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Home My WebLink About17031 1 RESOLUTION NO. 17,031 2 3 A RESOLUTION TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE 4 A RETAINER AGREEMENT WITH GRANT AND EISENHOFER, P.A., 5 AND TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY ATTORNEY TO PROSECUTE 6 AFFIRMATIVE LITIGATION ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF LITTLE 7 ROCK, ARKANSAS AS A NAMED PLAINTIFF IN FEDERAL CLASS 8 ACTION PROCEEDINGS SEEKING RECOVERY OF COSTS ARISING 9 FROM THE PURCHASE OF PFAS-CONTAMINATED FIREFIGHTER 10 TURNOUT GEAR; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 11 12 WHEREAS, the firefighter turnout gear (full-body structural protective suits worn by career 13 firefighters) was manufactured for decades using per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a class of 14 synthetic chemicals commonly referred to as"forever chemicals"due to their persistence in the environment 15 and the human body; and, 16 WHEREAS,the City of Little Rock has purchased firefighter turnout gear for the Little Rock Fire 17 Department over a multi-year period, and a substantial portion of that gear contained PFAS chemicals 18 incorporated by the gear manufacturers; and, 19 WHEREAS, the defendants in the referenced litigation Globe Manufacturing Corp., Fire-Dex, 20 LLC, Morning Pride Manufacturing,LLC(Honeywell),Lion Apparel,Inc.,W.L.Gore&Associates,Inc., 21 3M Company, and E.I.du Pont de Nemours and Company/Chemours Company are the manufacturers and 22 sellers of PFAS-contaminated turnout gear,and the litigation seeks recovery of replacement costs incurred 23 by municipal purchasers;and, 24 WHEREAS,a purchaser class action captioned City and County of Butte-Silver Bow, et al. v. 3M 25 Company, et al., Case No. 2:25-cv-00036-BMM, is currently pending before the United States District 26 Court, District of Montana, Butte Division, seeking economic recovery on behalf of municipalities that 27 purchased PFAS-contaminated turnout gear; and, 28 WHEREAS,Grant and Eisenhofer,P.A.(G&E)serves as lead plaintiffs counsel in the referenced 29 litigation. G&E will bear all litigation costs,and the City of Little Rock will incur no attorneys'fees,costs, 30 or expenses unless and until a recovery is obtained, at which time fees are paid from the proceeds; and, 31 WHEREAS,no Arkansas municipality is presently a named plaintiff in the referenced litigation, 32 and the City of Little Rock, as the first named Arkansas plaintiff, will anchor the Arkansas state subclass, 33 expanding the benefit of this litigation to other Arkansas municipalities; and, [Page 1 of 3] 1 WHEREAS,the court has established a deadline of May 5, 2026, for the addition of new named 2 plaintiffs to the complaint, and timely action by this Board is required to preserve the City's right to 3 participate at the class level; and, 4 WHEREAS,the Office of the City Attorney has reviewed the proposed retainer agreement with 5 Grant and Eisenhofer,P.A.,and recommends its execution;and, 6 WHEREAS,the Board of Directors finds that participation in this litigation is in the public interest 7 and serves the fiscal interests of the City of Little Rock and its residents. 8 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE 9 CITY OF LITTLE ROCK,ARKANSAS: 10 Section 1. Authorization to Prosecute Affirmative Litigation. The City Attorney is hereby 11 authorized to prosecute affirmative litigation on behalf of the City of Little Rock, Arkansas as a named 12 plaintiff in City and County of Butte-Silver Bow, et al. v. 3M Company, et al., Case No. 2:25-cv-00036- 13 BMM,pending in the United States District Court, District of Montana,Butte Division, for the purpose of 14 recovering costs incurred by the City in purchasing PFAS-contaminated firefighter turnout gear. The City 15 Attorney shall exercise supervisory oversight of this litigation at all stages. 16 Section 2. Authorization to Execute Retainer Agreement. The City Manager is hereby 17 authorized to execute a retainer agreement with Grant and Eisenhofer,P.A.,on terms consistent with those 18 presented to the Board of Directors, including a contingency fee arrangement under which the City incurs 19 no upfront fees, costs, or expenses. Any settlement of the City's claims shall require prior approval of the 20 Board of Directors. 21 Section 3. Authority to Take Necessary Action. The City Manager and the City Attorney, and 22 such other City officers and employees as they may direct, are authorized to take all actions necessary or 23 appropriate to effectuate this Resolution, including executing such documents,providing such records,and 24 making such filings as lead plaintiffs counsel may require to add the City of Little Rock as a named plaintiff 25 in the referenced litigation on or before the May 5,2026 court deadline. 26 Section 4.Effective Date. This Resolution shall be in full force and effect from and after its adoption. 27 Section 5. Severability.In the event any portion of this Resolution is declared or adjudged to be 28 invalid or unconstitutional,such declaration or adjudication shall not affect the remaining portions of this 29 Resolution,which shall remain in full force and effect as if the portion so declared or adjudged invalid or 30 unconstitutional was not originally a part of this Resolution. 31 Section 6. Repealer. All ordinances and resolutions,and parts thereof,which are in conflict 32 with any provision of this ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict. 33 ADOPTED: April 28,2026 34 II [Page 2 of 3] 1 ATTEST: APPROVED: 2 3 Rfax)ed )(3. 4 Shaqueena McDowell,Deputy City Clerk Frank Scott, r., ayor 9 P h' Y 5 APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM: 6 7 8 71/1, 9 Thomas M.Carpenter,City A orney 10 // 11 // 12 // 13 // 14 1/ 15 // 16 // 17 // 18 // 19 // 20 // 21 // 22 // 23 // 24 // 25 // 26 // 27 // 28 // 29 // 30 I/ 31 // 32 // 33 // [Page 3 of 3]