Environmental Litigation

For more than twenty-five years, Conrad O’Brien has successfully represented an array of companies (specifically “potentially responsible parties”), as well as individuals and defense groups in general environmental litigation matters.  The firm has, within the scope of our environmental litigation practice, represented their clients’ interests in a series of superfund, toxic tort, CERCLA, and environmental insurance litigation matters.

A selection of our representative engagements involving environmental litigation include the following:

• Represented numerous Potentially Responsible Parties  (“PRPs”)  in superfund matters involving landfill, superfund sites and environmentally related companies;
• Represented various PRPs in a cost recovery action in federal court concerning a Pennsylvania landfill;
• Represented a computer technology company in connection with a claim for natural resource damages from the NJDEP concerning our clients’ former manufacturing site;  
• Involved in litigation in federal court in New York concerning a superfund site concerning issues under CERCLA and the New Jersey Spill Act;
• Represented a variety of clients in private dispute resolution proceedings to allocate funding obligations for remedial actions undertaken by the PRPs;
• Represented both individual clients and defense groups in toxic tort actions arising out of activities at specific superfund sites;
• Served as group counsel for defendants in a toxic tort action brought about by landowners with property adjacent to a specific landfill entity;
• Represented clients who have been sued in private cost recovery actions under CERCLA and analogous state statutes;
• Represented a client in an environmental insurance litigation matter, including state court trials and litigation concerning Pennsylvania and New Jersey sites;
• Represented client in landfill litigation filed by the owner/operator of the landfill seeking compensation under the New Jersey Spill Act for site remediation against numerous parties, including  former owners of the landfill, and generators, transporters and municipalities alleged to have sent waste to the landfill;
• Handled a white collar investigation which arose from alleged environmental violation involving a company which operated a landfill in North Jersey and whether the company violated state and/or federal environmental laws by expanding the facility to create greater capacity;
• Handled “natural resource damage” cases brought against our client by the NJDEP, eventually resulting in a settlement;
• Handled representation of parties and witnesses with respect to regulatory matters involving the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and before the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board.

In addition to our representative experience as outlined above, we also have extensive experience in working with hydrogeologists and other environmental experts concerning groundwater, air and soil contamination.  We also have experience in working with other scientific experts as a result of our work in defending toxic tort, medical malpractice and product liability cases, including toxic tort claims concerning exposure to benzene, toluene and other chemicals.

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