One of the hallmarks of the new year, as common as Auld Lang Syne and the ball drop in Time Square, are the “top” or “best of” lists that accompany the rollover of the calendar. These lists review what was big over the last twelve months (“Top 40 Songs of 2025”) or preview what’s likely to be big over the next twelve months (“Ten stocks to watch in 2026”). Since the arrival of 2026 coincides with the inaugural issue of the Midwest Monitor, we feel somewhat obliged to include a short preview list of our own.
2026 is shaping up to be an active year for liability developments, with long pending matters and new matters raising issues of interest in both the underlying liability claims and liability coverage arenas. While Zelle lawyers are staying abreast of all of them, here are the three issues we believe are most likely to top the general liability charts in 2026.
1. Illinois Supreme Court to address coverage for permitted emissions of pollutants.
One of the liability coverage issues that will most certainly be a topic of interest in 2026 is the matter pending in the Illinois Supreme Court, on a certified question from the Seventh Circuit, that will address the question of whether pollution exclusions in liability policies bar coverage for claims arising out of emissions that are authorized by regulatory permits. See, Griffith Foods Int’l, Inc., et al., v. Nat’l Union Fire Ins. Co., Supreme Court of Illinois, Case No. 131710.
The Seventh Circuit certified the question to the Illinois Supreme Court because of a potential inconsistency between two Illinois decisions, American States Ins. Co. v. Koloms, 177 Ill. 2d 473 (1997) (pollution exclusions apply only to “traditional environmental pollution”) and Erie Insurance Exchange v. Imperial Marble Corp., 2011 IL App (3d) 100380 (ruling that pollution exclusion was ambiguous and that the duty to defend was triggered because “it is unclear whether permitted emissions constitute traditional environmental pollution that is excluded under the policy…”).
According to the policyholder in the pending case, substances released under a permit issued as part of a regulatory scheme put in place to prevent pollution cannot be considered a pollutant. Conversely, the insurer has argued that, regardless of whether an emission has been permitted, the plain language of the exclusion does not contain an exception for emissions of pollutants that have been authorized by permit; a pollutant is still a pollutant even if the government allows its release.
Oral arguments were held on November 18, 2025, so a decision could come as early as March or April. Depending on the ruling, we could see an uptick in claims involving environmental liabilities.
2. Mass tort multi-district litigation involving PFAS, social media, hair relaxers, and GLP-1.
Mass tort MDLs are expected to be active in 2026 as new MDLs and bellwether trials in several pending MDLs get under way.
PFAS/AFFF (MDL 2873)
The Aqueous Film-Forming Foams Products Liability Litigation in the District of South Carolina currently consists of approximately 15,000 cases relating to fire-fighting foams which contain so called forever chemicals (commonly called PFAS). While the MDL includes state attorneys general lawsuits, water provider lawsuits, and natural resource damages lawsuits, the largest number of lawsuits are the personal injury suits brought principally by firefighters. The first personal injury bellwether trial was scheduled for October 2025 and involved a kidney cancer plaintiff. However, in August 2025, the court adjourned the trial date indefinitely when it discovered there were many thousands of unfiled claims that needed to be filed. Although the bellwether trial has not been rescheduled as of this publication, the conventional wisdom is that the court will reschedule the first kidney cancer bellwether for some time around the middle of 2026, with other bellwether trials on other types of purported injuries to follow.
Social Media Addiction (MDL 3047)
The Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability MDL is currently pending in the Northern District of California. These cases involve claims against four defendants that operate the social media platforms YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. According to the plaintiffs, the defendant corporations allegedly designed their platforms to intentionally addict minors and to foster dangerous and compulsive usage of the platforms leading to mental health injuries. The lawsuits are proceeding on theories of negligent design defects, failure-to-warn, public nuisance, and state consumer-protection and deception statutes. In addition to the federal MDL, there are separate lawsuits currently pending in California state court. The lawsuits are brought on behalf of individuals and school districts.
The federal MDL had previously scheduled the first bellwether trial for October 2025, but that deadline was vacated. The first MDL bellwether trials will likely begin in late 2026.
The first state trials are scheduled to begin in January 2026 with subsequent state trials scheduled for the spring or summer 2026. These state trials will likely be good indicators of how the MDL bellwethers will be perceived.
Hair relaxer (MDL 3060)
The hair relaxer MDL is pending in the Northern District of Illinois and, as of December 2025, involved nearly 11,000 lawsuits against the manufacturers of chemical hair relaxers alleged to cause cancer. The court has scheduled a Science Day for January 8, 2026, for both the plaintiffs and defendants to make presentations to the court to help educate the judge on the parties’ respective positions and theories related to the science likely to be presented at trial. Additionally, discovery for the bellwether groups will continue throughout 2026 and the first bellwether trials will likely be conducted in the second half of 2027.
GLP-1: Gastroparesis Litigation (MDL 3094) and Vision Loss (MDL 3163)
Litigation related to GLP-1 receptor agonists (medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro) is proceeding in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The gastroparesis litigation—relating to so-called stomach paralysis and other intestinal issues—involves nearly 3,000 cases as of December 2025. Proceedings relating to plaintiffs’ requisite proof of injury are under way, discovery and selection of the bellwether cases are proceeding, and the first bellwether trials are likely to proceed in late 2026.
On December 15, 2025, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation created a separate MDL for vision-loss related claims allegedly arising out of GLP-1s. The Panel ruled that a separate MDL was warranted because the medical and scientific evidence for vision loss claims is distinct from the evidence for gastroparesis claims.
3. Ultra-processed foods claims.
Ultra-processed foods (“UPF”) are foods that have been processed using various industrial techniques. UPF typically contains manufactured ingredients and additives to enhance flavor, mouth feel, and shelf life. There is a growing body of research exploring the alleged links between UPF consumption and chronic health conditions (including cancer and diabetes), with some researchers concluding that UPF are addictive and are linked to increased occurrences of cancer and other health conditions.
In response to these findings, various lawsuits have been filed against the UPF industry. Plaintiffs are accusing UPF manufacturers of engaging in misleading advertising (including intentionally targeting kids) and failing to accurately and adequately disclose the health risks associated with UPF products. Some plaintiffs have gone so far as to accuse UPF manufacturers of intentionally designing UPF to be addictive. Based on these allegations, UPF claims are drawing comparisons to tobacco and opioid litigation.
Claims filed to date include a putative class action brought in the name of a Pennsylvania teenager (since dismissed for failing to adequately plead causation and other elements and facts), and public nuisance claims brought on behalf of municipalities, with plaintiffs’ lawyers apparently looking for plaintiffs for additional actions. If these matters follow similar tracks as opioid and tobacco litigation, UPF litigation could be a major issue in 2026 and beyond.
This article was originally published in The Zelle LLP Midwest Monitor: Heartland Insurance Review
