CHARLESTON — Two Wood County property owners have filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Chemours claiming releases from an industrial landfill near the company’s Washington Works plant contaminated nearby homes and property with PFAS chemicals.
Jason Goff and Aimee Cross filed the 24-page complaint September 4 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. The lawsuit names The Chemours Company FC LLC and parent The Chemours Company as defendants.
Ware
“The families who call this community home deserve to know their property is safe and that those responsible for any contamination will be held accountable,” said Benjamin Ware, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs. “We are proud to stand with these residents and property owners as they seek that accountability.”
The complaint alleges hazardous landfill leachate – including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, and PFOA – escaped from the landfill’s treatment and stormwater-control systems in February 2024 and February 2025. PFAS are a class of persistent chemicals commonly called “forever chemicals” because they do not readily break down in the environment.
The landfill is a closed industrial facility tied to Chemours’ Washington Works operations, near DuPont State Road, also known as West Virginia 892, east of Lake Washington Road and across from the manufacturing complex, according to the complaint. It is governed by a state solid waste and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, the lawsuit says.
The Washington Works facility has been at the center of much litigation, some of which was the basis for the 2019 movie “Dark Waters” and litigation regarding C8, which is a PFAS used to produce Teflon.
In June, Chemours reached a $450 million preliminary settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection regarding the Washington Work releases and others across the country.
Goff, who owns property on South Oak Street, and Cross, who owns property on Club Drive, say their properties and others in nearby neighborhoods lie within pathways through which contamination can migrate through soil, groundwater, surface water, sediment, dust or air.
The proposed class could include people living near South Oak Street, Club Drive, Lake Washington Road and other surrounding areas, according to the complaint and a news release issued by the plaintiffs’ attorneys.
The lawsuit says untreated landfill leachate leaked from a treatment system between about February 16 and February 19, 2024. The plaintiffs claim a filtration container lacked effective secondary containment, allowing leachate to bypass containment and enter surrounding gravel, soil and subsurface areas.
A second incident allegedly occurred about a year later, on February 6, 2025, when temporary stormwater, sediment, leachate and bypass controls failed during rain. The lawsuit alleges contaminated water entered an inlet sump, overtopped an engineered weir and was discharged through Outfall 007 into Coal Hollow, a tributary of the Ohio River.
The complaint says subsequent sampling by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection confirmed “unsafe PFOA levels.”
The plaintiffs allege testing conducted on their behalf found PFAS compounds in soil and water on both named plaintiffs’ properties. They contend the alleged contamination has interfered with use and enjoyment of the properties as well as reduced their marketability and value. They say it also created a need for further testing, cleanup and exposure-reduction measures.
Residents of the Lake Washington subdivision bought their homes partly for access to Lake Washington, the complaint states. The filing alleges that contamination of the lake could diminish boating, swimming, fishing and other recreational uses while reducing the appeal and value of nearby property.
Goodwin
The suit alleges negligence, private nuisance, trespass, negligence per se, failure to warn, strict liability for an allegedly abnormally dangerous activity and a claim for medical monitoring.
Ihlenfeld
It seeks class certification, compensatory and punitive damages, property testing and remediation, alternative water where needed, disclosure of relevant information and a court-supervised medical-monitoring program.
The plaintiffs say the lawsuit is distinct from government enforcement matters involving Chemours because it seeks private damages and equitable relief for nearby residents and landowners rather than regulatory penalties or remedies. The complaint references a separate civil enforcement action by the United States and West Virginia that alleged historic and continuing PFAS pollution from Chemours facilities, including Washington Works.
Goff and Cross are represented by R. Booth Goodwin, Ware, W. Jeffrey Vollmer and David A. Dobson of Goodwin & Goodwin in Charleston and by William J. Ihlenfeld II, Maximillian F. Nogay and Traci M. Cook of Maverick Litigation in Morgantown.
Goodwin previously served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia, and Ihlenfeld is a previous U.S. Attorney for the Northern District.
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Irene C. Berger.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number 2:26-cv-00560
