Anti-fluoridation groups urged a California federal judge in a hearing Thursday to grant them $9.5 million in attorney fees for winning a 2024 decision that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency‘s “optimal” fluoride level for drinking water poses an unreasonable risk of lowering children’s IQ.
In an October filing to the court, the EPA argued no fees should be awarded for the first trial phase. But at the start of Thursday’s hearing in San Francisco, Judge Chen made it clear that he saw the trial as “continuing” from the first phase to the second.
“I did consider the trial records in both phases,” the judge said. “So, it seems to me that it’s fair to include time spent on the first trial.”
Original article online at: https://www.law360.com/amp/articles/2423847