OAKLAND — The motion was filed in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. It has support from 20 attorneys general and nine major municipalities who are joining the effort to preserve assets for potential cleanup costs.

Corteva plans to spin off assets into a new company called Vylor on October 1, 2026. This restructuring would separate holdings from the parent company just weeks after the state requested judicial intervention.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta recently filed a second amended complaint in an existing lawsuit alleging that chemical companies shifted assets to avoid liability and failed to warn the public about PFAS dangers. He described the corporate structure changes as a deliberate attempt to obscure financial responsibility.

"If you’re confused by these corporate machinations, that’s exactly what these chemical companies intended," Bonta said. He argued that the complexity of the transactions serves to shield the entities from their obligations.

"This family of chemical manufacturers has been constantly changing hats and engaging in a decades-long campaign of deception to evade accountability for the widespread damage they caused to our environment and public health," he said.

The legal action targets the financial arrangements established during previous corporate divisions. New DuPont and Corteva capped their combined PFAS liability contribution at $2 billion. Chemours capped its PFAS liability contribution at $2 billion.

These caps represent a reduction in the funds available for remediation compared to the assets currently held by the companies. Corteva and New DuPont paid Chemours $150 million for control over insurance payouts. This payment transferred authority over potential claims away from the entity holding the primary liability cap.

"Today, we’re asking the court to immediately freeze Corteva’s assets to stop these companies’ efforts to avoid accountability," he said. He emphasized that the state intends to pursue all available legal avenues to secure resources for cleanup. Secretary for Environmental Protection Yana Garcia supported the legal move, noting the persistent nature of the chemicals.

"PFAS persist in the environment forever and present a clear public health risk," Garcia said. She stated that the lawsuit serves as evidence of the state's willingness to take aggressive steps to hold corporate polluters accountable.

"This lawsuit is proof that California will take aggressive steps to hold corporate polluters accountable for the harm that they have done and secure all available resources to clean up PFAS contamination," Garcia said. The chemicals are found in a wide range of consumer goods and industrial applications.

PFAS are used in consumer products including food packaging, cookware, clothing, carpets, shoes, fabrics, polishes, waxes, paints, cleaning products, and firefighting foams. These substances are stable in the environment, resistant to degradation, persistent in soil, and known to leach into groundwater.

Human exposure to PFAS can occur from contaminated air, water, soil, food, and consumer products. PFAS have been found in the blood of nearly all Californians tested for these chemicals. The presence of these compounds in the population raises concerns about long-term health effects.

PFAS exposure can cause adverse health impacts including developmental defects, liver, kidney, testicular, breast, pancreatic, and prostate cancers, adverse pregnancy outcomes, infertility, reduced bone density in children, and impacts on the thyroid and immune system. Manufacturers began testing the physiological and toxicological properties of PFAS as early as the 1950s.

By the 1960s, manufacturers had confirmed that PFAS were leaching into groundwater and contaminating the environment. By the 1970s, manufacturers had confirmed that PFAS bioaccumulate in humans. Despite this early knowledge, the companies continued to produce and distribute products containing these substances.

Why It Matters

The motion seeks to freeze $39 billion in assets, which represents a potential source of funding for cleaning up widespread PFAS contamination. Without this intervention, the planned spinoff could leave the new entity, Vylor, with limited resources to address the environmental damage and health impacts associated with the chemicals. The cap on liability contributions by New DuPont, Corteva, and Chemours limits the financial responsibility of these corporations to $2 billion each, a fraction of the assets being moved.

The case shows the ongoing challenge of holding chemical manufacturers accountable for pollutants that persist in the environment and human bodies for decades. With PFAS found in the blood of nearly all tested Californians and linked to serious health conditions, the outcome of this legal battle will determine the availability of resources for remediation and healthcare costs. The support from 20 other attorneys general and nine municipalities indicates a broad consensus among government entities that the asset transfer threatens public interests.

Timeline

On March 19, 2026, Corteva filed a DEF 14A form with the SEC on March 19, 2026. Later that year, on September 14, 2026, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to stop Corteva Inc. from moving $39 billion of assets. The motion was filed in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina on the same day.

During the announcement on September 14, 2026, he stated, "If you’re confused by these corporate machinations, that’s exactly what these chemical companies intended." He also said, "Today, we’re asking the court to immediately freeze Corteva’s assets to stop these companies’ efforts to avoid accountability." He added, "We will be dealing with PFAS for generations, and these companies need to pay for the harms they’ve inflicted on Californians and our environment." Secretary for Environmental Protection Yana Garcia commented on September 14, 2026, saying, "This lawsuit is proof that California will take aggressive steps to hold corporate polluters accountable for the harm that they have done and secure all available resources to clean up PFAS contamination." Garcia also noted on September 14, 2026, that "PFAS persist in the environment forever and present a clear public health risk."

What's New

Additional reporting confirms that Corteva filed a DEF 14A form with the SEC on March 19, 2026. Records show that Corteva, Inc. is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company's primary brand is Pioneer Hi-Bred International.