Morrison Foerster Wins Clean Water Act Jury Verdict for Inland Empire Waterkeeper

A Morrison Foerster pro bono team secured a jury verdict for its pro bono client Inland Empire Waterkeeper (Waterkeeper), a program of the clean water nonprofit Orange County Coastkeeper. 

On November 21, 2022, the jury sided with Waterkeeper on all claims against Corona Clay Company (Corona Clay) for its discharge of pollutants into Temescal Creek (also known as Temescal Wash), which flows into the Santa Ana River Basin, and deemed Corona Clay liable for thousands of days of violations. It was the first jury verdict in favor of a plaintiff in a Clean Water Act citizen suit since the U.S. Supreme Court’s April 2020 decision in County of Maui v. Hawai’i Wildlife Fund. 

Corona Clay will be ordered to fix its facilities’ pollutant discharges and pay civil penalties for its years of non-compliance. 

The MoFo pro bono team was led by William Frentzen with Matt Robinson, who served as co-counsel with Sarah Spinuzzi of Inland Empire Waterkeeper. Read more from Waterkeeper’s press release.