Vermont AG: Multistate Lawsuit Filed Against DuPont, Corteva Over PFAS Liabilities

Attorney General Charity Clark today joined a bipartisan multistate coalition of sixteen states and sovereign governments in a lawsuit filed against Indiana-based “EIDP,” the chemical company historically known as DuPont, its parent company, Corteva, and a newly created entity called “Vylor.” The States’ lawsuit seeks to unwind the defendants’ coordinated effort to fraudulently move DuPont’s most valuable business assets into Vylor and leave DuPont’s massive liabilities behind, including those associated with its manufacturing of PFAS, known as “forever chemicals.” PFAS are a large group of humanmade chemicals that have been used in industry and consumer products worldwide since the 1950s. They are used to make household and commercial products that resist heat and repel oil, stains, grease, and water. PFAS chemicals include PFOA, which is extremely toxic and unsafe at any level. PFAS do not break down easily. They contaminate drinking water, groundwater, and soil and are costly to remove. Studies have linked PFAS exposure to numerous negative effects including cancer, infertility, thyroid disease, and childhood developmental harm. In 2019, Vermont filed two cases against DuPont and other entities for contaminating Vermont’s natural resources with PFAS. Those cases remain pending. One, related to PFAS contamination from aqueous film-forming foam (“AFFF”), is in a large multidistrict litigation in federal court in South Carolina. The other, for PFAS contamination from consumer and industrial products, has completed discovery and is currently in Vermont federal district court. Other states across the country have also filed claims alleging that DuPont knew or should have known about the dangers of PFAS when it made or sold products containing those chemicals. For example, internal documents show that, for decades, DuPont knowingly concealed its growing knowledge of the risks these chemicals posed to human health and the environment. Despite these pending lawsuits, on October 1, 2026, DuPont and Corteva transferred their Pioneer seeds business — a major corn and soybean operation — to a newly formed company called Vylor. As a result, Vylor received about three-quarters of the value once held in DuPont and Corteva, but Corteva intentionally structured the transaction so that Vylor did not accept any responsibility for the extensive PFAS liabilities DuPont faces. Now, DuPont has significantly fewer assets to satisfy the claims of the States and other creditors. The States allege the transaction is designed to interfere with the creditors’ rights to collect on these liabilities and to require DuPont to address the contamination it caused. The coalition of States is asking a Marion County, Indiana, court for a temporary restraining order to freeze the assets. The proposed order would stop DuPont and its parent, Corteva, from using remaining funds for dividends and stock buybacks and stop Vylor from selling or pledging the seeds assets it just received. The lawsuit filing was led by the State of Indiana and, in addition to Vermont, was joined by the States of Alaska, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington, and the Government of Guam.