Board of Directors Special Called Meeting
April 28, 2026
4:00 PM
ROLL CALL
INVOCATION:
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
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CONSENT
AGENDA (Item 1) |
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1. RESOLUTION |
To authorize the City Manager to
execute a retainer agreement with Grant and Eisenhofer, P.A., and to
authorize the City Attorney to prosecute affirmative litigation on behalf of
the City of Little Rock, Arkansas, as a named Plaintiff in Federal Class Action
Proceedings seeking recovery of costs arising from the purchase of
PFAS-Contaminated firefighter turnout gear; and for other purposes. Staff recommends approval. Synopsis: The Office of the City
Attorney requests authorization from the Board of Directors for the City of
Little Rock to join as a named plaintiff in a pending federal purchaser class
action arising from the manufacture and sale of firefighter turnout gear containing
per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The litigation, captioned City
and County of Butte-Silver Bow, et al. v. 3M Company, et al., Case No.
2:25-cv-00036-BMM, is pending before the United States District Court,
District of Montana, Butte Division. Lead plaintiff's counsel is Grant and
Eisenhofer, P.A. (G&E), the nation's preeminent mass tort and
environmental plaintiff firm, which is actively litigating the case in
federal court. This is a purchaser class action for economic recovery — not a
personal injury case. The named plaintiffs are municipalities that purchased
PFAS-contaminated turnout gear; the defendants are the gear manufacturers
responsible for incorporating PFAS into those products. |