Attorneys recognized for their work on In re: Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether Products Liability Litigation MDL 1358

Scott Summy

Celeste Evangelisti

Carla Burke

DALLAS –(July 8, 2009) – Scott Summy, Celeste Evangelisti and Carla Burke, all Baron & Budd, P.C. shareholders and part of the law firm’s water contamination litigation team, were selected as finalists for the 2009 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award by the Public Justice Foundation for their work in In re: Methyl Tertiary Butyl Products Liability Litigation MDL 1358. Summy and his team negotiated a historic settlement on behalf of 153 public water providers from 17 states in which the bulk of the country’s major oil refiners agreed to pay the costs of cleaning MTBE contamination from the water supply and to clean up any new MTBE contamination that occurs in the next 30 years.

The plaintiffs claimed that the chemical additive known as MTBE was a defective product that led to widespread contamination of groundwater, even though the companies knew of the environmental and health risks of using it. Oil companies used MTBE heavily in the 1990s after the 1990 Amendment to the Clean Air Act, which required the use of oxygenates in gasoline in certain areas of the country that did not meet clean air standards. Even though oil companies knew of the risks associated with MTBE, most companies chose the chemical because it was cheaper than other available oxygenates and readily available.

Scott Summy, who leads Baron & Budd’s water contamination litigation team, is one of the nation’s most experienced “water lawyers.” In 1995, he filed and successfully litigated the country’s first lawsuit involving MTBE contamination. His experience and leadership were instrumental in facilitating the settlement.

“I’m very proud of the team’s work in this case,” said Summy. “There’s more work to be done to protect public water supplies—which are threatened by a variety of agricultural, petrochemical and industrial chemicals. But we’ve showed that we can, and we will, fight to protect the safety of our water.”

Three years ago, another Baron & Budd team of attorneys received the Public Justice 2006 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award for the law firm’s work on two cases over 21 years involving over 1,600 plaintiffs injured by groundwater contamination in Tucson, Arizona. Baron & Budd continues to pursue cases involving contamination of public water supplies to help protect the safety of our communities’ drinking water.

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About Baron & Budd

Dallas-based Baron & Budd, P.C., with offices in Baton Rouge, Austin and Beverly Hills, is a nationally recognized firm that has over three decades of experience representing people and communities harmed by corporate negligence. The firm resolved one of the first asbestos exposure cases in the United States in the 1970s and has continued to help people and communities affected by exposure to asbestos, water contaminants and other toxins.

Contact: Susan Jones Knape
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