Toxic Tort, Exposure, and Environmental Litigation

Attorneys

Robert D. Brownson

Kristi K. Brownson

Representative Cases

• Represented Arrowood Indemnity Company, f/k/a Royal Indemnity Company in Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London v. Soo Line Railroad Co., d/b/a, Canadian Pacific, Admiral Insurance Co., Hennepin County, Minnesota District Court, Case No. 27-CV-11-16790. This was a declaratory judgment action for insurance coverage for cleanup costs at the CERCLA (EPA lead) site at Ashland, Wisconsin arising from century old coal tar liquification plant on the Lake Superior waterfront. Coverage was sought for over $49M in remediation costs. A dismissal without payment was obtained.
• Represented Leucadia National Corporation, d/b/a, Conwed Bonded Fiber, in a Remedial Investigation by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection from a closed manufacturing facility in Burlington County, New Jersey, where we obtained a No Further Action (NFA) Order for an underground storage tank, rail spur, sewage pump station, a closed septic system, a surface impoundment area, and a drainage pond (Nellie’s Pond). With respect to Nellie’s Pond, we also obtained a NFO for a claim of natural resource and wildlife damages.
• Represented Railroad Friction Products Corporation (train brake manufacturing unit of Westinghouse Air Brake Company) in cases arising from the derailment of a 94 car taconite ore train on the north shore of Lake Superior in Twohig v. Railroad Friction Products Corp., No. 98-1683, (U.S.D.C., Minnesota), Korpi v. Railroad Friction Products Corp., Civ. No. 98-1684, (U.S.D.C., Minnesota) and LTV Steel Corp. v. Railroad Friction Products Corp., St. Louis County, Minnesota, District Court.
• Represented Conwed Corporation in a coverage action arising from a PRP Notice Letter for the BEMS Landfill in Burlington County, New Jersey in Conwed Corp. v. Associated Indemnity Corp., Burlington County, New Jersey, Superior Court, Law Division, Docket No. BUR-L-959-96, where summary judgment was obtained.

