July 18, 2024 (Berkeley, CA) – Earth Island Institute, represented by Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, received a momentous court order this week allowing its landmark lawsuit to proceed against major consumer goods companies for allegedly creating a public nuisance from their plastic packaging, polluting California waterways with plastic trash.
Judge V. Raymond Swope of the Superior Court of California of the County of San Mateo denied the defendants’ demurrers seeking to dismiss the case, finding that Earth Island’s complaint properly alleged that the plastic producers could be held liable for creating a public nuisance based on allegations that they promoted their products as recyclable while knowing that it was difficult if not impossible to do so, and by doing so also contributed to a public hazard. After over four years of litigation, this major decision means that Earth Island’s claims can proceed on its merits toward trial in California.
“Through our work, we see firsthand the immense public harm caused by plastic packaging,” said Sumona Majumdar, Earth Island Institute’s chief executive officer. “And we believe corporations must do more than talk about recyclability when it comes to their plastic pollution along our waterways and coasts.”
Mark Molumphy, a partner at Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, and lead counsel for Earth Island, said, “Earth Island made a courageous decision to take on these corporate giants on behalf of California’s residents. This order brings us closer to addressing an environmental disaster that just gets worse with each passing day.”
Tyson Redenbarger of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, who argued the motion, added, “The Court’s decision upholding the public nuisance claim was appropriate and important. Absent accountability in the courts, global plastic producers will continue to cause harm to California and its waterways. We look forward to presenting the case to a California jury.”
The lawsuit was filed in February 2020, in San Mateo County Superior Court in California. The case alleges violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law and Public Nuisance. The defendants previously tried to move the case to federal court but were unsuccessful. By overruling defendants’ demurrers, this ruling allows the case to proceed further toward the merits.
For forty years, Earth Island Institute, a leading nonprofit environmental organization based in Berkeley, California, has been developing programs and supporting projects that counteract threats to the planet’s biological and cultural diversity. Earth Island also plays a leading role in efforts to fight plastic pollution and protect our oceans, coasts, and marine life.
Earth Island has filed this case in its own right and on behalf of the following sponsored projects:
Additional information about this lawsuit can be found here.
Contact:
Raquel Trinidad, Earth Island Communications Director,
raquel@earthisland.org