John F. Parker
Partner
Experience
John F. Parker, co-chair of the firm’s Toxic Tort and Environmental practice groups, defends clients across the country in complex environmental and toxic tort litigation, and advises them on environmental regulatory and compliance matters. He counsels clients on the full spectrum of state and federal regulations governing environmental disputes and regulatory actions, including the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and others. John focuses a significant portion of his practice on litigating civil and administrative environmental matters such as cost recovery actions, citizen suits, and enforcement proceedings relating to site contaminations, spills, and remediation involving underground storage tanks, PCBs, and the fuel additive MTBE. Currently, John is serving as primary and national counsel for a defendant in the Aqueous Film Forming Foam Multi-District Litigation being litigated in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. He has acted as national coordinating counsel responsible for the strategy and oversight of hundreds of matters throughout the country concerning mass tort, product liability, and environmental claims. He also provides risk management, litigation avoidance, and other strategic counsel on environmental compliance and related issues.
John regularly writes and lectures on emerging environmental issues impacting the regulated industry and serves as co-editor of Goldberg Segalla’s Environmental Law Monitor, the firm’s weekly environmental blog publication.
Industries
Experience Highlights
John’s experience serving clients across the country covers the full spectrum of established and emerging environmental law issues. He is currently serving as both primary and national counsel for a defendant in the Aqueous Film Forming Foam Multi-District Litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina—PFAS litigation from around the country that involves claims of environmental contamination, property damage, medical monitoring, and personal injury.
Representative matters include:
- Defending the City of Frederick, Maryland in a Clean Water Act action commenced by the Potomac Riverkeepers based on alleged nitrogen pollution violations at the city’s wastewater treatment plant
- Defending a manufacturer at the largest Superfund site (Passaic River) in the U.S. with respect to alleged ground and water contamination at two distinct sites
- Defending a Fortune 500 company—whose subsidiary designed and manufactured the USTs, piping, and leak detection system under a large commercial shopping center — in a petroleum discharge matter involving damage to the environment, real property, and the surrounding community
- Defending Fortune 500 Company in CERCLA/Superfund action involving environmental contamination from tannery in upstate New York
- Successfully representing a defendant in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia against product liability, nuisance, negligence, and trespass claims arising from alleged PFAS water contamination; dismissed on lack of personal jurisdiction grounds (Weirton Area Water Board and City of Weirton v. 3M Company, et al.– 5:20-cv-102)
- Representing the interests of a well-drilling company in Oklahoma involving a pipeline leak and resultant contamination to environment and waterways
- Defending personal storage facility owner in NJ Spill Act cost recovery action involving historic contamination and eminent domain and condemnation issues
- Representing national recycling company in CERCLA cost recovery action involving CRT waste disposal at e-waste recycling facility in Ohio
- Representing interests of school system involving historic environmental contamination and alleged exposure at site in upstate New York
- Obtaining dismissal of New York Navigation Law cause of action on behalf of remediation company involving allegations of exacerbation of oil contamination during cleanup and remedial operations
John regularly handles matters pertaining to toxic exposures, lead paint poisoning, mold, asbestos, beryllium, repetitive stress injury, and more. He also litigates matters involving contamination and exposure to chemicals and substances such as PFAS, 1,4-Dioxane, TCE, and benzene.
Representing numerous property owners/managers, product manufacturers/distributors, and remediation companies in actions concerning lead exposure to children, adults, and surrounding neighborhoods.
