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Environmental Law

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Class Actions and Multidistrict Litigation

When companies face the daunting task of defending class actions, other complex cases or mass tort filings, they look for a firm with the technical and scientific resources necessary to win the day. More important, they want a firm with a proven record of successful trial experience in many jurisdictions. Thompson Coburn’s Environmental practice has repeatedly demonstrated its skill at handling and trying complex and significant cases.
Partners
Cohen, Edward A.
Kellmeyer, Joseph M.
Kennedy, Crystal M.
Sonderegger, Paul T.
Stone, Brian C.
Strassner, Peter S.
Associates
Bousquet, Kimberly M.
Kemper, Ryan Russell
Linzer, Ross E.
EHS Senior Advisor
McCombs, Max W.
  • Agrium
  • American Commercial Barge Lines
  • Bemis Company
  • BNSF Railway
  • Bunge North America
  • CKE Restaurants (Hardee's)
  • ConocoPhillips
  • ExxonMobil Coal & Minerals
  • ExxonMobil
  • Insituform Technologies
  • Kansas City Southern Railway
  • Laclede Gas
  • Mallinckrodt
  • Norfolk Southern
  • United Van Lines 
  • WCA Waste Corporation
Class Action and Multidistrict Litigation

Train Derailment
Thompson Coburn recently handled a significant case for a major railroad which was originally filed as a class action in St. Clair County, Illinois. The case arose from the derailment of a train with rail cars containing chemicals such as hydrochloric acid, vinyl chloride, and methanol, which resulted in the evacuation of approximately 1,000 individuals from their homes. The plaintiffs alleged that they incurred personal injury, sustained respiratory and dermal exposure to harmful chemicals, incurred medical and related expenses, incurred property damage, and experienced emotional distress. After we successfully obtained transfer of the case to Perry County based on the doctrine of forum non conveniens, a class was certified by the trial court and affirmed by the Fifth District Appellate Court. In a major victory, the Illinois Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Fifth District's class certification ruling and remanded the case. Thompson Coburn successfully handled and ultimately settled over 450 separate claims following the defeat of the class certification.
MTBE Potable Water Contamination
Our attorneys were actively involved in the methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) litigation cases consolidated in the Southern District of New York under the Multidistrict Litigation Rules. In the first phase of this litigation, the major oil companies in the United States were sued regarding their decisions to add MTBE to gasoline. The plaintiffs alleged that their private wells were contaminated from or threatened by MTBE in the groundwater. The suits sought class treatment in a number of states. We served as lead counsel for one of the major petroleum companies in the first round of this multidistrict litigation and simultaneously served as co-counsel for two other oil companies. We were an integral player in the defense group's successful effort to defeat class certification.