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California seeks freeze of DuPont-linked asset sale proceeds in PFAS case
The state asks a South Carolina federal court to lock up asset-sale proceeds tied to DuPont’s pre-2017 businesses until underlying PFAS claims are resolved, after alleging wrongdoing in how rights to insurance proceeds were shifted.
California is asking a federal court to freeze proceeds from asset sales tied to DuPont’s pre-2017 businesses as it fights for compensation over decades of PFAS contamination, according to an amended complaint filed Thursday in a PFAS multidistrict litigation in the District of South Carolina. The attorney general, Rob Bonta, said the freeze should remain in place until the underlying claims are resolved.
HousingWire reports that the request targets DuPont’s corporate restructuring around its pre-2017 operations, including the period before the company merged with Dow and later reorganized into three entities: DuPont, Corteva, and Chemours. The state wants proceeds locked down so money is not out of reach of California and other creditors pursuing PFAS-related compensation.
The complaint also alleges that DuPont’s predecessor transferred rights to PFAS-related insurance proceeds from Chemours, which was spun off in 2015, to DuPont and Corteva after a later split in 2019. California claims the transactions were intended to hinder, delay, and defraud creditors, and argues the consideration paid was worth less than half the estimated value of the proceeds.
For insurers and risk managers tracking the litigation, the case centers on which company in DuPont’s corporate structure will ultimately pay and whether insurers backing the PFAS liability can be reached by claimants, Insurance Business said. The filing follows earlier PFAS-related litigation brought by Bonta in November 2022 against roughly 18 manufacturers, including 3M, over PFOA and PFOS exposure.
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