David M. ("Max") Williamson

Some examples of his recent work include:

• Project Development Citizen Suit Litigation - Mr. Williamson served as lead counsel for a transportation and construction industry coalition in a series of lawsuits under the Clean Air Act and other federal statutes brought by environmental and local groups to stop highway and development projects in Atlanta, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Sacramento, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C.

• Real Estate Litigation - Mr. Williamson helped a small real estate developer force one of the world's largest oil companies to clean up petroleum contamination from underground storage tanks (USTs) impacting a mixed-use residential/commercial development in the District of Columbia.

• Clean Water Act Citizen Suit Litigation - Mr. Williamson represented the largest municipal wastewater authority in the country with precedent-setting litigation establishing that environmental groups may not use the Clean Water Act (or its civil penalty and attorneys fee provisions) to enforce complaints about odor or aesthetics.

• Clean Air Act Litigation - Mr. Williamson represented a small business coalition in the U.S. Supreme Court's review of federal EPA air quality standards in American Trucking Assns. v. Browner. He also helped defeat a state administrative enforcement action under the Clean Air Act New Source Review (NSR) program and Iowa environmental laws regarding the co-location of electric generating units with an ore-processing plant. He also successfully defended a pharmaceutical manufacturer in a dispute over Clean Air Act issues at a manufacturing plant in Puerto Rico.

• Toxic Tort Defense - Mr. Williamson is defending a major real estate investment concern in lead-paint litigation.

• Legislative Affairs - Mr. Williamson assisted the transportation industry with presenting air quality matters affecting federal transportation planning and project funding before the U.S. Congress and federal administrative agencies.

• Corporate Liability Litigation - Mr. Williamson helped defeat multimillion-dollar indemnification and environmental claims under the federal CERCLA statute and Delaware state law alleging that a parent company was liable for environmental contamination of Delaware Bay caused by its former joint venture subsidiary. He has also advised a Fortune 50 multinational corporation regarding liability for foreign subsidiaries and manufacturing facilities under U.S. and foreign environmental laws.

• Corporate Due Diligence - Mr. Williamson has assisted financial institutions, private equity groups, and public companies (both purchasers and targets) with environmental due diligence and disclosures involving mergers and acquisition and asset purchases. He has planned and conducted environmental audits at manufacturing facilities in New York, North Carolina, and New Jersey, including development of operating procedures and compliance tools. He has also advised clients with evaluation of waste treatment facilities and disposal options throughout the country, including Arkansas, Virginia, North Carolina, and New York.

• Municipal Litigation - Mr. Williamson successfully defended a District of Columbia government agency in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court, including winning a protective order and sanctions against opposing counsel. He also recently negotiated a settlement involving a Virginia municipality under the Clean Water Act regarding discharges to Potomac River from defunct coal-gas plant.

• Brownfields Development - Mr. Williamson has guided a major manufacturing company through remediation and real estate transactions involving contaminated properties (brownfields) in New York and New Jersey. He has also advised the District of Columbia government in drafting regulations under its new Brownfields Redevelopment Act.

• Environmental and Project Permitting - Mr. Williamson has assisted clients with obtaining or modifying permits under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Underground Injection Control Program, UST regulations, zoning and planning board approval, and other regulatory programs.

Significant court decisions:

BP Amoco Chemical Co. v. Sun Oil Co., 316 F. Supp. 2d 166 (D. Del. 2004).

American Canoe Ass'n v. D.C. Water and Sewer Authority, 306 F. Supp. 2d 30 (D.D.C. 2004).

Utahns for Better Transportation v. Slater, 295 F.3d 1111 (10th Cir. 2002).

BP Amoco Chemical Co. v. Sun Oil Co., 166 F. Supp. 2d 984 (D. Del. 2001).

Sierra Club v. Atlanta Regional Comm'n, 171 F. Supp. 2d 1349 (N.D. Ga. 2001), aff'd, 54 Fed. Appx. 491 (11th Cir. 2002).

Environmental Council of Sacramento v. Slater, 184 F. Supp. 2d 1016 (E.D. Cal. 2000).

United States v. Jorgensen, 116 F.3d 1487 (9th Cir. 1997).