Scott Summy

Attorney at Law
Phone: (214) 521-3605
Fax: (214) 520-1181
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Biography

Scott Summy is a shareholder at Baron & Budd, one of the largest and oldest firms in the United States that specializes in environmental litigation. Mr. Summy heads up the firm’s Water Contamination Practice Group, whose practice is dedicated to complex water contamination cases all over the country. Mr. Summy primarily represents public water providers (i.e. municipalities, water districts, utilities) and school districts whose water is contaminated by an intrusive chemical. On behalf of these clients, Mr. Summy seeks cost recovery for treatment facilities, operation and maintenance costs of the treatment facility, out-of-pocket expenses and administrative costs. Mr. Summy also represents private well owners around the country whose wells are contaminated. Mr. Summy and the Water Contamination Practice Group currently represent approximately 200 public water providers across the country with MTBE contamination. He is designated co-lead counsel for all plaintiffs. Mr. Summy has reached settlements with most of the defendants in these cases, including BP. Mr. Summy fought very hard against BP and its every effort to thwart the cases in US Congress and in court.

Mr. Summy is continuing to file new MTBE cases across the country. He was also lead counsel in landmark environmental cases in California designed to protect natural resources. These cases were brought against all major oil companies and were successfully resolved resulting in Mr. Summy and his legal team earning the “Attorneys of the Year” award from California Lawyer in 2001.

Mr. Summy and the Water Contamination Practice Group are currently representing over 30 water providers in atrazine litigation. Other chemicals of concern involved in litigation with Baron & Budd’s practice include: TCP, TCE, PCE, and PFOA/PFOS. Baron & Budd is the largest firm in the United States representing public water providers and private well owners on a contingency fee basis. Mr. Summy has been selected to be included in The Best Lawyers in America from 2006-2010. He and his team were also Finalists for the Public Justice Trial Lawyer of the Year Award in 2009. Mr. Summy is licensed to practice law in Texas, North Carolina and New York. He is AV-rated by Martindale Hubbell.

Education

Texas Tech University School of Law (J.D. 1990)
Tarleton State University (B.A. 1986, cum laude)

Bar & Court Admissions

Texas
New York
North Carolina
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
United States District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas
United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana

Awards

Best Lawyers in America (Best Lawyers, LLC, 2006-2010)
Texas Super Lawyers (Thompson Reuters, 2003-2009)
Best Lawyers Under 40 in Dallas (D Magazine, 2004)
Best Lawyers in Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex (D Magazine, 2003)
Attorneys of the Year Award for Environmental Law (California Lawyer, 2001)

Professional Associations

American Ground Water Trust
American Water Works Association
Association of California Water Agencies
Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies
Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Environmental Law Section
Dallas Bar Association, Fellow
International Municipal Lawyers Association
Mealey’s Environmental Section
Mealey’s Toxic Tort Advisory Council
National Association of Water Companies
State Bar of North Carolina
State Bar of Texas, Environmental Law Section
Trial Lawyers Care, Inc.
Trial Lawyers for Public Justice
Western Environmental Law Center, Board of Directors

Presentations

Speaker, HB Litigation Conferences – Oil in the Gulf: Litigation & Insurance Litigation Coverage Conference, “National Survey of Cases Filed to Date & Coordinating State and Federal Cases,” June 24-25, 2010

Speaker, 360 Advocacy Institute – Gulf Coast Disaster: Representing the Plaintiffs – Individuals to Institutions, “Back to the Future – Limitations of Shipowners’ Liability Act of 1851 (46 U.S.C. § 30505),” May 20-21, 2010

Speaker, “Update on MTBE Litigation,” 4th Annual Energy Litigation Conference, October 19, 2005

Speaker, “Representing Public Water Providers in Water Contamination Cases,” IMLA Annual Conference, September 26, 2005

Speaker, “Groundwater Contamination Litigation Cases,” 67th Ohio Section AWWA Annual Conference, September 21, 2005

Speaker, “Emerging Contaminants and Their Impact on America’s Water Supply,” 2005 Ground Water Summit of the National Ground Water Association, April 17, 2005.

