John Griffith represents clients in a broad range of matters involving environmental issues.
John has litigated environmental and toxic tort cases, both in courts and before administrative agencies. Those cases have included class action lawsuits, federal and state enforcement actions in the courts, cost recovery actions, permit appeals and administrative investigations and litigation. They have involved petroleum, chlorinated solvents, lead paint, pesticides, asbestos, PCBs, solid and hazardous wastes, air and water emissions, animal waste and a broad range of regulatory requirements. He has also been involved in negotiations and litigation related to insurance for these matters.
John has devoted much of his career to representing oil companies in matters arising from leaks and spills of petroleum products. Those engagements have included jury trials in mass tort cases, counseling on immediate spill response, negotiation of consent decrees and negotiating settlements with injured parties prior to the initiation of litigation. He began work on his first gasoline leak case in 1981. He also represented a major trade association in filing comments on EPA’s technical regulations relating to underground storage tanks.
John has defended cases arising under the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, EPCRA, RCRA, CERCLA, TSCA and numerous state statutes. He has also represented clients in connection with criminal prosecutions and investigations. Finally, John assists on the environmental aspects of business transactions, doing due diligence, negotiating contracts, working with voluntary cleanup programs, counseling on insurance coverage and overseeing agreed upon remedial measures.