Publications & Presentations

• Asbestos Claims and Litigation: Update and Review: 2013 and 2014 New Case Filing Summary and Analysis, Asbestos Liability Risk Analysis Group, June 1, 2015, Robert D. Brownson Author, with ALRA Group
• Asbestos Claims and Litigation: Update and Review: 2012 New Case Filing Summary and Analysis,Asbestos Liability Risk Assessment Group, December 1, 2013, Robert D. Brownson Author, with ALRA Group
• Current and Historical American Asbestos Regulations; 2015 Update, Brownson Norby, PLLC, Robert D. Brownson and Kristi K. Brownson
• Asbestos Claims and Litigation: Pfizer v. Law Offices of Peter G. Angelos Case Analysis: Parent Company Asbestos Liability, Asbestos Liability Risk Assessment Group, 2013, Robert D. Brownson Author, with ALRA Group, http://www.alragroup.com/whitepapers.html
• Asbestos Claims and Litigation: Update and Review: 2011 New Case Filing Summary and Analysis,Asbestos Litigation Risk Analysis Group, October 15, 2012, Robert D. Brownson Author, with ALRA Group, http://www.alragroup.com/whitepapers.html
• Hidden Asbestos Liabilities in Corporate Transactions, Asbestos liability Risk Analysis Group, April 15, 2012, Robert D. Brownson Author, with ALRA Group
• Asbestos Claims and Litigation: Update and Review: 2010 New Case Filing Summary and Analysis, Asbestos Liability Risk Assessment Group, 2011, Robert D. Brownson Author, with ALRA Group
• Asbestos Claims and Litigation: Update and Review: 2009 New Case Filing Summary and Analysis, Asbestos Liability Risk Assessment Group, 2010, Robert D. Brownson Author, with ALRA Group, 
• Asbestos Claims and Litigation: Update and Review: 2008 New Case Filing Summary and Analysis, Asbestos Liability Risk Assessment Group, 2009, Robert D. Brownson Author, with ALRA Group
• Asbestos Claims and Litigation: Effects of the 2008 Elections: Summary and Analysis, Asbestos Liability Risk Analysis Group, June 20, 2008, Robert D. Brownson Author, with ALRA Group
• Asbestos Claims and Litigation: Update and Review: 2007 New Case Filing Summary and Analysis, Asbestos Liability Risk Assessment Group, 2008, Robert D. Brownson ragroup.com/whitepapers.html
• Asbestos Claims and Litigation: Update and Review: 2006 New Case Filing Summary and Analysis, Asbestos Liability Risk Assessment Group, 2007, Robert D. Brownson Author, with ALRA Group,
• Asbestos Claims and Litigation-Issues and Strategy: An Analysis of the Cases Against a Historical Context, Asbestos Liability Risk Assessment Group, Dec. 1, 2006, Robert D. Brownson Author, with ALRA Group , 
• Benzene State of the Art; The Defense Perspective, Mealey’s Benzene Litigation Conference, Phoenix, Arizona, October 17-18, 2005, Robert D. Brownson
• Presentation and Paper; Recent Developments in the Light Cigarette Litigation, Andrews Publications; Tobacco Litigation 2001; New Orleans, Louisiana, April 26-27, 2001, Robert D. Brownson
• Invited Panelist, The Tobacco Defense in Asbestos Litigation: A Short Course, South Miami Hospital, Miami Florida, January 3, 2001, Robert D. Brownson
• Proceedings, Technical Issues: The Migration of Toxins to Surrounding Areas of People, Mealey’s Daubert & Expert Admissibility Conference, pp. 401-28, Mealey’s Publication, 1999, Robert D. Brownson
• Technical Issues: The Migration of Toxins to Surrounding Areas of People, Mealey’s Daubert and Expert Admissibility Conference, pp. 401-28, Mealey’s Publications, 1999, Robert D. Brownson
• Presentation, The Use of Experts to Mount a Daubert Challenge to the Plaintiff’s Case, Mealey’s Daubert & Expert Admissibility Conference, Amelia Island, Florida, February 25-26, 1999, Robert D. Brownson
• Mealey’s Toxic Torts: New Exposures Conference 1997, The Mechanics of Environmental Health Surveillance and Medical Monitoring, Proceedings, pp. 315-26, Mealey’s Publications, 1997
• Proceedings, Current and Historical American Asbestos Regulations, 1st Italy – USA Conference on Malignant Mesothelioma and Other Asbestos Related Neoplasms, May 30, 1997, Monaldi Archives for Chest Diseases, Robert D. Brownson
• Invited Speaker, Current and Historical American Asbestos Regulations, 1st Italy – USA Conference on Malignant Mesothelioma and Other Asbestos-Related Neoplasms, Belgirate, Novava, Italy, May 29-30, 1997, Robert D. Brownson
• Presentation, SV-40-Contaminated Polio Vaccine Litigation, Mealey’s Toxic Torts: New Exposures Conference 1997, Amelia Island, Florida, January 20-22, 1997, Robert D. Brownson
• Presentation, Problems, and Pitfalls in Medical Monitoring: Recent Developments, Mealey’s Toxic Torts: New Exposures Conference 1997, Amelia Island, Florida, January 20-22, 1997, Robert D. Brownson
• Mealey’s Toxic Torts: New Exposure Conference 1997, The Mechanics of Environmental Health Surveillance and Medical Monitoring: A Checklist and Outline, Proceedings, pp. 315-26, Mealey’s Publications, Inc., 1997, Robert D. Brownson
• Participant, Workshop, Simian Virus 40 (SV 40): A Possible Human Polyomavirus, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, January 27-28, 1997, Robert D. Brownson
• Invited Participant, Workshop on Recent Advances on Pleural Mesothelioma, Department of Clinical Science and Biology, University Turin (Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche e Biologiche-Universita di Torino) Turin, Italy, May 7-8, 1996, Robert D. Brownson