Category Archives: Uncategorized

WATER: Is it a Public Trust Resource? Private Resource? Or Both?

William A. Ruskin's Toxic Tort Litigtion Blog Posted on by

co-authored by Devon Bombassei What is the Public Trust Doctrine? Is it a concept that can be wielded like a sword to bring environmental miscreants to their knees in a courtroom? Or is it a shield to protect the citizenry against overzealous private interests that would seek to use this precious natural resource for profit and corporate gain? As the debate over the use of water intensifies, the water industry–comprised of regional, municipal and private companies–is unsure whether the formal adoption of the Public Trust Doctrine by states and municipal entities may undermine long accepted business models and place constraints … Continue reading →

Causation Science Really Does Matter In NY Toxic Tort Litigation

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In what may arguably be the most terse “landmark decision” to be published by the New York Court of Appeals (68 words/two sentences), New York’s highest court affirmed a trial court order setting aside an $11m jury verdict holding Ford Motor Company liable for a former auto mechanic’s mesothelioma, alleged to have been caused by 25 years of exposure to asbestos while servicing Ford vehicles.    The tweet-length decision in Juni v. A.O. Smith Water Products, was a re-affirmation by the New York Court of Appeals of its reasoning in two prior key decisions, Parker v. Mobil Oil, 7 NY3d 434 [2006] and Cornell v 360 W. 51st … Continue reading →

Why The Long Island Sound Watershed Requires Protection

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There is the Long Island Sound and then there is the Long Island Sound Watershed.  Before you can effectively protect Long Island Sound from environmental contamination, it is necessary to understand the Long Island Sound Watershed and its strategic role in maintaining the water quality in Long Island Sound. We are all familiar with Long Island Sound.  With some 600 miles of coastline, the Sound covers over 1,320 square miles.  The Sound is an estuary, a body of water where fresh water from rivers draining from the land mixes with salt water from the Atlantic Ocean.  The Sound’s coastline includes more than 60 bays, with beaches … Continue reading →

Preparing Your Client for SDNY Mediation

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The growth of the SDNY mediation program increases the likelihood that a matter docketed there will be referred to mediation. There is a wealth of good information on the SDNY’s website that can help practitioners prepare their clients for participating in ADR in the court-annexed voluntary mediation program. The answer to many questions that a client may have concerning the SDNY mediation “experience” is likely provided on the court’s Mediation/ADR website.  Therefore, even if the practitioner has never mediated a case in the court’s mediation program, there is great deal of helpful information on the court’s website that explains what is involved and how the process … Continue reading →

Life Of An MDL Case Post-Remand

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What must defense counsel do to prepare for trial after a MDL court remands a case to the transferor court?  How are issues not resolved in the Multidistrict Litigation preserved for trial following remand. Not a great deal has been written about the strategic trial issues that may arise post-remand.  This may be because most cases transferred under 28 U.S.C. 1407 are resolved in the MDL and there is often little need to transfer back many cases at the completion of MDL proceedings.  Indeed, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation reported that, as of September 2013, only slightly more than six … Continue reading →