The Firm recently reached a favorable settlement of $1.25 million with several third party defendants in a complex environmental matter known as United States v. El Dorado County, et al.  The case concerns the remediation of the Meyers Landfill Site in South Lake Tahoe, where groundwater investigations have revealed both vinyl chloride and heavy metal contamination.  The Site operated as a municipal landfill from approximately 1947 to 1972.  The lawsuit was filed by the United States Department of Justice, on behalf of the United States Forest Service, against El Dorado County, California, and the City of South Lake Tahoe, California. 

Richard Dongell and Tom Vandenburg, along with Associate Shirin Kiaei, have defended the case for El Dorado County.  Shortly after appearing in the case, the Firm investigated the history of the Site, identified several potential third party defendants that sent waste to the Site, and filed a third party action against these parties, claiming that they shared in the responsibility under the Superfund statute, CERCLA, for cleaning up the Site and protecting Saxon Creek, which eventually flows into Lake Tahoe, from any possible contamination.  The Firm then aggressively prosecuted these claims and developed additional evidence in discovery connecting these parties to the Site.  We also worked closely with Dr. Kirk Brown, a nationally recognized expert on the subject of municipal solid waste streams, to support our claim against these parties.

Ultimately, these parties agreed to pay $1.25 million to settle our client’s third party claims.  This monetary recovery will bridge a major gap in funding the cleanup.