Toxic Tort and Environmental Litigation

Kenneth D. McGuire and wife, Elise Jeanette McGuire v. International Paper Company 1:92-CV-593(BR)(R), U.S.D.C. Southern District of Mississippi. One of multiple mass tort and class action cases defended for International Paper in Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana in which plaintiffs alleged personal injury and property damages related to paper mill effluent discharges that included dioxins. All cases were dismissed or settled on terms acceptable to the client.

Donald Baldwin and Brenda Sue Baldwin v. E.I. DuPont De Nemours and Company, et al. 1:94CV157. One of a number of cases defended for Ciba-Geigy, Inc. in which the plaintiffs alleged bladder cancer arising from exposure to textile dyes. Cases were ultimately settled for nominal sums.

Anna Mae Sherrill et al. v. Amerada Hess et al. 95-CVS-15754; Grover Bob Cloninger et al. v. Amerada Hess et al. 97-CVS-746; and Homer N. Smith et al. v. Amerada Hess et al. 97-CVS-7831, NC Superior Court. We defended ExxonMobil Corporation and Amerada Hess Corporation in multiple class action law suits alleging trespass, nuisance and personal injuries due to migration of and exposure to benzene via air emissions and groundwater contamination from petroleum storage terminals. We defeated class certification, after which more than 300 individual cases were cases were re-filed. After fact and expert discovery on the claims of selected bell weather Plaintiffs, all the cases were settled through mediation and on terms that were very satisfactory to our clients.

Cooperative Warehouse Inc. v. Cardinal Chemicals 95-CVS-00890, NC Superior Court. We represented Defendant in this case which involved a fire at a warehouse, resulting in the release of various herbicides and pesticides. Plaintiff sought approximately 20 million in damages. The strict liability claim was dismissed on the eve of trial and Plaintiff took voluntary dismissal of remaining claims. Plaintiff later refiled the case and all claims were dismissed on summary judgment, because there was inadequate expert testimony to support causation and damages.

Sharon E. Turner v. Union Carbide, et al. 96-CP-40332 and 40333, SC Court of Common Pleas. Plaintiff filed a wrongful death claim due to alleged exposure to ethylene oxide/propylene oxide copolymers. There was also a putative class action of some estimated 15,000 class members alleging occupational exposure to the copolymers. We defeated class action and thereafter settled wrongful death claim at mediation.

Glaxo Wellcome Inc. v. Monsanto Company 1:98CV00194, U.S.D.C. for the M.D. of NC. In this case, we represented a Plaintiff which alleged strict liability under federal statutes, breach of contract and fraud concerning contamination at a research facility in North Carolina. The matter settled at mediation after 3 years of discovery and motions practice.

Atlas Alan Maynard III, et al. v. Amerada Hess Corporation, et al., 00CV00068S, NC Superior Court, Hanover County. We represented ExxonMobil Corporation and 4 other refiners in a putative state-wide class action based on contamination of private drinking water wells with the gasoline additive MTBE. Plaintiffs alleged there were 900,000 class members, claiming that the risk of contamination justified certification of up to 3 sub-classes. Some of Plaintiffs' claims were disposed of on our motion to dismiss and the Court later denied Plaintiffs' motion to certify any of the sub-classes. Plaintiffs' claims were subsequently settled prior to discovery for a low six figure sum.

Coffey v. Appalachian Remolding, Inc. et al., 01-CVS-6338, NC Superior Court. After extensive discovery, we successfully resolved a complex toxic tort and property damage matter in which the Plaintiffs alleged exposure to toxic mold as a result of our client's remodeling of the Plaintiffs' home. Resolution of the case depended upon motions to exclude the plaintiffs' experts based upon the Daubert line of cases.

Louis Driver, et al. v. Royster-Clark, Inc., 01-CVS-962, NC Superior Court. We successfully defended property damage claims arising from the spill of liquid nitrogen fertilizer on the Plaintiffs' farm land. After the close of discovery, the case was settled on very favorable terms on the strength of our summary judgment motion that the fertilizer spill did not constitute a spill of a hazardous substance under applicable laws.

Cross Keys Against National Garbage Organization v. Republic Services of Kentucky et al. 2002-CP-40-0215 and Sandra and Danny Satterfield et al. v. Republic Services of Kentucky et al. 02-CP-44-359, SC Court of Common Pleas. These matters involved claims of personal injuries, nuisance and improper permitting at a regional municipal waste landfill in South Carolina. We represented the Defendants, prevailing at trial in the first matter and on initial appeal. Thereafter, both cases were settled the while final appeal was pending.

Jennifer Snider Scott, as Personal Representative of the Estate of James W. Snider, Jr., Deceased v. Rea Construction Company, et al., 02CVS2306, NC Superior Court. Defended claims involving Plaintiff’s decedent allegedly dying from exposure to hazardous and carcinogenic substances released from a hot mix asphalt plant. Case was dismissed.