified and given an opportunity to correct any errors in eligibility is by June 24, 2022.  It is then estimated that the Claims Administrator will be able to send out checks to eligible Property and Nuisance Settlement Class Members on or before July 22, 2022.  These are only estimates at this time and these dates could change in either direction.  Further updates will be provided.

June 7, 2022 Update on Medical Monitoring Program for Medical Monitoring Class Members:

• The General Administrator is reviewing all medical monitoring class claim forms.  If you have filed a claim for the medical monitoring class but have not yet provided proof of a blood test showing a level above 1.86 ug/L, you should do so as soon as possible.
• Class Counsel and the Administrator appointed by the Court to manage the Medical Monitoring Program are continuing to work with Southwest Vermont Medical Center on the logistics to set up the program. 
• It is expected that the program will become operational this fall.
• All qualifying medical monitoring class members will be notified by email or mail of the details of the program and when it will begin.

United States District Court for the Northern District of New York

If you drank water supplied by the Village of Hoosick Falls Municipal Water System or from a private well in the Village of Hoosick Falls or the Town of Hoosick, or owned or rented property in the Village of Hoosick Falls or the Town of Hoosick, you could get benefits from a class action settlement.

A federal court authorized this Notice. It is not a solicitation from a lawyer.

• A Settlement has been reached with Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corporation (“Saint-Gobain”), Honeywell International Inc. (“Honeywell”), and the 3M Company (“3M”) (the “Settling Defendants”) in a class action lawsuit about the effects of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) contamination in and around Hoosick Falls.
• The Settlement includes all individuals who:
  • for a period of at least six months between 1996 and 2016, have ingested water supplied by the Village Municipal Water System or from a private well in the Village of Hoosick Falls or Town of Hoosick in which PFOA has been detected, and underwent blood serum tests that detected a PFOA level in their blood above 1.86 µg/L; or any natural child who was born to a female who meets and/or met the above criteria at the time of the child’s birth and whose blood serum was tested after birth and detected a PFOA level above 1.86 µg/L (“Medical Monitoring Settlement Class Members”);
  • are or were owners of Residential Property that was supplied with drinking water from the Village Municipal Water System, and who purchased that property on or before December 16, 2015 and owned that property as of December 16, 2015 (“Municipal Water Property Settlement Class Members”);
  • are or were owners or renters of Residential Property located in the Village of Hoosick Falls or the Town of Hoosick that was supplied with drinking water from a privately-owned well in which PFOA was detected, had a point-of-entry treatment (POET) system installed to filter water from that well, and who either owned and occupied that property at the time PFOA in the property’s private well was discovered through a water test on or after December 16, 2015; or rented and occupied the property at the time PFOA in the property’s private well was discovered through a water test on or after December 16, 2015 (“Nuisance Settlement Class Members”); and
  • are or were owners of Residential Property located in the Village of Hoosick Falls or the Town of Hoosick that was supplied with drinking water from a private well in which PFOA was detected, and who owned that property at the time PFOA in the property’s private well was discovered through a water test on or after December 16, 2015 (“Private Well Water Property Settlement Class Members”).
• Your legal rights are affected regardless of whether you act or don’t act. Read the Notice carefully.