3M, Corteva Inc. subsidiary E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., and other producers of the so-called "forever chemicals" won a significant legal victory against responsibility for the substances from a U.S. appeals court.

A lower court's decision, which would have let roughly 11.8 million Ohioans sue the corporations collectively, was overturned in this decision.

Virtually every Ohioan was a part of the large class action, which was approved by a lower court and put significant legal pressure on the chemical producers to settle the plaintiffs' claims. This decision was made by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, located in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Kevin Hardwick, the lead plaintiff, filed a complaint against the manufacturers, but the court found that it was too broad and that he had not presented any evidence that directly connected the defendants — 3M and DuPont — to the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that were found in his body.

The court stated that Hardwick's complaint "rarely" focused on the activities of a single company but rather accused the businesses as a whole of releasing the chemicals into the environment.

Circuit Judge Raymond Kethledge noted that, while thousands of companies have manufactured PFAS, only ten are named as defendants in this case.

Hardwick's lawsuit sought to compel the firms to pay for studies examining the health effects of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The appeals court directed the lower court to dismiss the complaint. These chemicals, which are linked to cancer and other illnesses, are found in many consumer goods, such as clothes and non-stick cookware.