Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP

Environmental and Toxic Tort Litigation

Partner and Co-Chair, Environmental and Toxic Tort Litigation

Dave has more than 35 years of experience in litigation and environmental law. He has first-chaired trials in state and federal courts. He has been responsible for directing and handling litigation in state and federal court on a variety of issues including environmental liability and allocation of responsibility, as well as individual, group and class action toxic tort claims that have included allegations of personal injuries, property damage and the need for medical monitoring. In addition to focusing on environmental and toxic tort matters, during the course of his career Dave has also handled bench and jury trials involving commercial and business litigation; construction litigation; insurance coverage disputes; intellectual property issues; product liability; premises liability; and professional liability.

For the last 30 years, Dave has devoted much of his time almost exclusively to environmental litigation, class action and toxic tort litigation, environmental regulatory issues, and environmental transactional issues. He has filed and defended numerous CERCLA allocation actions involving the government and private parties. A few examples of CERCLA litigation include matters pertaining to contaminated sediment sites on rivers and other waterways, former manufactured gas plant locations, landfills, dry cleaning facilities and drum recycling facilities, as well as private lawsuits and class action lawsuits involving regional groundwater contamination allegedly associated with contamination from industrial facilities for contaminants such as chlorinated solvents, PCBs, dioxins and petroleum products.

In addition to handling CERCLA cases instituted by the government or CERCLA allocation litigation among private parties, Dave has also defended citizen suits under federal statutes such as RCRA, the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act for personal injuries, medical monitoring and property damage, and that have been instituted by individuals on their own behalf or by individuals who purport to be representing others in class actions.

Dave has also represented and defended clients on many different types of administrative and regulatory compliance and enforcement matters. A few examples include alleged violations of §404 under the Clean Water Act; alleged violations of Toxic Substances Control Act provisions regarding new substance development and notification; administrative CERCLA allocation matters; administrative enforcement of permitting requirements under the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act; corrective action under Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and equivalent state statutes; asbestos abatement; investigation and remediation of industrial facilities; voluntary self-audits and self-reporting to federal and state agencies; National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permitting; and Underground Injection Control Deep Well permitting.

Dave has also represented sellers and purchasers on real estate transactions and corporate or commercial transactions. He has planned and participated in conducting Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments and advised clients on the potential environmental liabilities and exposure associated with such transactions. He has also participated in the preparation and drafting of stock purchase agreements, asset purchase agreements and real estate contracts.

American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources American Bar Association, Section of Litigation: Environmental Litigation Committee, Former Co-Chair; CLE Programming Subcommittee, Co-Chair (2009-2010); Judicial Intern Opportunity Program American Bar Association, Section of Tort and Insurance Practice American College of Environmental Lawyers Fellow Executive Committee (2017-2019) Defense Research Institute Environmental Law Institute, Leadership Council (2018-2019) Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel: Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Section, Vice Chair; Trial Tactics, Practice and Procedures; Product Liability Section; Corporate Counsel Symposium International Association of Defense Counsel Johnson County Bar Association Kansas Bar Association Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, Environmental Law Committee, Former Chair The Missouri Bar Wisconsin Bar Association

J.D., with distinction, University of Iowa College of Law, 1981 Iowa Law Review, Note and Comment Editor (1980-1981) B.A., with high honors, University of Texas at Arlington, 1978

The Legal 500 United States, Hall of Fame (2022) The Best Lawyers in America, "Lawyer of the Year" (2019, 2022) Fellow, American College of Environmental Lawyers Member, International Association of Defense Counsel Listed in The Best Lawyers in America Listed in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers