NH Jury Awards $4.3M to Amherst Homeowners in PFOA Class Action Trial

[Manchester, NH] – A Hillsborough County Superior Court jury on Friday, November 6, awarded a $4,360,000 verdict to a class of Amherst, NH homeowners whose private wells and properties were contaminated by PFOA, a “forever chemical,” released from the former Textiles Coated Incorporated (TCI) manufacturing plant.

TCI operated a manufacturing facility in Amherst, NH from approximately 1985 to 2006, using chemicals containing ammonium perfluorooctanoate (APFO), a form of PFOA. PFOA is part of the PFAS family of chemicals, which are resistant to breakdown and can migrate readily through soil into groundwater. In 2016, testing by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services found PFOA contamination in private wells near the site, and the agency began advising residents to use bottled water. In 2017, homeowners filed a class action lawsuit against TCI for the contamination.

“Amherst property owners have spent nearly a decade dealing with the consequences of contamination they never asked for, including the impact on the value of their homes,” said Morgan & Morgan founder John Morgan and attorney John Yanchunis. “TCI denied every allegation, and after three weeks of evidence, this jury rejected those denials on every claim. Communities across the country are grappling with PFOA in their drinking water, and they are watching cases like this one. This verdict shows that these claims can succeed at trial, and that companies can be held accountable. We are proud to have stood alongside our co-counsel to provide justice to the Amherst community.”

The case reached trial after the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled in May 2025 that the plaintiffs’ property damage claims could proceed. Throughout the case, TCI denied every allegation. After a three-week trial, however, the jury found that the company was negligent, negligently failed to warn of the harm, trespassed, and created a nuisance. The jury also found that the class of more than 200 residential homeowners suffered a loss in property value and awarded damages to compensate them.

The case was heard by Judge Amy B. Messer of Hillsborough County Superior Court, Northern District, Hermens et al. v. Textiles Coated Incorporated d/b/a Textiles Coated International, No. 216-2017-CV-00524. The class was represented by lead counsel Kevin Hannon of Singleton Schreiber and co-counsel, John Yanchunis of Morgan & Morgan and David Gottesman of Gottesman and Hollis, P.A.