Practices

Environmental Law

Environmental Litigation & Superfund

We have extensive experience in all aspects of environmental litigation. We defend clients against government enforcement actions; we defend and prosecute Superfund and other cost recovery claims; we handle appeals from administrative agency actions; and we litigate insurance recovery claims, toxic tort claims, and other environmental cases. In the area of Superfund alone, we have handled numerous cases over the years.

One representative Superfund case is United States v. Atlas Minerals and Chemicals, Inc., 851 F. Supp. 639 (E.D. Pa. 1994), affirmed, No. 95-2030 (3d Cir. July 30, 1996), in which we represented a Fortune 100 company that, as a third-party plaintiff, had sued approximately 60 parties for cost allocation regarding the Oswald Landfill. After a 52-day federal trial in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, we recovered approximately $16 million for our client. Ken Warren tried the case as liaison counsel for third-party plaintiffs and argued the case for appellees in the Third Circuit, which affirmed the judgment.

In the continuing management of that case, Steve Miano is the head of the potentially responsible parties’ (PRP) Group Steering Committee for the site. Under his leadership, the group has obtained two successful five-year reviews and received high marks from the Environmental Protection Agency on the site cleanup.

Another representative Superfund case is New Castle County v. Halliburton NUS Corporation, 111 F.3d 1116 (3d Cir. 1997), rehearing denied, 116 F.3d 82 (3d Cir. 1997), which Ken Warren successfully argued before the Third Circuit on behalf of Halliburton in a case involving claims for contribution. This was the leading Third Circuit case on contribution actions prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Cooper Industries v. Aviall Services, Inc., 543 U.S. 157 (2004).

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