The Legal 500

Jones Day obtains ‘good results’ and has a sizeable practice in the toxic tort space, where its extensive geographical reach is of benefit. Toxic tort has been an increasingly busy area for the firm, partly because of a growing number of cases relating to global warming issues, and it is adept handling cases brought by private citizens and public officials. It is defending Xcel Energy in a public and private nuisance lawsuit filed by the governing bodies of a village in Alaska, alleging that emissions of greenhouse gases from the defendant’s power plants are destroying the village. Other recent highlights include representing Sherwin-Williams as national counsel in all litigation relating to its lead paints and pigments and representing IBM in litigation alleging contamination of structures near its former manufacturing facility in Endicott, New York, via the medium of vapor intrusion from groundwater. For Motorola, it is defending against claims that exposure to chemicals at its former semiconductor facilities in Arizona and Texas caused prenatal injuries to babies. The highly rated Paul Pohl heads the practice from Pittsburgh. Other recommended attorneys include Charles Moellenberg, also in Pittsburgh, along with Thomas Fennell in Dallas, Carol Hogan in Chicago, Sharyl Reisman in New York and Houston partners Nancy MacKimm and Michael Rice.

King & Spalding LLP is ‘a big player in toxic torts, especially in chemicals’, and its 100-lawyer team and considerable scientific expertise makes it a tried and trusted option for many big-name clients. In 2010, the group was instructed by Shell to serve as lead national trial counsel in litigation alleging that drinking water in Redlands, California was contaminated with 123-trichloropropane due to defective products. The team won a defense verdict after demonstrating that the city was not harmed and the products were not defective. It also succeeded in removing 3M from a product liability case in Florida filed by the local water authority, which alleged that chemicals from fire-fighting foam manufactured by the client had contaminated two of its wells. The team also handles climate change litigation and has represented Chevron in successfully dismissing a number of cases. For example, in Comer v Murphy Oil – a putative class of Mississippi residents and landowners alleging that greenhouse gas emissions contributed to global warming that in turn intensified the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina – the firm took the lead in briefing the motions to dismiss, which were granted. The group’s lawyers are spread across offices in Houston, Atlanta, Washington DC, San Francisco and Austin, with Atlanta-based Kevin Buster identified as the firm’s standout individual for toxic torts.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP has been a key player in a number of complex toxic tort cases and its highly respected practice has considerable environmental expertise. It represented Dow and Rockwell, federally appointed operators of the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant north-west of Denver, in persuading the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit to unanimously reverse the district court’s $926m damages verdict for plaintiffs in Cook v Rockwell, a case alleging plutonium contamination. The team also defended 3M in a toxic tort brought by plaintiffs living near a former reclamation facility for industrial barrel in Chicago. Residents claimed exposure to various chemicals and sought damages for personal injury but the majority of plaintiffs ultimately dropped their claims and the firm negotiated a favorable settlement for the remainder. Other recent successes include securing a complete defense verdict for Dow in an asbestos case and the firm is also representing BP in litigation arising from the catastrophic explosion and oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. It is defending Raytheon in a highly publicized class action alleging that groundwater contamination from a facility in Petersburg, Florida has lowered property values and increased health risks for residents of the neighborhood. Chicago-based Kevin Van Wart is recommended.

Reed Smith LLP has been active in the toxic tort arena for a number of years, often handling large and complex litigation in a mix of national, regional and local counsel roles. The firm’s attorneys have considerable expertise in asbestos litigation, as well as silica, benzene, welding rod and other toxic torts. 3M is a longstanding client, having instructed the team on a number of cases arising from claims of workplace exposure to benzene and hydrocarbon solvents that allegedly caused various forms of blood cancer. The firm is also representing Smurfit-Stone as national counsel in various lines of litigation including personal injury actions and asbestos-exposure cases. Other clients include Johnson Controls and Pfizer. Much of the practice is based in New York, from where John Hooper heads the practice.

Arnold & Porter LLP has been steadily increasing its visibility in this arena and is ‘becoming one of the big players’. Areas of expertise include lead pigment cases, on which it advises Atlantic Richfield, and climate change, for which the group is BP’s national counsel. Indeed, it is defending BP in a case brought by an Inupiat native village in western Alaska alleging that greenhouse gas emissions from BP facilities are causing the loss of protective barrier ice, which would eventually render the village uninhabitable. The firm also acted for the client in a case alleging that greenhouse gas emissions intensified the effects of Hurricane Katrina resulting in greater property damage across Mississippi. Practice chair Philip Curtis in New York and Eric Rubel in Washington DC are recommended.

Dechert LLP’s litigation group is ‘among the top in its field nationally’, the result of ‘excellent service’ and a ‘keen awareness in bringing value for the cost’. Recent toxic tort instructions include serving as national coordinating counsel for Firmenich in litigation brought by workers in the microwave popcorn, candy and baking industries alleging that they contracted respiratory illnesses as a result of exposure to certain chemicals in the company’s artificial flavorings. The practice was also recently called upon by numerous organizations to offer strategic advice relating to potential toxic tort litigation relating to lead, asbestos, BPA and other chemicals. It also advises on litigation-risk due diligence associated with possible M&A and on risk mitigation. Specialty chemicals group Rhodia is among the firm’s longstanding clients. Sean Wajert is recommended.

Greenberg Traurig LLP has wide-ranging experience in complex environmental matters including MTBE and asbestos litigation. The firm acts as coordinating and lead trial counsel for Robert A Keasbey Co, an insulation contractor targeted by nearly 18,000 asbestos cases across the northeastern US. Other clients include Coronet industries and Mosaic; it represented the latter in a putative class action filed by commercial fishermen and others for economic damages allegedly resulting from the release of approximately 65m gallons of process water into Hillsborough Bay during Hurricane Frances. David Weinstein chairs the practice and is located in Tampa.

Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP’s New York-headquartered practice receives glowing praise from clients, who say ‘there is no issue or difficulty that it cannot handle and handle well’. The toxic tort group is widely recognized for its ‘extremely talented yet caring’ attorneys. Recent highlights include representing the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) in successfully moving to dismiss with prejudice a $1bn lawsuit brought by Spain alleging that ABS was liable for the oil spill from the tanker M/T Prestige, which sank in heavy seas off Spain’s northwest coast in 2002. The team is also representing Chemtall in a putative multi-state class action in West Virginia in which plaintiffs allege harmful exposure to polyacrylamide, a component of an industrial water-purifying chemical manufactured by the company. Co-chair Rob Patryk is ‘extremely intelligent, honest and hardworking’. Theodore Mayer, who was recently appointed managing partner, is ‘first class’ and always ‘thorough and responsive’.

The team at Latham & Watkins LLP has in-depth knowledge of the scientific issues present in environmental and toxic tort litigation. It is representing ConocoPhillips in MTBE contamination cases brought by water companies in the US, alleging that MTBE – an additive in gasoline used to reduce air pollution – affected drinking water. It also represented Ford in toxic tort litigation in which plaintiffs alleged personal injury and property damage from exposure to contaminants at a waste site. The team continues to represent Montrose Chemical in litigation concerning property damage and personal injury claims allegedly caused by exposure to chemicals at a former pesticide factory. Chicago-based Mary Rose Alexander is global chair of the environment, land and resources department, and is recommended along with Robert Howard in San Diego and Christine Rolph in Washington DC.

Mayer Brown’s practice is actively involved in numerous cases involving asbestos, diacetyl (the so-called “popcorn lung” litigation for Chemtura), and other chemicals. The firm has a longstanding relationship with Dow Chemicals and recently defended it in Comer v Murphy Oil, a multi-defendant case brought by Mississippi property owners alleging that energy companies contributed to climate change and increased the damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina. The group also defended the same client in a consolidated action brought by Alabama coal miners alleging injury caused by exposure to defective products. Other recent work includes defending NXP Semiconductors in two parallel toxic tort actions involving former manufacturing workers alleging that chemical exposure caused birth defects in children. Herbert Zarov is ‘one of the deans of the practice’, while Daniel Ring and Craig Woods are also recommended. All three are based in Chicago.

Morrison & Foerster LLP’s 13-partner toxic tort practice has considerable strength in toxic torts and has participated in a number of cutting-edge and precedent-setting matters recently. Although it operates on a national basis the practice remains best known for its work on the West Coast and is particularly busy in California. Recent mandates include serving as national coordinating counsel for Cytec in asbestos-containing product cases pending in several states. San Diego-based Don Rushing, one of the ‘stars of the practice’, has long worked with the client on all of its US asbestos-containing product litigation. The team is acting for Ricoh Electronics in a civil action filed against it and other major corporations by the Orange County Water District alleging that the historical release of perchlorate and solvents contaminated regional groundwater. The case, one of the largest of its kind, is anticipated to establish important precedent regarding the ability of a water district to utilize the provisions of a little-known Water District Act. The group has also been retained by Target in relation to allegations that its products contained small amounts of toxins that should be handled as hazardous waste. The California Attorney General’s Office and 30 district attorney and city attorney offices are seeking tens of millions of dollars in civil penalties and injunctive relief. San Francisco-based Robert Falk and Michéle Corash, and Los Angeles-based Peter Hsiao are also recommended. On the East Coast, New York-based Grant Esposito is the leading figure for chemical and asbestos matters.

Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP has a prominent environment practice and regularly acts for clients in toxic torts. In particular, it advises on climate change regulation and litigation and is often active in cases concerning alleged environmental impacts of greenhouse gas emissions released by a wide range of industries. The practice is Coca-Cola’s lead outside trial counsel in a mass tort action in Michigan involving allegations that historic wastewater handling practices at the company’s bottling facility caused the elevation of certain metals and compounds in groundwater, allegedly leading to personal injury, property damage and other problems. It was also engaged by Bayer CropScience to defend several toxic tort actions in Johnson County, Kansas, where plaintiffs were alleged to have developed cancer as a result of exposure to certain carcinogens at its facility. Other clients include Del Monte, Ford, Kraft, United Airlines, Siemens and Shell. Practice chair David Erickson in Kansas City is recommended. The practice also has teams in San Francisco and Miami.

Sidley Austin LLP regularly plays a leading role in toxic torts, including climate change litigation. It is representing several private utility companies, including American Electric power (AEP) and Duke Power Company, in a number of cases including litigation brought by a number of states concerning the defendants’ carbon dioxide emissions. The team’s other recent work includes a class action in which residents allege that greenhouse gas emissions contributed to climate change, thus intensifying the strength of Hurricane Katrina and increasing damage to their properties. The firm recently represented Bayer in three consolidated lawsuits filed by over 1,500 coal miners in Alabama alleging injury as a result of exposure to isocyanate-containing products used to secure coal mine roofs and facilitate ventilation. Other highlights included obtaining the dismissal of a complaint filed by Brazilian citizens in Indiana who claimed to have suffered injury as a result of environmental pollution and contamination emanating from manufacturing sites in Brazil. The ‘excellent’ David Buente in Washington DC heads the environmental group. Product liability practice head Michael Davis and James Mizgala, both based in Chicago, are also recommended.