Success Stories
Lead Trial Counsel for BNSF in First-Impression Clean Water Act Citizen Suit (Largest in U.S. history)
B&D defended BNSF Railway in the largest environmental citizen suit, by dollars of relief sought, in U.S. history. The Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, and a host of local environmental groups sued BNSF in federal district court in Seattle. In a case of first impression, Plaintiffs sought to limit the rail transportation of coal by seeking Clean Water Act (CWA) penalties for alleged fugitive coal dust from all rail cars and trains. The statutory maximum penalty under the CWA for the allegations in the complaint was more than $3 trillion. One week into the trial, parties reached a settlement that included a $1 million supplemental environmental project, a non-binding coal car study, and no admission of liability.
