“John is a very intelligent, hard-working, and thoughtful environmental attorney." - Benesch Client, Chambers USA
With three decades of experience as an environmental advocate for clients and training as a chemical engineer, John resolves environmental disputes by blending sound scientific positions with practical legal guidance.
John has used this pragmatic, fact-driven approach to negotiate and, when necessary, litigate on behalf of companies in the electronics, petroleum, metals, and manufacturing sectors in matters ranging from litigation of natural resource damage claims to settlement of substantial bankruptcy claims to negotiation of federal air emission standards. Because he understands the language of environmental scientists, John is able to advocate for reasonable, risk-based outcomes to environmental challenges.
John's environmental litigation experience encompasses defense of Superfund and Clean Water Act claims, common law "toxic tort" claims, and hazardous waste citizen lawsuits, as well as successful administrative challenges to actions by state and federal agencies. For example, John challenged the federal manganese emission standards for ferroalloys production, leading to a settlement in which the U.S. EPA withdrew its standards and adopted those proposed by our client. He also obtained summary judgment against Ohio EPA's challenge to a precedent-setting cleanup under Ohio's Voluntary Action Program. However, John believes that with creativity, diligence, and a sound technical approach, most environmental disputes can be avoided or resolved without costly litigation.
Representative Experience
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Defended a former batter manufacturer against Superfund and state law claims brought by a former owner of a secondary lead smelter who alleged that the client’s participation in lead reclamation agreements with the smelter constituted arrangement for disposal.
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Negotiated a RCRA closure plan with Ohio EPA to resolve contamination issues arising from leak of chromium transfer line.
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Developed extensive public comments on U.S. EPA’s proposed “Interpretive Statement on Application of the Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Program to Releases of Pollutants from a Point Source to Groundwater.”
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Defended the former owner of secondary lead smelter in Superfund litigation seeking cleanup of the smelter site and over 8000 off-site residential properties allegedly contaminated by aerial deposition of lead emitted by the smelter.
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Developed extensive public comments on U.S. EPA’s proposed “Reconsideration of Supplemental Finding and Residual Risk and Technology Review” of the Mercury Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for coal-fired power plants.
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Represented an Ohio municipality in obtaining reimbursement and indemnification from an industrial party whose wastes had contaminated the municipality’s public wellfield.
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Represented the owner of a former battery manufacturing plant on the Hudson River with respect to post-cleanup disputes with U.S. EPA regarding sufficiency of cleanup.
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Defended former owner of a semiconductor fabrication facility against efforts by the local water control board to draw the client into investigation and potential remediation of groundwater contamination emanating from a nearby Superfund site.
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Obtained dismissal of a foreign company from a billion-dollar California Superfund case by demonstrating that the client could not be deemed the corporate “alter ego” of a U.S. company that previously owned the site at issue, thus establishing that the client was not subject to the personal jurisdiction of a California court.
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Assisted with the development and eventual settlement of extensive environmental bankruptcy claims against chapter 11 debtors that had previously assumed such liabilities from the client.
