Environmental Law

The Firm has frequently been called upon by its clients to handle environmental litigation. We are knowledgeable about the specialized legal issues in environmental litigation, and apply our broad-based litigation experience to the challenging issues that often arise in environmental litigation, including guiding and working with expert witnesses, interfacing with the lead or involved environmental agencies and municipalities, and real estate and environmental insurance issues.

The following are examples of environmental litigation handled by the Firm:

• The Firm represented the developer of a 300-unit apartment complex in environmental litigation in San Diego Superior Court against the developer's neighbor, a national defense contractor, for trespass, nuisance and CERCLA liability for groundwater contamination. The matter was resolved before trial on favorable terms for our client.
• The Firm currently represents a local governmental agency in the prosecution and defense of litigation concerning the remediation of a large area of land and bay sediments at the foot of Eighth Avenue and Harbor Drive in Downtown San Diego. The high profile case involves claims and counter-claims under CERCLA, the Oil Pollution Act, and the California Water Code, as well as claims and counter-claims for nuisance, trespass, contribution, and declaratory relief. The environmental issues center around the responsibility of the various parties who allegedly contaminated the site to pay the tens of millions of dollars necessary to clean up and remediate the site.
• The Firm represented three former owners of a land parcel in Otay Mesa, that had once been a dump site for City of Coronado burn dump ash, in complex environmental litigation in San Diego Superior Court and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Our clients were ultimately made whole, after several years of litigation, through a Cleanup and Abatement Order/Consent Decree, indemnity commitments from other parties, and our efforts of securing insurance coverage for their legal costs.
• The Firm represented a developer of an auto park in an environmental dispute over due diligence issues. The matter was resolved on a favorable basis to our client after we prevailed in several important hearings.