Per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) include various synthetic chemicals that have been used in products ranging from cookware to clothing and carpets to cosmetics for decades. These various uses, when combined with a recent focus on releases of PFAS substances to the environment, have begun to spawn litigation against consumer products companies.
This spring, we discussed a recent California federal case against BIC USA Inc. stemming from BIC’s use of PFAS-related chemicals in disposable razors. In that case, two consumers claim that BIC failed to disclose the use of these chemicals to consumers, notwithstanding that it had disclosed their use to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in accordance with Maine law. Below, we summarize the main arguments BIC presents in its recently filed motion to dismiss the lawsuit and…