Success Stories
In a significant victory for longtime B&D client Waste Connections, the Eastern District of Louisiana denied class certification in a high-stakes odor nuisance action concerning the Jefferson Parish Landfill. Ictech-Bendeck v. Waste Connections Bayou, Inc. The Waste Connections defendants successfully opposed a sprawling proposed class, which sought to represent residents over a 42-square-mile area alleging odor nuisances spanning 30 months.
This decisive win caps nearly seven years of litigation on the class issues and underscores the importance of strategic opposition to class certification in complex environmental nuisance actions.
B&D defended a railcar owner in litigation regarding alleged liability at the East Palestine, Ohio, Norfolk Southern train derailment. The argument raised issues of first impression, and in a decision with major ramifications for railcar owners, an Ohio district judge granted B&D’s motion to dismiss Norfolk Southern's third-party Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) claims against B&D’s client for cleanup costs at the site. B&D’s motion to dismiss argued that under the plain language of CERCLA our client was not liable as an “owner or operator” of its railcar during its transportation by Norfolk Southern as a common carrier. This matter underscores the strength and depth of our national CERCLA practice.
