2025 Industry Trends

During required drinking water quality sampling, a local municipality that derives the majority of its water supply from groundwater identified the presence of PFAS in two of its wells. Former and current industrial operations located with the wellhead capture zone were identified as possible sources of the PFAS and were required to conduct site assessments. Based on the results of the investigations, the current and former property owners of the sites with PFAS were required to conduct further remediation and to contribute to the municipality’s costs for treating impacted drinking water.

Based on publicly available environmental data for industrial stormwater monitoring, the local clean water citizen group alleged that a logistics terminal at a port facility was illegally discharging pollutants into the adjacent bay, via stormwater runoff. A notice of intent to sue was issued to the property owner, under the Clean Water Act. Defense costs and subsequent settlement costs were incurred by the insured to respond to the allegations and settlement of the suit.

A punitive class action is filed by residents of a rental community against the insured landlord and insured property manager for alleged bodily injuries due to a legionella outbreak in the community that residents say stems from water towers owned and operated by the landlord. Significant defense and settlement costs are subsequently incurred by the insured.

A tenant in a multi-family residential building complained to the property manager of water infiltration and mold in their bedroom closet and on their possessions. Upon inspection, a water leak from an adjacent vacant unit was discovered. Due to the water intrusion and high humidity, mold growth was also present behind the drywall. Remediation of the unit required vacating the unit for a 30-day period, removal of all wet and moldy materials, replacement of the tenant’s damaged property, sanding of wooden framing, and unit restoration. The tenant subsequently filed a lawsuit against the property owner and manager, claiming bodily injury and medical complications due to mold exposure. The tenant refused settlement offers and received a significant jury award when the case went to trial.

During development of a solar panel farm on a former landfill, a 500-year rainstorm event overwhelmed sediment and stormwater controls and led to sediment-laden stormwater runoff into a nearby stream and wetlands located on adjacent private property. The property owner sued the developer for property damage, and the state regulatory agency issued civil fines and penalties, and required restoration of the stream and wetlands.

A fire broke out at a large lithium-ion storage facility. The fire sent plumes of potentially toxic smoke into the air and over 5,000 residents and businesses were forced to evacuate. Due to the nature of the fire, it took three days to extinguish and emergency responders were injured due to exposure to the fumes emitted during the fire. A class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of the responders and the surrounding property owners claiming bodily injury and business interruption.