Gordon Duus’ practice is multi-faceted and includes extensive experience in the following:
Transactions. Gordon has handled the environmental aspects of thousands of real estate and commercial transactions. This includes representing clients who are buying, selling, leasing and financing real estate, with an emphasis on managing the issues arising from properties contaminated by hazardous substances. He also has extensive experience assisting clients that are involved in the purchase or sale of stock or assets, including mergers and acquisitions. When the cost of an ongoing cleanup is a significant obstacle to closing a transaction for a client, he has negotiated numerous guaranteed cleanup cost contracts with environmental consultants, where the consultant accepts the risk that the cleanup will exceed the guaranteed cleanup cost.
Environmental Insurance. Gordon has assisted clients with the purchase of environmental insurance policies for over 200 properties. These policies provide coverage for the cost to clean up newly discovered pollution conditions on a property, as well as for third party lawsuits for property damage and bodily injury. He has also represented numerous clients in the negotiation and purchase of cost cap coverage, which provides coverage if the cleanup costs exceed an agreed upon cost. Often these insurance policies were used as part of an effort to help a transaction proceed to closing.
Cleanup Oversight. Gordon has substantial experience handling matters involving the federal Superfund law, New Jersey’s Industrial Site Recovery Act, underground storage tank laws and other laws requiring the remediation of contaminated property. He has obtained Brownfields approvals allowing clients to obtain state funds to pay for the remediation of their properties.
Development Permits. Gordon advises developers of industrial, commercial and residential real estate on how to obtain the permits needed to develop in areas subject to governmental regulation, such as freshwater wetlands, coastal areas, floodways, the New Jersey Highlands, the Pinelands, the Hackensack Meadowlands and riparian lands.
Cleanup Cost Recovery. Gordon counsels clients who have paid or are paying for the cleanup of contaminated properties on how to avoid incurring cleanup costs or to recover those costs from both other parties that are responsible for the contamination and insurance companies.
Regulatory Compliance. Gordon regularly counsels clients on how to comply with a wide variety of environmental laws, including those governing solid waste, hazardous waste, air pollution, water pollution. He has represented many clients in the defense of enforcement actions brought by federal and state environmental agencies, including the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. He also has extensive experience assisting clients in complying with California Proposition 65.
Expert Witness. Gordon has been named as an expert witness on environmental issues, testifying on behalf of plaintiffs or defendants in the following six lawsuits:
PPG Industries, Inc. v. Greenberg Property, LLC
New Jersey Superior Court, Law Division, Hudson County (2015)
Named as an expert witness for a property purchaser on the issue of whether the purchaser’s pre-closing knowledge of chromium contamination on the property provided implied consent for the demolition of purchaser’s building in the course of the responsible party’s site remediation.
Menlo Acquisition Corporation v. Environmental Logic Corporation of New Jersey, Inc.
New Jersey Superior Court, Chancery Division, Morris County (2015)
Named as an expert witness for an environmental consulting firm that was sued by another environmental consulting firm for misuse of alleged trade secrets.
Harrison Redevelopment Agency v. Harrison Eagle, LLP
New Jersey Superior Court, Law Division, Hudson County (2010)
Named as expert witness for condemnor in a condemnation case on the issue of whether and to what extent the property value to be paid to the condemnee should be discounted because of the environmental condition of the condemned property. Testified several days before three arbitrators.
Koffman v. Haveson
New Jersey Superior Court, Law Division, Mercer County (2007)
Named as expert witness for defendant in legal malpractice case involving the seller’s attorney’s alleged failure to disclose lead contamination to the buyer of real estate.
Grubbs v. Knoll
New Jersey Superior Court, Law Division, Passaic County (2001)
Named as expert witness for defendant in legal malpractice case involving issues arising under the Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act. Testified for two days of jury trial.
Caiola v. Berry, Kagan & Sahradik
New Jersey Superior Court, Law Division, Ocean County (1999)
Named as expert witness for plaintiff in legal malpractice case involving issues arising under the Coastal Area Facility Review Act.
Energy. Gordon has assisted clients with various energy projects, including solar power projects, both roof and ground mounted, and natural gas leases.