On March 20, 2018, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and Saint-Gobain entered into a “Consent Decree.” A Consent Decree is an agreement with the state to settle or resolve claims the state has against Saint-Gobain. As the NHDES representative stated at the public meeting announcing the agreement, the settlement is only for claims the State has against Saint-Gobain, and does not affect any property owner’s private claims against Saint-Gobain. For example, the agreement identifies the homes that Saint-Gobain will connect to water lines and the few that will be connected to point of use filters and ongoing testing and remediation of the contamination at Saint-Gobain. It does not address the cost of water, loss of use, the nuisance and trespass claims, effect on property values or medical monitoring. None of the claims in our case are reduced by the agreement.
Our case against Saint-Gobain has a current trial date of September 17, 2019. Beginning in June, the court will start the process of determining whether the case will go forward as a class action.