Cortlandville Town Board Listens to PFAS Settlement Suit Pitch

The Town of Cortlandville listened to a pitch from attorney Jerry King of the Robert King Law Firm based in Rochester, NY during their board meeting Wednesday evening. King has previously spoken with the Village of Homer regarding his law firm’s ongoing litigation regarding PFAS, also known as forever chemicals.

The Robert King Law Firm has worked with 40 municipalities regarding PFAS, including the City of Cortland and the Village of Homer actively looking into joining. PFAS are a family of synthetic chemicals which are used to repel heat, oil, and water. These types of chemicals were originally found in firefighting foam produced by major chemical companies such as 3M and Dupont, King says.

King spoke about the possibility of contamination of PFAS in water supplies noting that testing led by his law firm has found contamination ranging, on average, between 1 and 2 parts per-trillion. He added the large chemical companies have agreed on a $14 billion dollar settlement as a result. 3M has agreed to settle for $12 billion with DuPont settling for $2 billion.

How much the town would receive in the settlement depends on water volume and the levels the testing would see. He highlighted that the wells within the town would be tested for any type of contamination.

The town would not have to front any cost for King’s law firm, he says it’s similar to a contingency fee where they won’t get paid unless the town gets paid. When asked by Councilmember Earle what the fee is, King says it’s ⅓ of what the settlement would be. He added the cost for the testing kits, and lab tests would be covered by the law firm and if nothing is found, his law firm would “eat the cost” of the testing and legal filing for the settlement suit.

King brought up one of the testing deadlines of the settlement is the end of the year and if the town decides to join and get tested for any PFAS contamination, it should be done sooner rather than later. He advised the town should commit in weeks instead of months.

Town Supervisor Greg Leach informed Mr. King that the town would give it some consideration. No action was taken regarding joining the suit. Previously, King told the Village of Homer, the village could receive a settlement in the amount of $100,000, which would be at the village’s discretion on what to do with the funds. The village has yet to commit to joining the settlement.