- Acting as counsel to environmental testing professionals at Nassau Coliseum in matters involving alleged airborne chemical exposure
- Representing multinational chemical company in a train derailment investigation in Wisconsin wherein the local water supply was threatened
- Obtaining dismissal of action on behalf of gasoline station / property owner involving allegations of groundwater contamination to New York municipality’s drinking water supply, and upheld by the Supreme Court of New York Appellate Division
John has more than 25 years’ experience litigating and counseling clients on issues of liability and damages in state and federal courts around the country. His finely honed legal counsel offers clients remarkable insight into how best to defend complex, high-exposure liability claims. He acts as counsel for owners, construction managers, contractors, subcontractors, and architects and engineers on large-scale construction projects and advises on contractual and insurance matters and issues pertaining to labor law. In addition, John defends premises liability and security-related matters on behalf of hoteliers and restaurant chains, and represents local and national motor carriers/truck insurers in matters involving personal injury and wrongful death. Representative matters include:
- Representing the manufacturer of machines involved in dry cleaning in a matter involving allegations of defective design pertaining to causal link between exposure to dry-cleaning solvent PERC and alleged disease
- Coordinating product litigation for a heavy machinery manufacturer
- Acting as counsel for an international engineering and environmental consulting firm facing multimillion-dollar exposure due to a building collapse
- Acting as counsel for a component provider of an allegedly defective boiler, which purportedly caused a carbon monoxide leak that resulted in the wrongful deaths of three individuals
- Defending an electrical contractor in a dispute arising from the explosion of a high-voltage cable system at a power generation facility in Connecticut, which resulted in property damages; claims included negligence, breach of contract, breach of warranty, and the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act
- Representing a large construction entity with city-wide contracts that routinely faces a high volume of labor law and premises liability exposure
John’s varied practice also include work in the pharmaceutical arena, where he assists major pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers in product liability actions, asset purchase agreements/joint development agreements, and the interpretation of FDA regulatory provisions. His successes include:
- Defending a pharmaceutical company and its subsidiary in federal litigation and arbitration against claims of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraudulent misrepresentation, and equitable claims arising out of a joint venture relationship. After a merger between the pharmaceutical company and its newly owned subsidiary, the plaintiff company asserted claims for multiple millions of dollars in exposure based on the acquisition of the subsidiary and purported ownership interest in a drug developed by the joint venture
- Representing a pharmaceutical company in qui tam action under the False Claims Act, the Medicare and Medicaid Patient Protection Act, anti-kickback statutes, and various state laws
- Representing a pharmaceutical company in an action against a former employee and a competing manufacturer for theft of trade secrets, computer fraud, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty
Best Lawyers in America
- Litigation – Environmental, 2025
New York Metro Super Lawyers, 2018-19, 2022-24
Background
Admissions
- New York
- New Jersey
- U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Southern, and Western Districts of New York
- U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
Education
- Fordham University School of Law, J.D., 1989
- State University of New York at Albany, B.A., summa cum laude, 1985
Professional Affiliations
- Defense Research Institute
- Claims & Litigation Management Alliance
Community Involvement
- Pinkfest: Board of Directors; Co-Founder
- Cancer and Careers, Advisory Board
- Downtown Little League and Downtown Soccer League: Coach
News & Knowledge
Publications & Events
John regularly writes and lectures on emerging environmental issues impacting the regulated industry and serves as co-editor of Goldberg Segalla’s Environmental Law Monitor, the firm’s weekly environmental blog publication. His other published works include:
