Creative Solutions

Our client, a metal recycler, was sued for $5 million under state and federal environmental statutes related to the contamination and clean-up of PCB containing oil by the company that recycled our client's used oil. The Plaintiff collected used oil from our client among others which it then took to an off-site location where it was stored in large tanks holding oil from hundreds of different sources. When the oil in that tank was later tested and determined to contain PCBs in violation of state and federal laws, Plaintiff pointed the finger at our client. We soon learned that the Plaintiff had destroyed oil samples from other potential sources of the PCBs and filed a motion for sanctions for spoiliation of evidence. When our motion was granted with the judge prepared to give an adverse jury instruction, the case settled soon afterward.