American Lawyer’s Litigation Daily selected a Beveridge & Diamond team consisting of litigators Megan Brillault (Principal, New York), Michael Murphy (Principal, New York), John Paul (Principal, New York), Jimmy Slaughter (Principal, Washington, DC), Katelyn Ciolino (Associate, New York), and Katrina Krebs (Associate, New York) as a runner-up for "Litigator of the Week." AmLaw Litigation Daily chose the team based on a pair of published decisions last week from New York State’s Appellate Division dismissing proposed class actions lawsuits against two landfills owned or operated by firm client Waste Connections.

The dismissed lawsuits suits brought public nuisance and negligence claims alleging that odors emanating from the landfills harmed private property rights and property values. The Appellate Division ruled that the complaints did not satisfy common law requirements that (a) private claims for public nuisance allege a special injury different than that alleged for the relevant community, and (b) negligence claims allege either physical injury or property damage. The four justices also concluded that in cases such as these, "the available remedy must be through effective governmental compliance and enforcement measures.”

Patrick Shea, Waste Connections’ Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, commented that "Waste Connections appreciates this important ruling from the New York Appellate Division properly interpreting Court of Appeals precedent on the tort of public nuisance as a limited claim, typically handled by public authorities, and recognizing that landfills are regulated by experienced state agencies, not private lawsuits."

The Appellate Division opinions are published at Davies v. S.A. Dunn & Co., LLC, --- N.Y.S.3d ---, 2021 WL 4897211 and Duncan v. Capital Region Landfills, Inc., --- N.Y.S.3d ---, 2021 WL 4897570 (N.Y. A.D. 3d Dept. Oct. 21, 2021).

B&D litigators representing the City of Newark, New Jersey won Litigator of the Week honors in January 2021, and in 2019-2020 B&D teams won Runner-Up honors four times.

Click here for an excerpt of the Litigation Daily article and here for B&D’s more in depth article about the decision, including links to other media coverage.

Beveridge & Diamond’s Litigation practice spans federal and state trial and appellate courts across the United States and includes a wide range of class action, nuisance, and toxic tort defense. B&D’s Waste Treatment, Recycling, and Disposal Services practice helps clients across industry sectors to minimize exposure to liability, ensure regulatory compliance, and develop business opportunities.