- “A Survey of Trends in PFAS Regulation and Litigation,” The Brief, December 20, 2023
- “Exxon’s Victory in New York Climate Suit May Set a Precedent,” Law360, December 20, 2019
- “Subnational Efforts to Combat Climate Change in the Wake of the Recent IPCC Call to Action” (Co-Author), DRI The Voice, October 31, 2018
- “A Lower Bar for Calif. Agencies in Hazardous Waste Cases” (Co-Author), Law360, February 5, 2018
- “Up in the Air: The Evaporating Confidence of New York Property Owners” (Co-Author), New York Law Journal, May 5, 2017
- “Pliva’ Extended to State Claims of Design Defects in Generic Drugs” (Co-Author), New York Law Journal, August 16, 2013
- “Is There Conscious Pain and Suffering from Carbon Monoxide Poisoning” (Co-Author), New York Law Journal, July 27, 2012, and published in the November 2012 issue of For The Defense, DRI Today
- “PFAS Litigation: Before and After the AFFF-MDL, Recent Historical Settlements, and Critical Coverage Considerations,” (Co-presenter), Client Presentation, June 18, 2024
- “Emerging Contaminants and Reopeners,” (Co-presenter), Client Presentation, April 24, 2024
- “PFAS 2.0: Poly & Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) – Looming Litigation and Associated Claims,” (Co-presenter), Client Presentation, August 28, 2023
- “PFAS 2.0/Poly & Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) – Looming Litigation and Associated Claims,” (Co-presenter), Client Presentation, July 11, 2023
- “PFAS 101+: Background, Regulations, Litigation, Causation, and the Future,” (Co-presenter), Client Presentation, June 27, 2023
- “PFAS Litigation,” (Co-presenter), Client Presentation, January 31, 2023
- “PFAS Update,” (Co-Presenter), Emerging Risks CE/CLE, March 15, 2022
- “Lithium Batteries: Too Good to Be True?,” (Co-Presenter), Emerging Risks CE/CLE, March 15, 2022
- “PFAS 2.0,” (Co-Presenter), June 30, 2021
- “Advanced PFAS,” (Co-presenter), Client Presentation, April 26, 2022
- “Environmental Liabilities: Hot Topics and Trends Facing Insureds” (Co-Presenter), February 20, 2020
- “Mitigating Risk: Environmental Due Diligence in Real Property Transactions” (Co-Presenter), In-house Insurance Seminar, Exton, PA, April 16, 2019
- Panelist, “How States, the International Community, Cities, and Businesses are Responding to Climate Change,” AIRROC and EECMA Climate Change Symposium, Philadelphia, PA, September 6, 2018
- “CERCLA and Complex Allocation Issues” (Co-Presenter), In-house Insurance Seminar, New York City, NY, June 27, 2018
- “Lead Poisoning Claims — Ways to Defend, Mitigate, and Allocate Risk to Minimize Liability and Damages Exposure” (Co-Presenter), Insurance Seminar, Hartford, CT, May 21, 2018
- Chair, GS Containing Disasters Seminar, Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, January 22-25, 2018
- “Effective Mitigation Tools for Environmental Crisis Management” (Co-Presenter), GS Containing Disasters Seminar, Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, January 22-25, 2018
- “Federal and State Environmental Regulatory Procedures” (Co-Presenter), Goldberg Segalla Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Seminar, May 23, 2017
- “Environmental Trends in Environmental Cost Recovery Actions,” Virginia Insurance Seminar, Richmond, VA, December 7, 2016
- “EPA — Impacts Arising out of the Clean Water Act, The Clean Water Rule, and The Potential Ripple Effect From the Chesapeake Bay TMDL,” Toxic Tort/Environmental Scouting Report Seminar, Chicago, IL, October 18, 2016
- “Emerging Environmental Trends,” Architects and Engineers and Environmental Broker Educational Forum and Appreciation Event, Dana Point, CA, March 24, 2016
- “President Biden’s Environmental Agenda: How His Strategy to Address Environmental Issues Can Impact You and Your Business,” (Co-Presenter), March 11, 2021
- “Environmental Compliance Amidst A Health Crisis: Essential Sites, Key Reporting Requirements, and Managing The Aftermath” (Co-Presenter), GS Webinar Series, May 14, 2020
- “Climate Change: Policy and Litigation Update” (Co-Presenter), GS Webinar Series, November 8, 2018
- “Environmental Emergency Action Plans, Media Response Strategy, and Advance Planning Strategies for Environmental Crises” (Co-Presenter), GS Webinar Series, January 17, 2018
- “Superfund Update – CERCLA and State Cost Recovery Actions” (Co-Presenter), Perrin Conference Webinar, August 2, 2017
- “Allocating CERCLA Liability,” GS Webinar Series, April 21, 2017
- “Clean Water Act and Emerging Trends,” GS Webinar Series, September 30, 2016
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