Case Studies
J.S. Held Acquires Clark Seif Clark, Strengthening West Coast Capabilities for Environmental Claims, Disputes, and Catastrophe Response
Read MoreA California-based waste management firm was preparing a joint response by a team of contractors to a Request for Proposal (RFP) to expand a waste recovery facility. Market factors resulted in the RFP being withdrawn, resulting in one of the team members suing for damages, alleging lost revenue. The plaintiff also claimed lost profits due to the inability to generate Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) credits from its waste recovery facility. The plaintiff’s experts estimated the loss of revenue related to the sale of LCFS credits to be over $65 million. The plaintiff sued our client in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging total losses exceeding $500 million.
Tim Gillihan from J.S. Held's Economic Damages & Valuations team used his expertise in the financial evaluation of economic damage related to the loss of business revenue to challenge the opposing expert’s assumptions and methods. Dr. Philip Ludvigsen, a member of J.S. Held's Environmental Litigation and Advisory Services team, used his expertise in environmental attribute markets (e.g., carbon and LCFS credits) and professional leadership in the development and implementation of international environmental standards (e.g., ISO 14000 series, including Life Cycle Analysis) to rebut the plaintiff’s claims on the regulatory eligibility of projected LCFS credits.
Using their knowledge and experience with the applicable regulations, and industry standards, coupled with a financial assessment, J.S. Held’s experts were able to demonstrate the speculative nature of the estimated losses and rebut arguments that the plaintiff was entitled to such profits as a member of a joint venture and/or partnership with defendants acting as fiduciaries. Ultimately, the Court dismissed the plaintiff’s claim for over $500 million with prejudice.
Timothy Gillihan
Executive Vice President
Economic Damages & Valuations Practice
+1 510 740 0386
[email protected]
Phillip Ludvigsen, PhD
Senior Project Director
Environmental, Health & Safety Practice
+1 908 292 0198
[email protected]
> Environmental Risk & Compliance
Our team provides expert advice in the identification and mitigation of risk in environmental matters and develops solutions to deliver ongoing EH&S regulatory compliance and independent monitoring.
> Business Interruption / Lost Profits
We provide specialized expertise in the quantification of damages related to claims and disputes involving business interruption and lost profits. Our team combines their financial expertise and diverse backgrounds to effectively evaluate the insured's/claimant's operations and industry/market-specific factors, to quantify interruptions and lost profits.