Find Lawyers in Illinois, United States for Litigation - Environmental
Practice Area Overview
Environmental litigation and trial work encompass cases in federal court, state court, and before various administrative hearing boards. In federal court, cases frequently involve claims under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA” or “Superfund”) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”). Claims under those statutes are typically brought by the United States seeking to compel environmental investigation and clean up and/or to recover penalties and actual costs incurred by the government in conducting such investigations and remediation. Additionally, environmental trial lawyers frequently represent parties who have incurred significant costs to address contamination at a particular location and are seeking contribution from other parties (known as potentially responsible parties) who contributed to the contamination and resultant remediation costs. There are a number of other federal environmental statutes, such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act under which environmental advocacy groups can assert citizen suit claims seeking damages and injunctive relief for alleged violations of those statutes where the federal or state government has allegedly failed to enforce the statutes.
Most states conduct aggressive enforcement of their own environmental protection statutes, including mini-Superfund statutes, chemical handling and registration laws, and laws designed to regulate oil and gas operations and mining activities. These statutes allow state environmental agencies to assert similar enforcement and cost recovery claims against companies and other parties allegedly responsible for the release of hazardous substances into the soil, water, groundwater, or air. Additionally, most states have adopted statutes regulating the storage of petroleum products in underground storage tanks under which claims can be asserted by the government or affected parties as a result of releases from those tanks.
Another common type of environmental litigation involves claims for injury to natural resources (e.g., wetlands, lakes, rivers, and estuaries), brought by the trustees for the natural resources under CERCLA, other federal statutes or comparable state statutes. Trustees typically seek damages for injury to those natural resources allegedly caused by the release of hazardous substances. Those damage claims relate primarily to damages for loss of use of the resource while it is impaired or diminished because of contamination.
At the administrative level, environmental litigators frequently represent companies in enforcement actions relating to alleged violations of operating or discharge permits issued by state environmental agencies (including defense of civil penalty actions), the limits or conditions imposed in such permits, or the disposal, management, and storage of wastes generated through industrial and commercial processes. Those claims are typically heard by Administrative Judges appointed by the state.
Another major area of environmental litigation involves private party and class action toxic tort cases in which plaintiffs seek recovery for personal injury, property damage, and medical monitoring based on alleged exposure to hazardous substances in the air, soil, or groundwater. More recently, we have seen an increase in environmental litigation brought by citizens or environmental advocacy groups seeking to block or challenge the issuance of permits or authorizations to construct new power plants or related industrial facilities.
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Fredric P. Andes is a partner in the Chicago and Washington, D.C., offices of Barnes & Thornburg and the leader of the firm's water team. Fred is involved in counseling and litigation on issues arising under various federal and state environmental laws, with a special emphasis on Clean Water Act matters. Fred is also advising trade associations, industries, and municipalities on TMDLs, permits, and other water quality matters on the state and federal levels, including development of water...
An outstanding trial attorney, Shawn Collins is at his best in a courtroom. Since 1986, he has combined his powerful communication skills with an unrelenting commitment to his clients' causes to win trials and secure favorable settlements in courts across America. Shawn has extensive experience handling "high stakes" litigation in environmental contamination, toxic tort, wrongful death, partnership disputes, and breach of contract cases. Since founding The Collins Law Firm 25 years ago, Shawn...
Susan M. Franzetti has extensive experience in compliance counseling, regulatory and litigation matters. Ms. Franzetti has extensive experience in water pollution matters under both federal and state programs, including issues relating to NPDES and industrial pretreatment discharge permits, effluent toxicity, TMDLs, use attainability analyses, wetlands, CSO’s/SSO’s, rule-making proceedings, variances/site-specific relief, mixing zone demonstrations, antidegradation, antibackslidin...
Joe Madonia is leader of the firm’s Environmental Litigation team. For more than 25 years, Joe has defended and counseled clients on a wide array of toxic tort and environmental matters at the local, regional and national levels. Joe delivers strong skills as a litigator, multifaceted trial experience, and the regulatory know-how and scientific depth needed to problem-solve at virtually any level of sophistication or difficulty. His experience includes serving as national trial counsel ...
Jennifer T. Nijman is a founding partner of the environmental firm Nijman·Franzetti LLP with wide ranging experience in litigation defense and enforcement issues as well as issues involving waste and contaminated property. She was formerly a partner and chair of the environmental practice group at the Chicago office of a national law firm. Ms. Nijman represents clients in environmental litigation and enforcement defense, including toxic tort claims, private party disputes, and actions ...
Vincent S. Oleskiewicz regularly advises clients in the area of environmental law, including all aspects of domestic and international environmental regulation, permitting and compliance, environmental issues in real estate transactions, dispute resolution, and corporate transactional matters. During the course of his 30-year career, Vincent has litigated environmental matters that include CERCLA/Superfund actions and private and governmental cost recovery actions, RCRA litigation, groundwate...
Nancy Rich provides practical guidance to clients confronting environmental legal issues, whether they arise in litigation, transactions or regulatory matters. A former environmental prosecutor with the Illinois Attorney General's Office, Nancy has a detailed understanding of environmental agencies and the laws they enforce. She regularly advises corporate, real estate and financial services clients. Nancy's experience as an environmental prosecutor gives her an insider's understanding of how...
Andrew R. Running has extensive experience in environmental, insurance, toxic tort and general commercial litigation and arbitration. He has secured coverage victories for numerous clients in environmental contamination, product liability and toxic tort cases. Andrew has tried numerous environmental lawsuits involving claims of property damage and alleged regulatory violations, as well as litigation over the allocation of responsibility for the cleanup of hazardous waste sites. He has success...
Jacqueline M. Vidmar has more than thirty-years of environmental law experience, brings wealth of knowledge to transactional and regulatory matters and disputes. She represents companies in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, public utilities, health care and pharmaceuticals, transportation (rail and pipeline), and real estate. Ms. Vidmar excels in real estate portfolio management, M&A due diligence, contaminated property disputes, remediation and development, defense of gov...
Lisa is chair of the firm’s Environmental practice group. Her extensive experience in representing the government and private sectors in complex litigation and administrative proceedings involves the full spectrum of environmental concerns, including solid and hazardous wastes, air, water, mold, toxic substances, underground tank and pesticides. Lisa’s many years of in-house corporate and government experience allow her to provide cost-effective and practical counsel and to apprec...
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