Consumer class actions involving per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are on the rise and may not necessarily be readily dismissed, according to a new article authored by a team of Akerman litigators. In the article, published by Law360, Ellen Robbins, Matt Schroeder, and Ohia Amadi use the recent order from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in Hamman v. Cava Group to illustrate the challenges consumer products companies are facing regarding PFAS lawsuits.

The lawyers note that many defendants, particularly in California, may find that they only obtain dismissal through summary judgment motions — much later in the litigation and only after extensive discovery — allowing them to introduce facts outside the pleadings, if at all.