Toxic Chemical Class Action Dismissed, Court Says Individual Issues Preclude Certification

CAMDEN, N.J. –– A New Jersey federal court has dismissed a toxic chemical class action suit, opining that the plaintiffs were “essentially asking this court to greenlight a Class Area defined as anywhere there is contamination.”

In the Aug. 21 opinion, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey declined to do so, saying that individual issues of exposure, causation, and damages preclude class certification.

In the class action complaint, the plaintiffs argued that The Sherwin-Williams Co. manufactured products a plant in Gibbsboro, N.J., using hazardous substances that were released into the surrounding area. Among the toxic chemicals …