CMBG3.com
A federal magistrate judge recommended that a plaintiff’s RICO claims over PFAS contamination proceed to discovery against a paper manufacturing company in Massachusetts that allegedly sent PFAS-contaminated byproducts to a composting facility in Westminster, Massachusetts. According to the magistrate, the allegations were sufficient to avoid preliminary summary dismissal, but that does not mean the allegations were true or have been proven true.
Seaman Paper filed an objection to the magistrate’s report and recommendations with the intent to prove that the facts alleged in the complaint are false. The next step is for a federal judge to review Seaman Paper’s objections and the magistrate's report and recommendation and determine if they will adopt or reject the magistrate's ruling.
If the magistrate’s ruling is not rejected and continues to discovery, then it has the potential to significantly expand the prospective liability of corporate defendants for PFAS contamination.