Attorney Profiles
Biography
Dallas-based Baron & Budd, P.C. has long been on the cutting-edge of litigation battling polluters for redress for illness and damage caused by environmental contamination. And water contamination is no different.
Under the leadership of Attorney Scott Summy, who successfully filed and litigated the first MTBE groundwater case in the U.S., Baron & Budd’s water contamination litigation practice is recognized as among the largest of its kind nationwide. Currently, the firm represents over 180 municipalities, water providers, and private well owners in 19 states in MTBE groundwater contamination litigation, as well as in water contamination cases involving TCP, atrazine, and TCE. Scott is one of the attorneys appointed as lead plaintiffs’ counsel in the MTBE Multi-District Litigation (MDL). Baron & Budd’s water department also represents the State of New Mexico in the MDL.
A frequent lecturer on the subject, Mr. Summy’s passion for clean, safe drinking water and his work on behalf of communities affected by groundwater contamination makes him a tireless advocate of water issues and a nationally recognized litigator.
"I have the coolest legal job in the world” says Scott. “When we are successful in our cases it results in clean drinking water for many families in the communities we represent, including kids and the elderly".
Scott has been selected by his peers for inclusion in the both the prestigious 2006 and 2007 editions of The Best Lawyers in America. In addition his work as lead counsel on behalf of a California environmental group earned his team the “Attorneys of the Year” award from California Lawyer in 2001. Scott has been named to the Law & Politics Media Inc list of “Texas Super Lawyers.”
Mr. Summy is the founder and President of a non-profit youth organization known as Texas Supreme Court Basketball, “SC”, which sponsors youth basketball teams comprised of many underprivileged who cannot afford coaches and tournaments. SC is designed to teach kids the life lessons learned from playing organized sports, helping them maintain focus on making the right decisions in basketball and in life. SC also tutors its kids who need assistance with academic studies. SC teams compete both locally and nationally and Scott is especially proud that the boys 4th grade team won the Basketball Congress International (BCI) National Championship in 2006.
Education
Texas Tech University School of Law (J.D. 1990)
Tarleton State University (B.A. 1986, cum laude)
Bar & Court Admissions
Texas
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
Awards
Best Lawyers Under 40 in Dallas (D Magazine, 2004)
Texas Super Lawyers (Law & Politics Media, Inc. and Texas Monthly, November 2004 and October 2003)
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, "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, “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).
Newsrss
Wall Street Journal: Oil Firms Settle Claims In MTBE Leak Cases
The Wall Street Journal breaks the news of the historic $422 million water contamination settlement Baron & Budd reaches on behalf of water providers in 17 states.... Read More
San Francisco Chronicle: Big MTBE settlement to benefit California
The San Francisco Chronicle touts big benefits for California from Baron & Budd's MTBE settlement with oil companies and water providers... Read More
Newsday: Suffolk to reap millions in pollution settlement
Newsday focuses on MTBE contamination in Suffolk County, NY and funds won in the $422 million settlement by Baron & Budd to remedy wells.... Read More
