Attorney General Tong Objects to Kidde-Fenwal Bankruptcy Deal that would Enable Carrier to Evade Billions of Dollars in PFAS Forever Chemical Liability

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05/19/2025

Attorney General Tong Objects to Kidde-Fenwal Bankruptcy Deal that would Enable Carrier to Evade Billions of Dollars in PFAS Forever Chemical Liability

Bankruptcy Attempts End-Run Around Supreme Court Decision in Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy That Struck Down Third-Party Releases

(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong today objected to a proposed bankruptcy deal for firefighting foam manufacturer Kidde-Fenwal, Inc. that seeks to unlawfully release its parent company Carrier Global Corporation from liability for PFAS forever chemical contamination in the face of lawsuits filed by Connecticut and other states.

The bankruptcy deal attempts to resurrect a maneuver already declared illegal by the United States Supreme Court after Connecticut and other states objected to immunity for the Sackler family through the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy.

“Whether you are a family of billionaires or a multinational corporation worth billions of dollars, you cannot hide from liability behind someone else’s bankruptcy. We fought this in the Purdue bankruptcy and this question went all the way up to the Supreme Court. This is settled law,” said Attorney General Tong. “PFAS chemicals are a toxic menace to human health and our environment, and the cost to remediate this public health and environmental catastrophe will be massive. We will not allow Carrier to abuse the bankruptcy process to evade liability.”

Connecticut sued both KFI and Carrier in January 2024, alleging the companies knowingly contaminated Connecticut natural resources and harmed public health through toxic PFAS chemicals. Kidde-Fenwal is a former manufacturer of the “National Foam” brand of PFAS-containing aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) once commonly used in firefighting. Connecticut banned the use of AFFF in most circumstances in 2021 due to severe adverse human health effects, including increased cancer risks, birth defects, and endocrine disorders, among other concerns. Today, nearly all humans have PFAS in their blood. PFAS chemicals are toxic and can persist in the environment indefinitely. PFAS chemicals can travel through the environment, including into drinking water sources, and accumulate in human blood. Even modest releases of PFAS can cause widespread pollution and damage.

Connecticut’s lawsuit is pending in federal court in South Carolina, along with lawsuits from numerous other states, public water providers, and personal injury claimants. KFI and Carrier are estimated to be liable for billions of dollars in environmental damages from PFAS contamination. KFI filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2023.

The proposed bankruptcy plan would have Carrier pay creditors a total of $540 million over five years. Any recovery on KFI’s insurance policies after litigation would be split between Carrier and its creditors, up to $3.5 billion, after which all remaining recovery would go to creditors. In return, KFI would grant its parent company, Carrier, a release which seeks to eliminate all PFAS-related claims against Carrier. The plan was negotiated between KFI, Carrier, and attorneys for private plaintiffs, who would receive 8 percent of the proceeds of the bankruptcy plan in exchange for their support.

Connecticut, California, Colorado, Delaware, New York and the District of Columbia today strongly objected to KFI’s Disclosure Statement, which would send the plan to creditors for a vote. The objection asserts that the plan unlawfully expands the definition of estate release to include virtually all claims held by the states against Carrier, which has not filed for bankruptcy itself. The states’ claims against a third-party nondebtor cannot be released without their consent. Third-party releases were declared unlawful by the U.S. Supreme Court last year after Connecticut and other states challenged Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy plan, which sought to force states to release their claims against the Sackler family for their role in the opioid epidemic. The objection further argues that this plan does not contain adequate information to let creditors know what they stand to gain and lose if the plan is approved.

Click here to view the filing.

Assistant Attorney General Christopher Kelly and Deputy Associate Attorney General Matthew Levine, Chief of the Environment Section, are assisting the Attorney General in this matter.

Twitter: @AGWilliamTong

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Media Contact:

Elizabeth Benton
elizabeth.benton@ct.gov

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