Practice Richard represents clients in federal and state court litigation as well as in matters involving federal and state regulatory and enforcement agencies. His courtroom experience includes jury trials, bench trials, class certification hearings, and the trial of a class action. His regulatory experience includes matters involving federal agencies-including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of the Interior (DOI) including its Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)-and state agencies-including the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Richard has represented manufacturers, insurers, financial institutions, solvent and chemical distributors, universities, and real estate developers as well as companies in the mining, petrochemical, trucking, railroad, recycling, and health care industries. Environmental, Natural Resources and Toxic Torts Litigation Richard's practice includes the prosecution and defense of CERCLA contribution, cost recovery, and natural resource damage claims; litigation of Clean Water, Clean Air, Oil Pollution, and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act claims; litigation of land use and water use issues, including inverse condemnation and takings, facility siting, water rights, and wetlands protection; and nuisance, trespass, and other common law property damage claims arising from alleged pollution or other causes. Richard also defends personal injury actions based on exposure to asbestos, benzene, and other chemicals and particulates ("toxic torts") and represents corporations and individuals who are accused of environmental crimes such as the illegal disposal or discharge of pollutants and related charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy. Administrative Enforcement and Regulatory Compliance In addition to his litigation work, Richard advises clients regarding administrative enforcement and regulatory compliance, including alleged violations of permits or other requirements; petitions for declaratory rulings; public comment regarding proposed agency rulemaking; obtaining NPDES, 404, Title V, NSR/PSD, and other permits as well as permit modification, renewal, transfer, and appeals; wetlands mitigation; stormwater; voluntary cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields; conservation easements; zoning and variances; and historic preservation and endangered species issues. He is also versed in legal issues in biotechnology-that is, pertaining to the development, use, and regulation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that potentially impact human and animal health, agriculture, and the environment. Other Litigation; Post- Verdict and Appellate Advocacy Richard is experienced in the prosecution and defense of claims in biotechnology and pharmaceutical litigation (including product development and professional liability), in business litigation (including fraud, breach of contract, antitrust and other unfair competition), and in insurance coverage disputes. In addition, Richard draws on his experience as a former university writing instructor and corporate technical writer to present his written advocacy, which frequently addresses scientific and technical subject matter, in as clear, concise, and yet thorough a manner as is possible, and he is available for purely post-verdict and appellate matters in addition to those requiring pre-litigation investigations, discovery, and representation in hearings and trials. Highlights * Advising various clients regarding air permitting compliance issues * Defending a city in Clean Water Act and state common law suit brought by adjacent property owner complaining of damage to property, including wetlands, allegedly caused by discharges of water from city property * Representing health-care provider regarding insurance coverage issues * Representing client in administrative appeals and state court litigation related to permitting of a coal mine by state environmental and surface mining agencies * Representing various PRPs in relation to EPA cost recovery activities at LWD, Inc. Superfund site (Calvert City, KY) * Representing facility owner regarding RCRA post-closure permit activities under jurisdiction of Alabama Department of Environmental Management ("ADEM") (Huntsville, AL) * Representing client pertaining to administrative action by ADEM and dispute with adjacent industry over who contaminated properties and to what extent * Representing client in CERCLA contribution litigation pertaining to the Anniston PCB and lead sites (Calhoun and Talladega Counties, AL) * Representing PRP in conjunction with hazardous waste enforcement action by state agency at former Arivec solvent recycling facility (Douglasville, Georgia) * Defended national accounting firm against professional liability claims * Represented oil company in conjunction with permitting of new dock facility on river * Represented manufacturing company in suit brought by over 2,000 plaintiffs for alleged personal injury and property damage from exposure to various chemicals as the result of air emissions * Defended client in conjunction with alleged criminal violations of federal Clean Water Act * Represented chemical waste generator in suits brought by employee of waste disposal facility and by transporter's truck driver for personal injuries alleged to have occurred in conjunction with the explosion of chemical waste during unloading of transporter's tractor-trailer * Defended a city against claims brought by state Attorney General for NPDES permit violations from discharges from a waste water treatment plant and claims by private-party intervenors for property damage allegedly resulting from SSOs * Defended client in CERCLA action and prosecuted counterclaims and cross-claims in relation to the Alabama Wood Treating site (Mobile, AL) * Represented individual and corporate PRPs in government investigation and cost recovery litigation pertaining to the Alabama Plating site (Vincent, AL) * Represented insurer in declaratory judgment action regarding coverage for alleged contamination of property adjacent to insured's * Represented client with regard to EPA investigation, pursuant to CERCLA, of a former tank wash facility (Mobile, AL) * Defended fee collection case and prosecuted counterclaims for erroneous use of congenic mouse strain in vaccine development * Represented PRP in cost recovery action by EPA and DOJ regarding removal at B&B Manufacturing Superfund site (Mobile, AL) * Represented client in conjunction with contribution claim by PRP group for shipment to M & J Solvents site (Fulton County, Georgia) * Defended product manufacturer in case of alleged