Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell assists clients in a broad range of environmental compliance matters. We are best known for work on unusually complex compliance and cleanup projects. Our attorneys routinely represent clients with respect to their rights and responsibilities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and other federal and state statutory schemes for the cleanup of contaminated sites and contribution claims for remediation costs. We also represent private parties, cities, counties, and other public jurisdictions negotiating and implementing administrative orders, voluntary cleanup plans, and consent orders; responding to compliance orders; acting on notices of violation; and in litigation.
West End 38, LLLP et al. v. Stinker Stores, Inc. et al., C.A. No. 20-CV-01847 (D. Colo. 2020) (represent a landowner in RCRA citizen suit against adjacent gas station whose UST releases caused petroleum contamination of soil and groundwater on landowner’s property)
City of Colton v. American Promotional Events, Inc., West, 614 F.3d 998 (9th Cir. 2010); City of Colton v. American Promotional Events, Inc., 277 F.R.D. 578 (C.D. Cal. 2011) (represented County of San Bernardino and number of other parties in major CERCLA cost recovery litigation; negotiated settlement that secured precedent setting protections for clients over objections of non-settling parties)
Atlantic Richfield Company v. State of California, et al., Case No. BC380474 (2010), Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles (represented multiple state agencies; after prevailing on key motions, the case was successfully settled on the third day of a scheduled five-week jury trial)
City of Rialto v. U.S. Dept. of Defense, U.S. District Court, C.D. California, May 25, 2007, 492 F. Supp. 2d 1193, 2007 WL 1805329; City of Rialto v. U.S. Dept. of Defense, U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit, Apr. 17, 2008, 274 Fed. Appx. 515, 2008 WL 1776571 (represented County of San Bernardino and number of other defendants; case dismissed when court found plaintiff failed to comply with the NCP)
Board of County Comm’rs of La Plata County, Colorado v. Brown Group Retail, C.A. 08-CV-00855 (D. Colo. 2008) (provided expert testimony on reasonableness of remediation costs)
Brown Group v. Hathaway et al., C.A. No. 01-AJ-0917 (D. Colo. 2001) (represented potentially responsible party (PRP) in CERCLA cost recovery, contribution, and common law tort action)
U.S. v. IBM Corp., C.A. No. 01-B-1017 (D. Colo. 2001) (represented PRP in CERCLA cost recovery action)
Colorado School of Mines v. AK Steel et al., C.A. No. 99-N-1863 (D. Colo. 2001) (represented third-party defendant/PRP in CERCLA cost recovery action)
Colorado School of Mines v. Teck Corp., C.A. No. 99-M-1310 (D. Colo. 1999) (represented assignor of claimant in CERCLA cost recovery and common law tort action)
Mathews v. Dow et al., 947 F. Supp. 1517 (D. Colo. 1996) (represented PRP in CERCLA cost recovery, contribution, and common law tort action)
See Brownfields for other project examples.