Kutak Rock partner Rudy Perrino and associate Vivian Pham recently prevailed in a high-profile environmental mass torts case stemming from the 2021 Carson, CA warehouse fire and odor complaint.

On June 29, 2026, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lawrence Riff granted the defendants’ motions for new trial, vacating an April 8, 2026 $8.8 million jury verdict and judgment against clients Virgin Scent, Inc., Day to Day Imports, that included $6 million in punitive damages against their officers. Judge Riff found that the late introduction of environmental evidence, after plaintiffs had repeatedly represented they would not seek to introduce it, unfairly prejudiced the defense. Our clients’ right to a fair trial was ultimately upheld.

This case, along with several other related cases, addresses a question of first impression in any court in the U.S., whether liability can attach on an ad hoc basis to discharges of hazardous materials associated with emergency fire suppression activities—a question the U.S. EPA has answered with a decisive “no.”