A trial in which Florida’s Stuart city sued industrial conglomerate 3M Co over water contamination from toxic “forever chemicals” was postponed by a U.S. judge on Monday, according to a court filing.
In early trading, 3M shares fell 1.3%.
“The parties informed the Court last evening that they have reached a stage in those discussions where they believe a final binding agreement is achievable in the near future,” said South Carolina U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel in the order.
The judge requested weekly updates and stated that if an agreement is not reached within 21 days, the trial would be rescheduled.
On Sunday, 3M and the city said they were making “significant” progress in settling the water pollution suit and sought to postpone the trial.
The company was set to go on trial in a federal court in South Carolina on Monday in connection with a lawsuit filed by the Florida city accusing it of manufacturing PFAS, or per- and polyflouroalkyl substances, despite knowing for decades that the chemicals can cause cancer and other ailments.
“We are hopeful that this delay will lead to a meaningful settlement in the near term,” said Paul Napoli, a partner at the law firm Napoli Shkolnik.
Requests for comment from 3M were not returned.
In a 2018 lawsuit, the city of Stuart claimed that the company manufactured or sold firefighting foams containing PFAS, which polluted local soil and groundwater, and sought more than $100 million in filtration and remediation.
The lawsuit, intended to be a test case, is one of over 4,000 filed against 3M and other chemical companies by municipalities, state governments, and individuals in the United States that have been consolidated in federal court in South Carolina.
The request for a delay came after three major chemical companies, Chemours Co, DuPont de Nemours Inc, and Corteva Inc, announced last Friday that they had reached an agreement in principle to settle claims that they contaminated U.S. public water systems with PFAS for $1.19 billion.
3M announced in December that it would cease PFAS production by 2025.
Bloomberg News reported last Friday that 3M had reached a tentative $10 billion settlement with cities and towns across the United States to settle PFAS water pollution lawsuits. Reuters was unable to confirm the report immediately.
PFAS are used in a wide range of products from nonstick cookware to cosmetics and have been linked to cancer, hormonal dysfunction, and environmental damage. They have been dubbed “forever chemicals” because they do not easily break down in the human body or environment.