State of New Mexico v. General Electric et al.
The Tenth Circuit handed down a landmark decision on natural resource damages October 31, 2006. State of New Mexico v. General Electric et al. In this case, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court decision granting General Electric ("GE") and co-defendant ACF Industries ("ACF") summary judgment. The State of New Mexico originally sought recovery of nearly $5 billion for loss of groundwater and the aquifer that stored the water.
Posted: November 3, 2006

The goal of the our committee is to address on-going changes in toxic tort and environmental litigation issues in both substantive and procedural areas. We hope that you will consider taking an active role in our committee as we explore various facets of these issues in the coming year.

We encourage you to participate in our committee list serve. It provides a great opportunity to communicate with our committee members across the country. Need a recommendation on an mold expert in Florida? Stumped about particularities of state regulation in California? Try sending an email on our list serve. Conclude a successful trial on a novel issue? Tell us about it! I hope the list serve will become an effective tool for fast, easy communication among our members. Take advantage of the collective knowledge of over 800 environmental and toxic tort practitioners who comprise our membership. This list is closed to Environmental Litigation and Toxic Torts Committee members. If you are on our committee, but not our list serve, please contact our Technology Vice-Chair, Richard C. Gaskins, Jr. [rgaskins@hgfmlaw.com] to be added.

For those who like to get involved, there are many opportunities in our committee. For example, we welcome your input into our newsletter, either in the form of an article or news about a recent case you successfully tried or settled. Consider hosting a brown bag lunch in your community; volunteering for our committee public service project; or making a program proposal for an upcoming conference. Let us hear from you!

I hope you will make plans to attend a conference in the coming year. In addition to attending the Annual Conference on Environmental Law in Keystone, Colorado each March, and the Section Fall Meeting each October, you could:

• Host a local Brown Bag Lunch Program.
• Submit a short summary for the newsletter of an interesting ruling or challenging issue that you encountered. We publish war stories in our newsletter.
• Write an article for publication in the Committee or Section newsletters. Alternatively, suggest a topic for a possible book or offer to review a book manuscript in your area of expertise. The Vice Chairs for the Newsletter and the Year-in-Review are particularly interested in involving new members.
• Help organize programs for section meetings.
• Assist in the development of a list serve.
• Assist in the development of a Public Service Project.

The purpose of this committee is to serve its members. If you have a suggestion or idea about how we might better accomplish that goal, please send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you.

Chair:
Peter L. Gray

Vice Chairs:
Committee Newsletters
Michael Freeman

Membership
Mary Simmons Mendoza

Programs
Thomas P. Redick

Public Service
Albert R. Axe, Jr.

Technology
Richard C. Gaskins, Jr.

The Year in Review
Jennifer Simon

Additional (Liaison to Plaintiff's Bar)
Scott E. Kauff