DuPont Loses Challenge to Earlier Nonstick Chemical Ruling

DuPont lost an attempt Friday to challenge a district court decision that favored plaintiffs who claimed “forever chemical” contamination in West Virginia and Ohio.

DuPont claimed the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio abused its authority by choosing to rely on three bellwether trials to decide 3,500 cases in multidistrict litigation. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit decided Friday that E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. hadn’t adequately supported its claim, and denied its petition for a writ of mandamus.

If the court had granted the company’s petition, plaintiffs claiming that DuPont ...