Representative Cases

Jon L. Schwartz
Attorney At Law

1230 Peachtree Street, # 1900
Atlanta, Georgia 30309
Phone (404) 874-8919

John Draper v. H. Roberts Family, LLC, Civil Action No. 1:06-CV-3057 (N.D. Georgia 2009).  The Court held that a developer, home builder, and grading contractor each violated the Clean Water Act by failing to comply with best management practices for erosion control.

Cleveland v. United States, Civil Action No. 1:03-CV-1963 (N.D. Georgia 2006).  The court held that a toxicologist and geneticist were qualified under the Supreme Court’s Daubert standard to testify that in-utero exposure to toxic chemicals caused an infant’s brain tumor. 

Cleveland v. United States, Civil Action No. 1:03-CV-1963 (N.D. Georgia 2006). The court held that the United States did not have sovereign immunity under the Federal Tort Claims Act because government employees failed to follow an occupational safety and health manual.

Smart Growth-Forsyth County v. Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P. Filed appeals at the local, state, and federal levels challenging a proposed Wal-Mart SuperCenter. After suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for failing to assert jurisdiction over streams on the site, the Corps changed its determination and identified the streams as subject to Clean Water Act regulation. The county initially granted a variance to destroy the stream buffers, but reversed its decision in response to the appeal. Accordingly, Wal-Mart decided not to build the store.

Ouachita Watch League v. Jacobs, 463 F.3d 1163 (11th Cir. 2006). The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that environmental organizations had standing to challenge amendments to National Forest plans.  The Court also held that federal agencies are required to comply with mitigation measures set forth in planning documents.

Wilderness Watch v. Mainella, 375 F.3d 1085 (11th Cir. 2004). The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that the National Park Service violated the Wilderness Act and the National Environmental Policy Act by transporting tourists though a wilderness area in motorized vehicles.

Lincoln v. Tyler, 258 Ga.App 374, 574 S.E. 2d 440 (2002). The Georgia Court of Appeals held that flooding caused by an upstream development entitles the downstream landowner to recover all expenses of litigation, including attorney’s fees.

Burkhalter v. Claxton Poultry Farms, Civil Action No. CV-611-011 (S.D. Georgia 2001).  The Court approved a settlement agreement for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act which included financial compensation to downstream property owners and funding to start the Canoochee Riverkeeper.

Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project v. United States Forest Service, 162 F.Supp.2d 1365 (N.D. Georgia 2001). The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting two proposed timber sales.

Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project v. United States Forest Service, Civil Action No. 1-00-CV-2041-MHS (N.D. Georgia 2001) . The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia set aside two proposed timber sales and ordered the Forest Service to pay attorney’s fees.

Sierra Club v. Estill, Civil Action No. 1:00-CV-1755-CAP (N.D. Georgia 2001). The U.S. Forest Service withdrew 56 pending timber sales in six southern states.

Clients

• Altamaha Riverkeeper
• Canoochee Riverkeeper
• The Chattooga Conservancy
• Clean Streams Task Force
• Earth Island Institute
• Forest Conservation Council
• Georgia Conservancy
• Georgia Forestwatch
• Mothers and Others for Clean Air
• Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
• Satilla Riverkeeper
• Sierra Club
• Smart Growth-Forsyth County
• Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project
• The Wilderness Society
• Wilderness Watch
• WildSouth and
• Numerous other neighborhood associations and individuals

References available upon request