It's an epic two decade-long legal battle over claims mercury was dumped in a river, and the storied St. Louis company Mallinckrodt was involved in the litigation for many years.
And when it was announced that a near $300 million deal was brokered between environmentalists and the companies, it was widely reported that the St. Louis Mallinckrodt facility was one of those facing liabilities.
But, a spokesman for the company told the St. Louis Record that the company has nothing to do with the litigation, as it left behind this particular litigation back in 2013, more than half way through the battle.
According to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), one of the lead plaintiffs, the consent decree to settle the case centering on the pollution of Maine’s Penobscot River was agreed to with Mallinckrodt.
"Mallinckrodt will pay at least $187 million, and up to $267 million," according to the NRDC, adding that this was to pay for clean up and remediation.
In fact, the company that settled was Mallinckrodt US LLC, a subsidiary of the Minneapolis-headquartered Medtronic corporation.
The confusion arises over Mallinckrodt merger with another company, Covidien, and subsequent separation. As part of the agreement, Mallinckrodt, largely now a pharmaceutical company that filed for bankruptcy last year as it tackled liabilities over claimed involvement in the opioid crisis, left behind its chemical division. Covidien was later taken over by Medtronic.
"This liability was retained by Covidien," according to an SEC filing. "As the Company no longer manages this case, it will not continue to update its status for further developments."
The case does highlight the deeply complicated nature of environmental litigation. Indeed, the company accused of actually polluting the river through the early 1980s was an entirely different one, HoltraChem Manufacturing Company. Mallinckrodt took over the company.
A suit was first filed in 2000, and it went to trial in 2002 in U.S. District Court in Maine. The court ruled that mercury could "present an imminent and substantial threat to public health and the environment."
Mallinckrodt, at that time the St. Louis company, was told to fund an independent study on the necessity and feasibility of remediation, and develop a plan. It was upheld on appeal.
"Over nine years, a panel of three mercury experts appointed by the court studied the Penobscot and submitted three reports, all confirming that the river and estuary contain elevated mercury levels, putting wildlife, as well as humans who eat seafood and waterfowl, at risk," according to the NRDC.
Legal action was resumed over responsibility for the contamination, and whether the plaintiffs were liable. The court in Maine must now decide whether to accept the settlement, bringing to an end 21 years of litigation.