As a practicing trial and appellate lawyer in Texas for 34 years, my principal practice and research subjects usually deal with emerging issues in mass torts and environmental law. Concerns such as the Alien Tort Statute, global climate change and public nuisance litigation currently occupy my interests. Increasingly, these issues are involved in international disputes, so my work often addresses the permissible scope of those issues in the international arena. Procedures such as class actions and other aggregate case management methods are inevitably involved with those subjects.
Torts
A Political Question: Public Nuisance, Climate Change and the Courts (with John S. Gray), The Environmental Forum (2011)
When it comes to climate change regulation, one of the great discussions of our day...
Uncommon Law: Ruminations on Public Nuisance, Missouri Environmental Law and Policy Review (2011)
The ancient common tort of public nuisance is one of the most highly visible issues...
The Expanding Use of the Alien Tort Statute in International Human Rights Enforcement, Class Action Litigation Report (2009)
This article examines the historical foundations of the ATS, the complexities of its recent interpretations....
"Negligence in the Air?" Should "Alternative Liability" Theories Apply in Lead Paint Litigation? (with John S. Gray), Pace Environmental Law Review (2008)
This article examines various theories of alternative liability and the circumstances, policies and limitations under...
A Sub-Prime Tort? Public Nuisance - An Unfit Tool for Lending Regulation (with John S. Gray and Diana P. Larson), Washington Legal Foundation - Working Paper No. 157 (2008)
For the last decade, lawyers representing governmental entities such as cities, counties and states have...
International Law
The Theater of Climate Change, Westlaw Environmental Journal (2010)
In a season of failure the United Nations’ climate change initiatives have suffered yet another...
The Expanding Use of the Alien Tort Statute in International Human Rights Enforcement, Class Action Litigation Report (2009)
This article examines the historical foundations of the ATS, the complexities of its recent interpretations....
Armageddon Through Aggregation: The Use and Abuse of Class Actions in International Dispute Resolution, Michigan State University -- Detroit College of Law Journal of International Law (2001)
A troubling and dangerous phenomenon has emerged onto the international litigation landscape. The system of...
Environmental Law
Defendants Win "Round One" of Climate Change Litigation in United States Supreme Court (with John S. Gray), Westlaw Environmental Journal (2011)
In American Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut (“AEP”), the United States Supreme Court held that...
A Political Question: Public Nuisance, Climate Change and the Courts (with John S. Gray), The Environmental Forum (2011)
When it comes to climate change regulation, one of the great discussions of our day...
Uncommon Law: Ruminations on Public Nuisance, Missouri Environmental Law and Policy Review (2011)
The ancient common tort of public nuisance is one of the most highly visible issues...
The Boundaries of Public Nuisance (with John S. Gray), Westlaw Environmental Journal (2010)
Over the past 20 years, government entities have sought to use the vagueness of generic...
Practical Guide to Environmental Law and Regulatory Compliance in Texas (with John S. Gray), State Bar of Texas Corporate Counsel Institute (2010)
History teaches us that the natural development of our land and resources has been a...
Climate Change
Defendants Win "Round One" of Climate Change Litigation in United States Supreme Court (with John S. Gray), Westlaw Environmental Journal (2011)
In American Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut (“AEP”), the United States Supreme Court held that...
A Political Question: Public Nuisance, Climate Change and the Courts (with John S. Gray), The Environmental Forum (2011)
When it comes to climate change regulation, one of the great discussions of our day...
Uncommon Law: Ruminations on Public Nuisance, Missouri Environmental Law and Policy Review (2011)
The ancient common tort of public nuisance is one of the most highly visible issues...
The Boundaries of Public Nuisance (with John S. Gray), Westlaw Environmental Journal (2010)
Over the past 20 years, government entities have sought to use the vagueness of generic...
Uncommon Law: Ruminations on Public Nuisance, Toxics Law Reporter (2010)
Faced with allegations of planetary liability, wise jurists may decide that courts lack the resources...
Products Liability
"Negligence in the Air?" Should "Alternative Liability" Theories Apply in Lead Paint Litigation? (with John S. Gray), Pace Environmental Law Review (2008)
This article examines various theories of alternative liability and the circumstances, policies and limitations under...
The Mouse Roars! Rhode Island High Court Rejects Expansion of Public Nuisance (with John S. Gray and Thomas R. Bender), Washington Legal Foundation (2008)
On July 1, 2008, the Supreme Court of Rhode Island, the smallest state in the...
Alchemy in the Courtroom? The Transmutation of Public Nuisance Litigation (with John S. Gray), Michigan State Law Review (2007)
This Article continues our study of the public nuisance controversy regarding lead paint. Although lead...
Getting the Lead Out: The Misuse of Public Nuisance Litigation by Public Authorities and Private Counsel (with John S. Gray), Toxics Law Reporter (2006)
Despite the wide array of substances and products potentially subject to this expanded cause of...
Reunion in Salem: Updating the MTBE Controversy, Environmental Law Reporter (2006)
Concerned about groundwater contamination and the potential health effects of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE),...
Securities Law
Lifting the Veil: Pressures Mount for Climate Change Disclosures, The Electricity Journal (2009)
Measures from Sarbanes-Oxley to climate change legislation will pervasively transform the manner in which American...
Class Actions
Premature Burial? The Resuscitation of Public Nuisance Litigation (with John Gray), Toxics Law Reporter (2009)
On Sept. 22, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in Connecticut v....
The Expanding Use of the Alien Tort Statute in International Human Rights Enforcement, Class Action Litigation Report (2009)
This article examines the historical foundations of the ATS, the complexities of its recent interpretations....
Reunion in Salem: Updating the MTBE Controversy, Environmental Law Reporter (2006)
Concerned about groundwater contamination and the potential health effects of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE),...
Armageddon Through Aggregation: The Use and Abuse of Class Actions in International Dispute Resolution, Michigan State University -- Detroit College of Law Journal of International Law (2001)
A troubling and dangerous phenomenon has emerged onto the international litigation landscape. The system of...
The International Class Action: Comments on the Geneva Group Action Debates, Class Action Litgation Report (2000)
Public Nuisance
Defendants Win "Round One" of Climate Change Litigation in United States Supreme Court (with John S. Gray), Westlaw Environmental Journal (2011)
In American Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut (“AEP”), the United States Supreme Court held that...
A Political Question: Public Nuisance, Climate Change and the Courts (with John S. Gray), The Environmental Forum (2011)
When it comes to climate change regulation, one of the great discussions of our day...
Uncommon Law: Ruminations on Public Nuisance, Missouri Environmental Law and Policy Review (2011)
The ancient common tort of public nuisance is one of the most highly visible issues...
The Boundaries of Public Nuisance (with John S. Gray), Westlaw Environmental Journal (2010)
Over the past 20 years, government entities have sought to use the vagueness of generic...
Uncommon Law: Ruminations on Public Nuisance, Toxics Law Reporter (2010)
Faced with allegations of planetary liability, wise jurists may decide that courts lack the resources...