How important is it that timely notice of an environmental claim be given to your insurance carrier? And just what is "timely"?A federal appeals court in New York recently answered, "it's very important," and "timely" means as soon as practicable (but more than...
Environmental Contamination & General Liability In New York
In Oil Spill Case, Common Law Negligence Claim Against Insurer Not Time-Barred Despite Policy
Sometimes simple common law principles are the best way to litigate against insurance companies. Specifically, if the insurance policy calls for a two-year limitations period to sue, make sure your attorney alleges common law negligence against the insurance carrier...
City Council Members Seek to Redefine “Reside” in Local Lead Paint Law
New York City's lead-based paint law (Local Law 1 [1982]) requires landlords to remove lead-based paint in any apartment unit in which a child under 6 years of age resides. The issue in Yaniveth R. v. LTD Realty Co. was whether a child "resides" in an apartment...
Tonawanda Coke Corporation Enters into a $12 Million Settlement with DEC and EPA for Alleged Violations of State and Federal Environmental Law
The U.S. Federal Government and the State of New York jointly announced on May 11, 2015 a $12 million settlement with Tonawanda Coke Corporation for a litany of alleged environmental violations at TCC's western New York coke manufacturing facility.The settlement comes...
Can an Oral Contract Ever be an Enforceable Promise to Fund an Environmental Remediation?
When someone says the word "contract," what comes to mind? For most, it would probably be a signed piece of paper that sets out certain legally enforceable promises made between two parties. But oral contracts can exist, too, and an oral contract can be just as...
County Water Authority has Standing to Sue for Groundwater Contamination, but Timeliness is Governed by New York’s Three Year Statute of Limitations
Fixed contaminant standards need not be reached, much less exceeded, in order to cause an injury that courts can recognize. An intermediate appeals court in New York has ruled that the Suffolk County Water Authority may sue chemical companies for groundwater...
Largest Environmental Settlement in History Reached in Kerr-McGee Case
In a triumph of environmental responsibility and justice over corporate attempts to disclaim environmental liabilities, the former Kerr-McGee Corporation has been ordered to clean up after itself.Since its founding in 1929, Kerr-McGee engaged in a number of highly...
New Rules Governing Hazardous Waste Storage in New York City are Coming Into Effect: Will Your Facility be Ready?
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the New York City Council passed a flurry of laws designed to increase the resiliency of the City during future storm events. One of these laws, Local Law 143, requires operators of facilities that store hazardous substances to file...
A.G. Scheiderman and Assemblyman Sweeney Announce Legislation to Curb Pint Sized Pollutant that Poses Big Problem for New York
Perhaps you've heard of the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch," a "plastic soup" of floating waste in the Pacific purportedly twice the size of the United States, but did you know that similar plastic pollution has been documented throughout the Great Lakes? Attorney...
UPDATED: Federal Court Upholds $105 Million Judgment Against ExxonMobil in Bellwether Groundwater Contamination Litigation
Here's a pop quiz: after an eleven week trial in federal court, a jury hands down a verdict of nearly $105 million against ExxonMobil for contaminating New York City's drinking water. On appeal, the verdict is upheld. What environmental law enabled the jury to find,...
