City of Corona v. 3M Company
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
I. Background
Plaintiffs, the City of Corona and the Corona Utility Authority, filed this action in California state court against Defendant 3M Company and several others, seeking to recover damages for the costs to remediate contamination of the city’s water supply with certain synthetic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) that are harmful to human health. Compl. § 1-3, ECF 1-1. Plaintiffs allege that Defendants’ manufacturing activities led to PFAS contamination in the city’s water. Jd. § 4-6, 9-11. Defendant 3M removed this case to federal court on the basis of the federal officer removal statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1). Notice Removal 2, ECF 1-1. 3M asserted that any alleged PFAS contamination resulted at least in part from its production of a fire-extinguishing agent, aqueous film- forming foam, which must conform to strict military specifications (“MilSpec AFFF”). /d. at 1. According to 3M, its manufacture of MilSpec AFFF pursuant to the government’s specifications means