B&D Team Receives Shout-Out from AmLaw Litigation Daily for New York Appellate Victory
American Lawyer’s Litigation Daily recognized a Beveridge & Diamond (B&D) team led by Principals Michael Murphy, Katrina Krebs (New York) and Jimmy Slaughter (Washington, DC) in its Litigator of the Week series for securing a unanimous decision in the New York Appellate Division for Seneca Meadows Landfill, the state's largest landfill. Seneca Lake Guardian, Inc. v. Seneca Meadows, Inc., --- N.Y.S.3d ----, 2026 WL 3252053 (N.Y.A.D. 3 Dept. Oct. 29, 2026).
The four-judge panel upheld the dismissal of claims under the New York State Constitution’s Green Amendment brought by environmental groups, local businesses, and residents challenging the landfill’s operations. The lawsuit also named the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as a defendant. The appellate court rejected the Green Amendment as a basis to compel a state regulator or private landfill operator to take specific regulatory or operational steps, and dismissed a request to enjoin a pending permit application as not ripe for review.
The panel also upheld the trial court’s ruling that the private plaintiffs could not bring a public nuisance claim because they could not demonstrate that any harm from odors was a “special injury” different from injuries suffered by others in the community. The Seneca Lake Guardian decision reaffirms New York’s limits on public nuisance claims brought by private parties, established in other appellate cases litigated and won by B&D.
The B&D team also included New York Senior Associate Vetone Ivezaj and Associate Tim Nevins.
Beveridge & Diamond litigates environmental cases in state and federal trial and appellate courts across the country. Our multidisciplinary team combines substantive expertise with air, climate change, and water regulatory programs, and a deep bench of trial-tested litigators to help our clients across industries succeed.
