On July 23, 2026, Weil secured another significant victory for PepsiCo in a public nuisance litigation when Judge Audrey J.S. Carrion of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City granted defendants’ motion to dismiss the City of Baltimore’s remaining public nuisance claim in its entirety.

The lawsuit, filed by the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, asserted numerous claims seeking to hold plastics manufacturers liable for the alleged environmental, public health and economic impacts of single-use plastics that end up as litter on public streets and waterways. In July 2025, the Circuit Court dismissed all but one claim against PepsiCo and other manufacturers, staying the remaining public nuisance claim pending guidance from the Maryland Supreme Court on the scope of public nuisance liability under Maryland law.

Following supplemental briefing and argument, Judge Carrion granted defendants’ motion to dismiss the last claim, holding that Maryland law does not permit public nuisance liability based on the alleged effects of lawful single-use plastic products.

The decision marks the latest in a series of Weil’s groundbreaking victories for PepsiCo in plastics-related public nuisance litigation. Earlier this year, Weil secured summary judgment for PepsiCo in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit brought by Earth Island Institute in California. That victory came on the heels of the team’s motion to dismiss win in a similar action brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Together, the three decisions punctuate a significant run of victories, with courts in New York, California and now Maryland rejecting novel public nuisance theories seeking to impose liability on manufacturers for the alleged impacts of lawful plastic products.

The Weil team representing PepsiCo was led by Co-Chair of Weil’s global Litigation Department Drew Tulumello, partners Arianna Scavetti and Claire Chapla, counsel Trent Benishek and associates Brian Williamson, Laurel Zigerelli, Adam Mitchell, Caitlin Flanagan, Hannah Hess and Brady Morris (Not Yet Admitted in D.C.).