Tennessee Fights to Protect Taxpayers from DuPont PFAS Liabilities

Tennessee Fights to Protect Taxpayers from DuPont PFAS Liabilities

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti today sued Indiana-based EIDP, historically known as DuPont, its parent company Corteva, and newly formed Vylor over an alleged effort to shift DuPont's most valuable assets while leaving behind vast liabilities, including those tied to PFAS "forever chemicals."

"These corporate shenanigans are an attempt to dodge accountability, and we'll keep fighting to stop them," said Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. "Dumping all the liabilities in one company and all the assets in another company is clever but illegal. We'll keep working to ensure that companies responsible for PFAS contamination have to pay so we can clean our waterways and mitigate the damage for future generations."

The bipartisan, multistate lawsuit alleges that DuPont knew or should have known about the dangers of PFAS for decades but concealed information about the chemicals' risks from regulators, consumers and the public. PFAS contamination has affected drinking water across the country, creating potentially tens of billions of dollars in costs for states and taxpayers to address contamination and protect the public.

The states are specifically targeting a transaction that took effect October 1, 2026, transferring DuPont and Corteva's Pioneer seeds business to Vylor. The coalition alleges the transaction moved approximately three-quarters of the value previously held by DuPont and Corteva while leaving DuPont responsible for its substantial PFAS liabilities.

The coalition has asked a Marion County, Indiana court for a temporary restraining order to preserve the assets. The proposed order would prevent DuPont and Corteva from using remaining funds for dividends and stock buybacks and prevent Vylor from selling or pledging the seed assets it received.

The lawsuit is part of the states' broader efforts to hold PFAS manufacturers accountable for the environmental and public costs associated with these dangerous and persistent chemicals.