Leesburg to pursue possible PFAS settlement claims; commission authorizes staff to vet attorneys
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Summary
City attorney briefed the commission on national PFAS settlement funds; the commission authorized staff to pursue claims and return retainer agreements for consideration so the city can sign up by year-end to recover testing costs and potential drinking-water damages.
City legal staff briefed the Leesburg commission on pending multidistrict litigation against manufacturers of PFAS chemicals and on an allocated settlement fund established by DuPont and 3M for drinking-water impacts. Staff said the City of Leesburg is on a list of water systems potentially eligible to claim funds and explained the claim process relies on source-well testing and a formula used by the settlement administrator.
The attorney said signing up before the end of the calendar year would allow testing costs to be reimbursed from the fund; outside law firms have approached the city offering contingency-fee representation (commonly 25–30%). Staff estimated recoveries for drinking-water claims could reach seven figures and recommended exploring claims and presenting retainer agreements to the commission.
The commission voted to authorize staff to pursue discussions with attorneys and to bring retainer agreements back for the commission’s approval, directing testing and further work to proceed before the end-of-year deadline in order to preserve the reimbursement opportunity.
Next steps: staff will solicit and return retainer agreements and outline testing needs and expected costs (number of source wells to be tested) for commission approval prior to signing up for the DuPont/3M fund.
