Cliff Edwards and his law firm have over a decade of experience representing Montana citizens who have been damaged by BNSF's pollution. In 1997, our firm represented Park County against BNSF for dumping hazardous waste into the Park County landfill. A jury concluded BNSF had been dumping perchloroethylene - a solvent that can cause cancer, birth defects, and damage the liver and the central nervous system - into the Park County landfill since 1977. The lawsuit uncovered that at times BNSF even disposed of the waste in barrels marked "nonhazardous." Throughout the course of litigation, BNSF steadfastly denied they ever dumped toxic sludge into the landfill. However, during closing arguments BNSF conceded that it may have "accidently" dumped some sludge into the landfill. BNSF then claimed it wanted to be "good neighbors" and suggested $2 million should be given to the County for cleanup. Based on the evidence presented at trial, the jury awarded $14.5 million to Park County to clean up BNSF's toxic waste. BNSF is not going to, voluntarily, be a good neighbor.
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Since that verdict was awarded in 1999, the Edwards law firm has represented numerous different clients against BNSF in Livingston, Montana and across the state. BNSF's tactics never change. It always denies the extent of the pollution. It always purchases property near the edge of the plume and abandons the property leaving a blight. It always attempts to sidestep or overwhelm the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ). But the facts show, BNSF never cleans up unless it is forced.
In 2006, our law firm successfully argued Shammel vs. Canyon Resources standing side-by-side with the town of Sunburst while they argued Sunburst vs. Texaco to the Montana Supreme Court. These two cases were instrumental in establishing that a polluting party can be forced to fully remediate and restore the land it polluted to its natural, pre-pollution condition. This is an important distinction because the Montana Department of Environmental Quality ("MDEQ") only requires remediation to MDEQ cleanup levels - not pre-contamination levels. Furthermore, the Montana Supreme Court concluded that a polluting party could be forced to clean up its own property in order to stop the flow of pollution onto neighboring property.
