EPIC v. Pacific Lumber Co. (2001 to date)
Representing The Pacific Lumber Company ("PALCO") in an action brought by the Environmental Protection Information Center ("EPIC") asserting that silvicultural activities constitute point source discharges governed by section 402 of the Clean Water Act, notwithstanding EPA regulations defining silviculture as a nonpoint source. The matter is pending before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

PALCO - State Water Board Proceedings (2001 to date)
Represent PALCO in extensive proceedings before the State Water Board on an appeal from an order issued by the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board seeking to impose monitoring requirements in conjunction with the issuance of approved timber harvesting plans issued by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The matter is being heard de novo, in which full evidentiary hearings have occurred.

PALCO - North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board Proceedings (2000 to date)
Represent PALCO in pending proceedings before the Regional Board seeking to impose waste discharge requirements, cease and desist orders, and other limitations upon PALCO's timber harvesting pursuant to approved timber harvesting plans in five watersheds in Humboldt County, California.

EPIC v. PALCO (1998 to date)
Represent PALCO in an action brought by EPIC for violation of section 7(d) of the Endangered Species Act due to an alleged commitment of resources pending final approval of PALCO's Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) under section 10 of the Endangered Species Act. The matter was dismissed as moot following approval of the HCP and issuance of incidental take permits. Plaintiff's claim for attorneys' fees is pending on remand, following a favorable decision for PALCO from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. See 2001 DJDAR 7663 (July 25, 2001).

United States v. Cargill Salt Division (1998 to date)
Represent Cargill Salt in an action brought by the United States in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California claiming violations of the federal Clean Water Act on the ground that Cargill's disposal site, which collects rainwater, constituted a water of the United States and that runoff from the salt deposits constituted an illegal discharge of pollutants. This case is related to San Francisco Bay Keeper v. Cargill Salt Division and has been stayed pending the resolution of appeal in that case.

Wrigley v. Hurwitz (1997 to date)
Represent PALCO and related entities in an action brought in Humboldt County Superior Court by landowners with property adjoining the Elk River. The suit maintains that timber operations have resulted in property damage through flooding, deterioration of water quality and the like. The action includes claims of RICO and Business and Professions Code section 17200 violations.

San Francisco Bay Keeper v. Cargill Salt Division (pending U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California)
Representing Cargill Salt in a citizen suit brought by various environmental groups for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act's stormwater discharge requirements. This action is on remand to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California following Cargill's successful appeal of a summary judgment issued by the district court. The appeal invalidated the jurisdictional claim asserted by the environmental groups (and endorsed by the district court) that collected rainwater used by migratory birds was a water of the United States under the Clean Water Act. Reversal occurred following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. United States Army Corps of Engineers. 531 U.S. 159 (2001).

Rollins v. Hurwitz (1997-2001)
Represented Pacific Lumber and related entities in an action brought by more than 40 landowners who claimed their properties were damaged by a large landslide that allegedly resulted from PALCO's timber harvesting practices on lands above their properties. The case was favorably resolved in March 2001.

Mateel Environmental Justice Foundation v. PALCO (1998-1999)
Successfully defended PALCO in a Humboldt County Superior Court action brought pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 17200. The suit claimed that violations of the Forest Practice Act and Forest Practice Rules constituted unfair business practices.

Coho Salmon v. PALCO (1997-1999)
Successfully defended PALCO in litigation involving the alleged taking of coho salmon under section 9 of the federal Endangered Species Act, due to timber harvesting operations on 200,000 acres of land owned by PALCO.

Citizens for Open Access to Sand 8 Tide, Inc. v. SeadriftAssociation, 60 Cal. App. 4th 1053 (1998)
Successfully represented landowners in a proceeding before the Interior Board of Land Appeals and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California against claims that the public had acquired implied dedication easements over lands in a private residential subdivision. The suit claimed the lands had not been properly patented or confirmed into private ownership by the federal government. The landowners' motion for judgment on the pleadings was granted on the first day of trial and upheld on appeal.

Alaska Production Tax Litigation (1992-1994)
Selected by the State of Alaska to serve as lead trial counsel in complex litigation involving production tax and crude oil valuation issues against British Petroleum. The case was settled by the payment of $1.4 billion to the State.

State of California v. Superior Court (Lovelace), 11 Cal. 4th 50 (1995)
Successfully represented landowners in litigation arising from a dispute over accretions caused by hydraulic mining on the Sacramento River in the late-1800s. The landowners prevailed in the trial court, the court of appeal, and the California Supreme Court.

