Supreme Court says Chemours lawsuit can continue

November 7, 2022 at 12:50 p.m.

By Colin Campbell
NC Tribune

Corporate restructuring can’t be a get out of jail free card for Chemours, the company responsible for PFAS contamination in the Cape Fear River, the N.C. Supreme Court ruled Friday.

The company sought to swat down the state of North Carolina’s lawsuit on the grounds that it’s not responsible for what happened under a previous corporate structure, when the Fayetteville plant’s operator was known as E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company. 

But attorneys for Attorney General Josh Stein argued that the restructuring was a deliberate attempt to avoid liability as complaints about pollution mounted across the country. DuPont spun off its "performance chemicals" division in 2015 with a new public company called Chemours, saying it wanted to focus on faster-growth businesses. Both companies are based in Wilmington, Delaware. 

The Supreme Court, in an opinion authored by Justice Anita Earls, tossed out Chemours’ request to have the lawsuit dismissed, and it sent the case back to North Carolina’s Business Court judges to continue the case.

“The state’s allegations are extensive, and we hold that they are sufficient to support the Business Court’s conclusion that, at this stage of the proceedings, the state has adequately pleaded that Corteva and New DuPont acted fraudulently,” Earls wrote, garnering no dissents from her fellow justices. "Thus, there is a second, independent ground upon which to hold the successors liable for Old DuPont’s debts and liabilities and therefore, to find jurisdiction over Corteva and New DuPont in this state.”

Stein praised the decision. “We allege that DuPont and Chemours have dumped forever chemicals into the Cape Fear River – and we intend to hold them accountable for the damage that they’ve caused to the state’s resources,” he said in a news release Friday. “I appreciate and applaud the Court’s decision to let this case move forward.”