Speaker, “Lessons Learned in the Settlement and/or Trial of MTBE Cases,” Mealey’s MTBE & USTs Litigation Conference, December 7, 2004.

Speaker, “Transitioning Your Litigation Practice,” University of Texas School of Law Page Keeton Civil Litigation Conference, October 28, 2004.

Speaker, “Perchlorate: The Blast That Lasts,” Fall 2004 Conference of the CA-NV Section of the American Water Works Association, October 13, 2004.

Speaker, “Emerging Contaminants and Their Impact on America’s Water Supply,” 69th Annual Conference of the International Municipal Lawyers Association, October 5, 2004.

Speaker, “The 2003 Federal Energy Bill and MTBE Liability Protection: If You Fail in Court You Can Win in Congress,” National Ground Water Association – Ground Water and Environmental Law Conference, May 5-6, 2004.

Speaker, “Perchlorate in America’s Ground Water,” American Ground Water Trust, May 3, 2004.

Speaker, “PCE – The Groundwater Contamination Problem: Who Should Pay to Clean Their Waste from Our Water?,” Groundwater Resources Association – Investigation and Remediation of Dry Cleaner Release Sites, April 7, 2004.

Speaker, United States Composting Council 12th Annual Conference, January 25-28, 2004.

Speaker, “Protecting Your Drinking Water: MTBE Detects? The Solution to MTBE Pollution,” International Municipal Lawyers Association, October 12-15, 2003.

Speaker, “How Do We Pay for the Costs of Restoration?,” Tribal Concerns Perchlorate Contamination Conference, September 10, 2003.

Speaker, United States Composting Council 11th Annual Conference, January 28-30, 2003.

Co-chairman, Mealey’s MTBE & USTs Litigation Conference, November 4-5, 2002.

Speaker, Mealey’s MTBE Litigation Conference 2001, May 10-11, 2001.

Speaker, “Plaintiff, Defense and Expert Perspectives,” Mealey’s Toxic Tort Conference, April 17-18, 2000.

Speaker, American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources 30th Annual Conference on Environmental Law, March 8-11, 2001.

Co-chairman, UST and MTBE Litigation Conference, Mealey’s Emerging Toxic Torts, November 15, 1999.

Publications

Author, “Managing Claims Arising from the Gulf Coast Oil Spill: Multidistrict Litigation v. the $20 Billion Fund,” in TXLR, Vol. 25, # 26, July 8, 2010

Author, “The Legal Challenges and Ramifications of the Gulf Oil Spill,” Aspatore Special Report – Understanding the BP Oil Spill and Resulting Litigation – An In-Depth Look at the History of Oil Pollution and the Impact of the Gulf Oil Coast Disaster, 2010

Author, “Should the Public Pay for the Oil Industry’s Mistake?” North American Precis Syndicate, 2003.

Co-Author, “’Fuels Safe Harbor’ Provision Grants Immunity to MTBE Manufacturers,” New Jersey Law Journal, October 20, 2003.

Author, “MTBE Immunity Provision a Bad Idea,” Texas Lawyer, October 13, 2003.

Reported Cases

In re Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (“MTBE”) Products Liability Litigation, 175 F. Supp.2d 593 (S.D.N.Y. 2001).

Ashcraft v. Conoco, Inc., 218 F.3d 282 (4th Cir. 2000).

Ashcraft v. Conoco, Inc., 218 F.3d 288 (4th Cir. 2000).

Hartford Ins. Co. v. Commerce & Industry Ins. Co., 864 S.W.2d 648 (Tex. App.– Houston [1st Dist.] 1993, writ denied).

Sherwin-Williams Co. v. Trinity Contractors, Inc., 852 S.W.2d 37 (Tex. App.–Waco 1993, writ denied).