Environmental Law and litigation

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

Toxic Torts

  • Defended Union Pacific Railroad Company as owner of contaminated property in a toxic tort action brought by 30 plaintiffs whose drinking water wells and properties were impacted by chlorinated solvents from other sources (two neighborhood dry cleaners) in a lengthy jury trial; the jury returned a defense verdict, finding that contaminants from our client's property had not migrated in groundwater to any plaintiff's well or property.
  • Defending actions brought by cities involving alleged pesticide contamination and subsequent closure of city-owned or operated drinking water wells, including defense of a former chemical manufacturer concerning claims regarding the pesticide DBCP
  • Representing refineries in defending claims brought by residents located near the refineries concerning alleged releases of airborne chemical substances
  • Representing companies in litigation brought by individuals alleging exposure to hazardous substances and fear of future injuries, including representing several companies as lead trial counsel in Penny Newman, et al. v. J.B. Stringfellow, et al. in Riverside County Superior Court, and successor claims
  • Representing companies in suits alleging diminution of property value due to subsurface presence of chemicals in soil or groundwater
  • Representing a chemical company in defense of hundreds of personal injury claims brought by banana workers in several Central American countries and the Philippines based on alleged exposure to the pesticide DBCP.
  • Represented a major California university in toxic tort claims arising from alleged environmental contamination from asbestos
  • Representing semiconductor companies against local residents claiming contamination of drinking water supplies
  • Representing several companies that owned and operated a former wood treating facility in a lawsuit brought by more than 2,000 plaintiffs in the Eastern District of California alleging violations of the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and personal injuries and property damage
  • Representing a chemical company defendant in multiple actions brought by municipalities, water providers and landowners alleging contamination and subsequent closure of drinking water wells due to the dry-cleaning solvent perchloroethylene
  • Represented a major oil company in multiple lawsuits brought by more than 14,000 plaintiffs concerning a release of a chemical catalyst from a San Francisco Bay Area refinery