Environmental Litigation

Companies of every size struggle with an ever-changing and increasingly complex system of environmental laws. Even when companies make a significant compliance commitment, claims can arise from private citizens as well as state and federal regulators. With litigators strategically located across the United States, Alston & Bird’s Environmental Litigation team has decades of experience in trial and appellate courts. We have the necessary insight to offer superior services to a broad range of domestic and international clients representing nearly every industry.

Our collaborative team of lawyers understands that you have competing needs in environmental litigation cases. From enforcement actions, compliance counseling, land use matters, and air and water quality issues to civil and criminal toxic tort litigation and class action suits, managing relationships with regulatory agencies and protecting your brand’s image are always a concern. We help our clients achieve their business and operational goals by understanding what’s most important to them and then developing efficient legal strategies aligned with those priorities.

We represent clients in complex, multiparty Superfund litigation as well as citizen suits brought under the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Our lawyers routinely defend claims brought under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Through more than 25 published federal and state environmental cases, we have shaped key principles that underpin the nation’s environmental laws.

We have had significant success resolving disputes before they become litigation. When prevention proves impossible, however, we have a proven track record of aggressive representation, positioning our clients for the most favorable settlement or a successful outcome at trial. Simply put, Alston & Bird is a go-to firm for complex environmental litigation.

• Defended over 1,000 personal injury claims in Birmingham, Alabama, and elsewhere related to alleged exposure to various isocyanate products in the coal mining industry.
• Defended a major defense contractor against 270 toxic tort claims based on historical rocket-testing and present-day groundwater contamination. Obtained a successful resolution and de minimis settlement after demonstration of fate and transport and statute of limitation issues.
• Successfully resolved 900 plaintiff air contamination toxic tort cases for an oil refinery after obtaining dismissals of all but 78 plaintiffs.
• Defeated putative class action involving the claims of 13,000 residents seeking damages for alleged lead and other metals exposures from former foundry operations.
• Obtained a criminal declination for a corporate parent and its subsidiaries in connection with Clean Water Act violations at a client’s wastewater treatment facility. Led the initial internal investigation into whistleblower allegations of illegal facility discharges and assisted the client with reporting suspected violations under EPA’s Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy. The U.S. Department of Justice Environmental Crimes Section and EPA Criminal Investigation Division filed charges against the former facility manager and supervisor, but brought no charges against the client parent or subsidiaries.
• Defended a national building products company in a mass tort action brought by more than 1,300 plaintiffs alleging personal injury claims caused by air and surface water emissions from a former wood treatment site. The principal chemicals of concern were dioxin, arsenic, creosote and chromium, which allegedly resulted in cancers, birth defects and other diseases. We obtained a significant early victory with the successful removal of all of the cases to federal court on fraudulent joinder grounds.
• Represented several major oil companies and independent oil companies in the defense of more than 30 lawsuits arising out of underground storage tank leaks.
• Represented a REIT in prosecuting claims to recover approximately $15 million relating to the costs of investigating and remediating soil and groundwater contamination at a regional mall. The case was tried to a jury and was favorably settled just prior to the closing of the defense’s case.
• Represented an oil company client in the defense of a private party cost recovery action brought by a real estate developer related to historical disposal of drilling muds.
• Represented a property owner in connection with the condemnation of property by Caltrans and the assessment of remediation costs associated with contamination existing on the condemned property. Tried the case to a jury, and after a two-week trial received a favorable result for the client.
• Represented a silicon chip manufacturer in the defense of a private party cost recovery lawsuit relating to contamination caused by a variety of solvents including TCE, TCA and PCE.
• Represented numerous potentially responsible parties (PRPs) in connection with the several Superfund sites located within California, including the Casmalia, Del Amo and South El Monte Superfund sites.
• Represented a client that managed wastewater treatment facilities throughout California in connection with claims alleging various permit violations relating to the treatment and discharge of treated wastewater.
• Represented several plating companies in connection with responses to an investigation of claims relating to violations of a wastewater discharge permit.