Cargill, Inc. v. United States (1985-1995), 700 F. Supp. 476 (N.D. Cal. 1988); 896 F.2d 354 (9th Cir. 1990), 55 F.3d 1388 (9th Cir. 1995).
Retained by Cargill, Incorporated (formerly Leslie Salt Co.) in litigation concerning the extent of the ability of the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to regulate seasonally ponded lands under section 404 of the Clean Water Act.

Sylvester v. United States Army Corps of Engineers, 882 F.2d 407 (9th Cir. 1989)
Successfully represented the developer in litigation concerning claims asserted by environmental groups with respect to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' NEPA regulations.

Mobil Oil Corp. v. Coastal Petroleum Co. (1980-1988)
Retained by the Mobil Oil Corporation to represent it in related cases in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, and various Florida state courts with respect to claims involving more than $2 billion asserted by the State of Florida and its mineral lessee, Coastal Petroleum, to phosphate and uranium mined by Mobil from lands along 26 miles of the Peace River in central Florida.

Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Mississippi, 484 U.S. 469 (1988)
Represented amicus American Land Title Association in this proceeding before the United States Supreme Court involving the test of navigability to be applied to tidally-affected, but non-navigable waterbodies.

Orange County Foundation For Preservation of Public Property v. The Irvine Co., No. 31-06-20 (Orange County Superior Court, 1987)
Successfully defended the landowner The Irvine Company and its title insurer with respect to claims asserted by a number of environmental groups that three islands in Newport Bay had been illegally sold to The Irvine Company's predecessors by the State of California. The issues involved concerned the validity of private title to most of the lands bounding or located on islands in Upper Newport Bay.

Fogerty v. State, 187 CaLApp.3d 224 (1986)
Represented the landowners around Lake Tahoe concerning the test to be applied in locating the ordinary high watermark on a regulated lake.

United States v. Riverside Bayview Homes, 474 U.S. 121 (1985)
Represented the private landowners before the United States Supreme Court in proceedings concerning the jurisdictional reach of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' authority over wetlands under section 404 of the Clean Water Act.

Summa Corporation v. City of Los Angeles, 466 U.S. 198 (1984)
Represented amicus curiae California Land Title Association before the United States Supreme Court in a matter involving the title to vast areas of land granted by the Mexican government within California prior to the acquisition of California by the United States. The State claimed that all water bottoms within such grants were subject to a pervasive state interest.

United States v. Aranson, 696 F.2d 654 (9th Cir. 1983)
Represented the landowners for the better part of a decade in a dispute involving claims made by the States of California and Arizona, the Colorado River Indian Tribes and the United States to lands along the Colorado River.

California v. Superior Court (Fogerty), 29 Cal.3d 240 (1981); California v. Superior Court (Lyon), 29 Cal.3d 210 (1981)
Represented the landowners in two companion cases through the trial courts and the California Supreme Court concerning the respective rights of the State of California and private riparian owners on all non-tidal navigable lakes and rivers in California.

Berkeley v. Superior Court, 26 Cal.3d 515 (1980)
Represented the landowners in a case involving the validity of land grants bordering San Francisco Bay including vast portions of downtown San Francisco.

Wilson v. Omaha lndian Tribe, 441 U.S. 468 (1979)
Represented a number of title insurance companies appearing as amicus curiae in an action in the United States Supreme Court relating to the validity of grants of land bordering the Missouri River that were being challenged by various Indian Tribes.

Leslie Salt Co. v. Froehlke, 578 F.2d 744 (9th Cir. 1978)
This litigation concerned the extent of the authority of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to regulate lands bordering San Francisco Bay under section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. Represented Leslie Salt Co. (now Cargill Salt).

Eureka Waterfront Litigation (1972-1978)
This litigation consisted of challenges by the State of California to the ownership of the entire waterfront of the City of Eureka on Humboldt Bay in northern California. The litigation proceeded over a period of nine years and was finally resolved after a six-month trial. Represented the landowners.

A.H. Robins Co. v. Department of Health Services, 59 Cal.App.3d 903 (1976)
Represented the A.H. Robins Company in pharmaceutical pricing litigation against the State of California.

Kaplan v. Great Western Ranches, Inc. (N.D. Cal. 1974)
Successfully represented a large title insurance and escrow company with respect to a $50 million claim predicated upon violation of the securities laws.

Willard v. First Church of Christ Scientist, 7 Cal.3d 473 (1972)
Represented the landowner concerning the interpretation to be given reservations in deeds.

Bank of Marin v. England, 385 U.S. 99 (1966)
Represented the successful Bank of Marin in the United States Supreme Court in a case involving the construction to be applied to the "automatic adjudication" provisions of the Bankruptcy Act, as applied to checking accounts upon which valid checks had been written prior to notice of bankruptcy.