By Maria Ponnezhath and Clark Mindock
A U.S. judge has allowed the delay of a trial in which Florida's Stuart city sued industrial conglomerate 3M Co over water contamination from toxic "forever chemicals", a court filing showed on Monday.
3M shares fell 1.3% in morning trade.
"The parties informed the Court last evening that they have reached a stage in those discussions where they believe a final binding agreement is achievable in the near future," South Carolina U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel said in the order.
The judge asked for weekly updates, and said he would reschedule the trial if an agreement is not reached within 21 days.
3M and the city on Sunday said they were making "significant" progress to settle the water pollution suit and sought to delay the trial.
The company was scheduled to face trial in the South Carolina federal court on Monday in a lawsuit brought by the Florida city accusing it of manufacturing PFAS, or per- and polyflouroalkyl substances, despite knowing for decades that the chemicals can cause cancer and other ailments.
"We are hopeful that this delay will lead to a meaningful settlement in the near term," said Paul Napoli, a partner at law firm Napoli Shkolnik.
3M did not respond to requests for comment.
The city of Stuart claimed in its 2018 lawsuit that the company made or sold firefighting foams containing PFAS that polluted local soil and groundwater, and sought more than $100 million for filtration and remediation.
Set to have been a test case, the lawsuit is one of the more than 4,000 filed against 3M and other chemical companies by U.S. municipalities, state governments and individuals that have been consolidated in the federal court in South Carolina.
The request for a delay came after three major chemicals companies - Chemours Co, DuPont de Nemours Inc and Corteva Inc - last Friday said they had reached an agreement in principle for $1.19 billion to settle claims that they contaminated U.S. public water systems with PFAS.
3M announced in December that it would stop producing PFAS by 2025.
Bloomberg News reported last Friday that 3M had struck a tentative $10 billion deal with U.S. cities and towns to resolve the PFAS water pollution lawsuits it is facing. Reuters could not immediately confirm that report.
Dubbed "forever chemicals" as they do not easily break down in the human body or environment, PFAS are used in a wide range of products from non-stick cookware to cosmetics and have been linked to cancer, hormonal dysfunction and environmental damage.
(Reporting by Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru and Clark Mindock in New York; Additional reporting by Juby Babu, Akanksha Khushi and Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill, Sonali Paul, Sriraj Kalluvila and Devika Syamnath)
