News Coverage

More than a dozen paper companies and mills named in class action lawsuit

The lawsuit alleges dangerous PFAS chemicals were allowed to leach into private wells and land

Jun 3 - News Center Maine

More than a dozen paper mills and paper companies were named in an amended class-action lawsuit filed this week in Somerset County Superior Court.
The lawsuit was first filed against Sappi North America in March on behalf of a Somerset County resident, Nathan Saunders. The lawsuit alleged Sappi's Somerset Mill in Skowhegan is the source of the PFAS contamination. Tests by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection showed very high levels of the chemicals, which have been linked to...

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Toxic Water in Fairfield

Erin Brockovich helping Fairfield residents dealing with wells highly contaminated with PFAS

Mar 15 - WABI Channel 5

The Environmental Protection Agency limits PFAS chemicals in drinking water to 70 parts per trillion.
But at least 52 private wells in the town of Fairfield have levels up to 460 times higher.
The state of Maine is installing water filtration systems as they discover more and more affected wells.
And each Friday, the town of Fairfield hands out bottled water.
But residents with toxic wells want more action taken.
And they’ve enlisted the help of a very famous...

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Maine man sues paper mill over levels of 'forever chemicals'

Mar 9 - KOB4

A Maine man is suing a paper mill company that operates in the state about levels of long-lasting chemicals in wells and elsewhere.
Nathan Saunders of Fairfield filed the lawsuit Friday against Boston-based Sappi North America. The lawsuit concerns per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds, which are also called PFAS and are sometimes referred to as “forever chemicals.”
The lawsuit makes the claim that the chemicals in water sources in Somerset County came from biosolids from...

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Maine man sues paper mill over levels of 'forever chemicals'

Mar 9 - ABC News

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Lawsuit Blames Skowhegan Paper Mill For Dangerous Chemicals Found In Neighboring Town's Wells

Mar 8 - Maine Public Radio

A new lawsuit claims that a Skowhegan paper mill is responsible for the toxic chemicals that are now being found in dangerous levels in the well water of a neighboring community.
For five years, Fairfield residents have felt a growing sense of alarm about that class of man-made chemicals, which are widely known as PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” and have been used to manufacture everything from pizza boxes to fire fighting foam.
First, they were found in high...

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Skowhegan paper mill ‘strongly disputes’ lawsuit alleging fault for contaminating water wells

Fairfield resident Nathan Saunders filed a class-action suit Friday, saying the Sappi mill is the source of high levels of 'forever chemicals' in a growing number of Fairfield area wells.

Mar 8 - centralmaine.com

The Somerset County paper mill now the subject of a class-action lawsuit says it “strongly disputes” allegations that its facility has led to so-called “forever chemicals” contaminating a growing number of residential water wells in the Fairfield area.
Sappi North America, the company that owns the Skowhegan mill, made the statement Monday following the filing of a lawsuit that alleges the mill is the source of high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds,...

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Fairfield man files class-action lawsuit against Sappi paper mill over ‘forever chemicals’

Mar 8 - Portland Press Herald

A Fairfield man filed a class-action lawsuit Friday against Sappi North America over high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds, known as PFAS, found in Somerset County wells and at other sites.
Nathan Saunders filed the lawsuit through lawyer Brian Mahany at Somerset County Superior Court in Skowhegan.
The lawsuit alleges Sappi’s Somerset Mill in Skowhegan is the source of the PFAS, known as “forever chemicals.”
Specifically, the lawsuit alleges the...

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Class-action lawsuit filed for dangerous chemical levels in Somerset County well water

Mar 8 - Fox 23 Maine

A class-action lawsuit has been filed for dangerous levels of toxic chemicals found in Somerset County well water.
PFAS have been linked to increased risk of cancers and other health issues.
The class-action lawsuit claims Sappi’s Somerset mill in Skowhegan produced PFAS-treated paper products, which later were turned into fertilizer, and when spread on farms, that got into area well water, putting people at risk.
PFAS Class Action - Brian Mahany Maine Lawyer by Wgme...

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Fairfield man sues Sappi over ‘forever chemical’ contamination

Mar 7 - WMTW Channel 8

A Fairfield man is suing Sappi Paper over pollution from so-called "forever chemicals."
The class-action suit filed Friday in Somerset County Superior Court, claims Sappi’s Somerset Mill in Skowhegan allowed dangerous chemicals to contaminate his property and drinking water.
The plaintiff, Nathan Saunders, says the state tested his drinking water in January and found levels of the chemical PFAS 185 times higher than the EPA limit.
PFAS is linked to multiple...

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Lawyers Get $3M From $9.5M Settlement Over Unwelcome Sales Calls

Oct 21 - New Jersey Law Journal

The risk of establishing liability and damages favors settlement because of the defendant's argument that it did not use an automated telephone dialing system, the court said, noting that the U.S. Supreme Court is slated to consider this term what constitutes such a system, resolving a split among the circuits. Lawyers for the class were awarded $3 million, and class members get $75.30 each, in a $9.5 million settlement of a Telephone Consumer Protection Act suit against Freedom Mortgage of...

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