This column addresses recent decisions of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York. This installment discusses two recent class action decisions. The first is Senior District Court Judge Lawrence E. Kahn’s decision granting preliminary approval of a $65 million dollar proposed settlement with three of four defendants accused of contaminating groundwater in the town of Hoosick Falls, New York. The second is Judge David N. Hurd’s decision granting the plaintiff’s motion for class certification of a damages class pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3) comprised of student loan borrowers who allege that the defendants, a group of student loan lenders and servicers, violated their rights to prepay their federal student loans.

Settlement

On July 27, 2021, Judge Lawrence E. Kahn granted preliminary approval of a $65 million settlement on behalf of several hundred Hoosick Falls residents against defendants Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., 3M Company, and Honeywell International Inc. (the settling defendants). Michelle Baker et al. v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp. et al., No. 1:16-cv-00917-LEK-DJS (N.D.N.Y.), Dkt. No. 291.