benzene and toluene exposure * Represented developer in conjunction with alleged NPDES stormwater permit violation * Advised scrap metal company regarding compliance for recycling exemption under Superfund Recycling Equity Act ("SREA") * Assisted property owner in investigation and identification of source of contamination of contiguous stream and tributary by upstream manufacturing concern * Presented expert witnesses in case in which injunction obtained against proposed limestone quarry by proving imminent harm would result to university foundation-owned wetlands research preserve from quarry construction and operation * Advised chemical distributor in relation to sixty separate personal injury and property damage claims filed simultaneously in same court * Defended manufacturer of niacinamide (vitamin B3) in putative class action involving state-law antitrust/price-fixing claims * Obtained determination that no air permits required for two CO2 purification plants because no state or federal emissions standards would be exceeded * Prosecuted CERCLA cost recovery claim on behalf of holder of right-of-way against owner of contaminated property * Defended manufacturer in personal injury case based on alleged benzene exposure * Defended corporation that owned gas station in action by utility company to recover for damages to underground telephone system allegedly caused by leaking underground storage tanks * Obtained admission of client's property as one of first into ADEM Brownfields program * Obtained favorable agency declaration regarding placement of "off-spec solids" into NPDES-permitted, unlined surface impoundment * Negotiated favorable settlement of client's self-reported violation of state hazardous waste law by accidental disposal of cadmium-affected baghouse dirt in sanitary, rather than hazardous waste, landfill * Represented former owner of hazardous waste recycling facility in CERCLA action seeking contribution for clean-up costs from former owners and customers who generated and arranged for disposal or treatment of hazardous waste * Defended subdivision developer in a putative class action for siltation of a lake and alleged devaluation of residential properties * Defended university in suit brought by workers who alleged that renovating building emitted asbestos in violation of Clean Air Act * Obtained summary judgment for oil company against claims by adjacent landowner for property damage allegedly caused by leaking underground storage tanks * Defended U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General investigation of client for alleged price-fixing (no charges filed) * Defended numerous corporations in asbestos multidistrict litigation Honors And Awards At Cumberland School of Law of Samford University, Richard was Editor-in-Chief of the Cumberland Law Review. After graduation, he was inducted into Curia Honoris and received the Dean's Certificate of Appreciation. Richard is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell; is a Fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America Trial Lawyer Honorary; has been listed in the 2008 - 2011 editions of Alabama Super Lawyers® for Environmental Litigation; and was selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2011 and 2012 editions of Best Lawyers in America® -in 2011 for both Environmental Law and Natural Resources Law and in 2012 for both Litigation-Environmental and Natural Resources Law. Richard served as Chair of the Alabama State Bar Environmental Law Section for the 2010-2011 term, currently serves as Immediate Past Chair, and has been a member of the Section's Executive Committee since 1997. Community Involvement Board of Directors of the Parkinson Association of Alabama; Birmingham Volunteer Lawyers Program. Reported Cases United States v. DHS, Inc., 2010 WL 1994845 (S.D. Ala. May 17, 2010)(Clean Water Act -criminal) United States v. DHS, Inc., 2010 WL 1994841 (S.D. Ala. May 17, 2010)(Clean Water Act - criminal) State v. Alabama Wood Treating Corp., 2010 WL 1416507 (S.D. Ala. April 5, 2010)(CERCLA) Carr v. International Refining & Manufacturing Co., 13 So.3d 947 (Ala. 2009)(chemical exposure) Griffin v. Unocal Corp., 990 So.2d 291 (Ala. 2008)(chemical exposure) Ex parte International Refining & Mfg. Co., 972 So.2d 784 (Ala. 2007)(chemical exposure) Hammond v. Reynolds Metals Co., 219 Fed.Appx. 910 (11th Cir. 2007)(ERISA) Harrison v. Cemex, Inc., 2006 WL 3371564 (S.D.Ala, November 21, 2006)(ERISA) Southdown v. Allen, 119 F.Supp.2d 1223 (N.D.Ala. 2000)(CERCLA) Peters v. Amoco Oil Co., 57 F.Supp.2d 1268 (M.D.Ala. 1999)(mass tort - leaking underground storage tanks) Peters v. Brants Grocery, 990 F.Supp. 1337 (M.D.Ala. 1998)(mass tort - leaking underground storage tanks) Oden v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co., 1997 WL 842407 (N.D.Ala. 1997)(alleged age discrimination) Adair v. Troy State University of Montgomery, 892 F.Supp. 1401, (M.D. Ala. 1995)(Clean Air Act) Williams v. Delta Intern. Machinery Corp., 619 So.2d 1330 (Ala. 1993)(amicus) USX Corp. v. Mabry, 607 So.2d 249 (Ala.Civ.App. 1992)(worker's compensation) Towns Real Estate & Appraisal Services, Inc. v. Resolution Trust Corp., 753 F.Supp. 914 (N.D.Ala. 1991)(fraud claims) Speeches And Publications * "Wading Through the Clean Water Act: How to Keep Corporations and Officers Out of the Deep End," July 13, 2011, International Association of Defense Counsel 2011 Annual Meeting, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada (speech) * "Update on Certain Major Environmental Laws," July 30, 2009, National Business Institute, Environmental Law from A to Z, Birmingham, Alabama (speech) * "Writing Natural Resource Ordinances for Local Governments," September 28, 2007, Coastal Alabama Clean Water Partnership Workshop, Mobile, Alabama (speech) * "Enforcement and Liability, " July 18, 2006, Watersheds, Nonpoint Source Pollution, and Stormwater Workshop, at Weeks Bay Reserve, a component of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, Baldwin County, Alabama (speech) Related News 9/2/2011, Nine Starnes Attorneys Listed in 2011 Super Lawyers Business Edition 9/1/2011, Sixteen Starnes Attorneys Named to Best Lawyers 2012 7/13/2011, Richard Davis presented at the International Association of Defense Counsel Annual meeting 4/29/2011, Twenty Starnes Attorneys Listed in Alabama Super Lawyers 8/7/2010, Sixteen Starnes Attorneys Named to Best Lawyers 2011 7/20/2010, Richard Davis Named Chair of Environmental Law Section 5/1/2010, Ten Attorneys Named to Alabama Super Lawyers 2010 5/6/2009, Ten Starnes Attorneys Named to Alabama Super Lawyers 8/29/2008, Starnes and Atchison welcomes attorney, Richard E. Davis. |