News
Lawsuit claims Gore-Tex poisoned drinking water near Maryland facilities
The Guardian
April 3, 2025
The makers of Gore-Tex, a popular product commonly used to waterproof clothing by companies such as the North Face and Mountain Hardware, poisoned drinking water and sickened residents around their facilities in rural Maryland, two lawsuits allege. The facilities, about 90 miles north-east of Baltimore, polluted drinking water with levels up to 700 times above federal limits with some kinds of Pfas, a group of toxins known as “forever chemicals” due to their environmental longevity.
Lawyers update residents on chemicals lawsuit against Gore
Cecil Whig
March 5, 2025
Concerned community members impacted by W.L. Gore’s extensive pollution to local water systems and air quality filled the Elkton High School auditorium on Friday evening, when lawyers shared updates on the several lawsuits filed against the international material science company. The lawsuits leveled against the company are based on the allegations that these sites have exposed people in the surrounding communities to toxic chemicals that cause adverse health impacts for nearly five decades.
More people in Cecil County eligible for suit against Gore for drinking water contamination
WYPR
February 28, 2025
More people in Cecil County are eligible to sign on to a class action suit against W.L. Gore for their alleged role in contaminating the drinking water and soil with PFAS/PFOA chemicals. Residents in Fair Hill and Appleton will be able to sign on to the class action suit against the company most famous for creating Gore-Tex, a waterproof clothing fabric.
Elkton community speaking out against PFAS linked to cancer in water
WMAR
February 27, 2025
Lawyers dropped a bombshell for Americans at a town hall in Elkton, Maryland, saying every American should get their water tested for PFAS, which can cause cancer and other health issues. They also gave residents two major updates on a class-action lawsuit that has been going on for two years with the iconic American company Gore-Tex.
Maryland sues Gore-Tex for use of forever chemicals in the area
WMAR
February 7, 2025
People around the world have been wearing Gore-Tex for nearly 60 years. And now, the state of Maryland is suing them over forever chemicals. This comes after a two-year-long class-action lawsuit by people living near the company's Cherry Hill facility in Elkton, Maryland.
Residents, state file suits against manufacturing company over 'forever chemicals'
Cecil Whig
December 20, 2024
The State of Maryland has filed a complaint against W. L Gore, an international textile manufacturing company with five Cecil County campuses of more than a dozen sites claiming Gore “(put) residents’ health at risk with contamination from toxic Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals.”
The suit charges Gore with public nuisance, trespass, negligence, unauthorized discharge of a controlled hazardous substance, unauthorized discharge of pollutants and wastes, injunctive relief, and two counts of violation of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).
Maryland sues W.L. Gore over decades of forever chemicals contamination
The Baltimore Banner
December 18, 2024
Maryland is suing W.L. Gore & Associates, the manufacturing giant known for its waterproof GORE-TEX lining for clothes, over claims that it knowingly polluting the air and waters around its Cecil County facilities for decades with toxic forever chemicals.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, calls on the Delaware-based company to pay for the state’s investigation and cleanup of widespread contamination of hazardous perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, around 13 Elkton-area manufacturing facilities.
Maryland sues W.L. Gore, citing decades of PFAS pollution from 13 Elkton-area sites
The Baltimore Sun
December 18, 2024
Maryland officials have filed suit against W.L. Gore & Associates, the manufacturer of Gore-Tex, alleging that at least 13 of the company’s 14 facilities in Cecil County have contaminated the environment, including soil, air and groundwater, with “forever chemicals” for some 50 years.
Maryland’s lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court of Maryland, also alleges that the Delaware-based company knew for decades of the danger posed by the chemicals, called PFAS, but “concealed that information from the State and the public.”
As Maryland investigates PFAS pollution, W.L. Gore transitions outdoor clothing to new material
The Baltimore Sun
February 15, 2024
In 2014, W.L. Gore & Associates stopped using a harmful chemical called PFOA in the technology it makes for waterproofing raincoats, hiking boots and other gear.
The Newark, Delaware-based company’s shift came amid federal government pressure for the industry to phase out by 2015 the use of the cancer-causing compound, which is part of a broad group called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
The Chesapeake Watershed’s growing battle against PFAS
Delaware Online
December 29, 2023
They’re everywhere – in our water, farms, food, clothing, cosmetics, and countless other everyday products. PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” are a group of nearly indestructible compounds used in manufacturing that have infiltrated our soil, water, and air, leading to a host of health problems for everyone exposed to them.
Maryland investigating ‘forever chemicals’ near industrial plant in Cecil County
Chesapeake Bay Journal
July 19, 2023
The Elkton community is among the latest of dozens across the Chesapeake Bay watershed to learn that its public water systems or private wells have been contaminated with PFAS. The chemicals have been found in the drinking water or groundwater of nearly 2,800 communities nationwide, according to the Environmental Working Group. Many of those, especially in the Bay region, are near military bases, airports or firefighting facilities where PFAS-laden firefighting foam was deployed or stored.
Attorneys seek Elkton, Md. residents to join PFAS litigation against Gore
WHYY
May 22, 2023
In February, a lawsuit was filed against the Delaware-based company for allegedly polluting drinking water with PFOA, one type of the toxic chemical PFAS. The so-called “forever chemicals,” which can remain in groundwater for decades, are linked to serious health problems.
This information is provided by co-counsel Philip C. Federico (licensed in MD) and Chase T. Brockstedt (licensed in DE) of Brockstedt Mandalas Federico LLC and John E. Herrick (licensed in MD, SC) and T. David Hoyle (licensed in DC, FL, GA, SC) of Motley Rice LLC.