Groundwater Contamination Litigation: Proving and Defending Against Liability
Demonstrating Nexus, Causation and Injury to Recover Cleanup Costs and Other Damages
Recording of a 90-minute CLE webinar with Q&A
This CLE course will provide environmental counsel with a review of the regulatory structures for groundwater contamination, analyze lessons from recent significant cases, discuss trends for damage recovery, and outline best practices for proving and defending against liability.
Outline
- Federal and state regulatory structures
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Recent litigation
- Lessons learned from recent cases
- Trends in damages recovery
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Strategies for proving liability
- Identifying source
- Nexus
- Documentation
- Science
- Experts
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key questions:
- What are the lessons offered by recent groundwater contamination litigation?
- How are courts reacting to arguments linking hydro-fracking to groundwater contamination?
- What strategies can counsel employ to prove liability for groundwater contamination? Conversely, what strategies can defense counsel employ to defend against such claims?
Following the speaker presentations, you'll have an opportunity to get answers to your specific questions during the interactive Q&A.
Faculty

Alfred E. Smith
Partner
Nossaman
Mr. Smith is Chair of Nossaman’s Water Practice Group. He is a recognized expert in water and environmental law,... | Read More
Mr. Smith is Chair of Nossaman’s Water Practice Group. He is a recognized expert in water and environmental law, and is a trusted advisor on matters involving water rights, contamination remediation, groundwater adjudications, water transfers, recycled water, desalination, conjunctive use, climate change, and environmental regulatory compliance. His accomplishments include securing more than $500 million worth of contamination settlements in favor of his clients, helping negotiate one of California's largest water contamination mitigation settlements in favor of his clients and winning a unanimous decision from the U.S. Supreme Court.
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R. Trent Taylor
Partner
McGuireWoods
Mr. Taylor focuses on defending complex tort and products liability cases with an emphasis on public and private... | Read More
Mr. Taylor focuses on defending complex tort and products liability cases with an emphasis on public and private nuisance litigation, environmental contamination suits, and food safety issues. His experience includes defending clients in class actions, MDL coordinated proceedings, nationwide mass tort litigation, and appellate cases involving complex scientific and medical issues. Mr. Taylor’s practice in recent years has been concentrated in the defense of novel claims brought by plaintiffs, including public nuisance, civil conspiracy, unjust enrichment, and deceptive trade practices.
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