Environmental Experience Represented a medical manufacturing company in a two-pronged matter that included: (1) successfully defending and settling (on highly favorable terms) a CERCLA and corporate successor liability lawsuit filed by the owner of a commercial property in Los Angeles for environmental response costs alleged to have been caused by manufacturing operations of the company; and (2) successfully defending a California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) regulatory claim against the medical manufacturing company having convinced the agency that the company is not a corporate successor to its parent company. Represented a property management company with regard to its portfolio of environmentally impacted and potentially impacted properties, including shopping centers in Long Beach, California, Pasadena, California, and Montclair, California. This work has included successfully recovering $1.6 million in environmental reserve funds from a lender upon successful completion of environmental investigation at a Pasadena shopping center and ongoing regulatory oversight of investigation and remediation of environmental impacts at a Long Beach shopping center. Represented an industrial company and landowner in connection with sediment contamination at the Portland Harbor Superfund Site in Oregon Member of a team that defended through trial a municipal water and wastewater agency in a breach of contract action involving discharges of reclaimed water into a Clean Water Act-impaired water body; the case resulted in a complete defense judgment and was featured by the Daily Journal as a top 10 verdict for 2009 Represented wastewater agency in connection with EPA enforcement action and consent decree, citizen lawsuits by environmental groups, and Clean Water Act secondary treatment waiver Defended an agricultural chemical manufacturer and distributor in California state court in a multiparty coordinated products liability proceeding involving more than a dozen municipal water agency plaintiffs asserting groundwater contamination-related claims against numerous pesticide manufacturers and distributors Defended a metals manufacturer and former landowner against groundwater contamination-related CERCLA and common law claims by water agencies and enforcement lawsuit by EPA resulting in consent decree Represented a Southern California city in connection with an enforcement action by the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board over issues with the city’s wastewater treatment plant Successfully represented a municipal water agency seeking a consistency certification from the California Coastal Commission in connection with a Clean Water Act secondary treatment waiver Represent Northrop Grumman in insurance coverage lawsuit seeking costs incurred in responding to environmental enforcement litigation involving a site formerly operated by an entity acquired by Northrop. Assist several clients including real estate developers and buyers with procuring specialized pollution legal liability insurance policies to cover environmental claims.
