Oliver E. Twaddell
Partner
Experience
Oliver E. Twaddell handles a wide range of commercial and general litigation in federal and state court, including cases involving breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, non-competition, unfair trade practices, and other business torts, as well as property damage, land use and environmental contamination, toxic tort, and other general tort actions. Currently, Oliver 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 also has experience handling copyright and trademark infringement litigation. Oliver’s background includes counseling foreign banks, corporations, individuals, partnerships, and other entities in complex domestic and international litigation. Oliver is a frequent contributor to the firm’s Environmental Law Monitor blog, where he writes extensively on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs), as well as developments in environmental regulation, legislation, and litigation. He is also a member of the firm’s Water Contamination group—a subgroup of the Environmental practice group. His background includes handling matters involving oil spills and lead paint exposure.
As a law student, Oliver served as a legal intern with the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office in Maryland and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office in New York.
Related Areas
Experience Highlights
- Successfully represented prominent real estate company against various business tort claims, including tortious interference with contractual relations, defamation, unjust enrichment, and injunctive relief; case ultimately was discontinued with prejudice without any payment
- Successfully represented village in upstate New York against claims seeking a prescriptive easement and adverse possession, injunctive relief, and trespass; case was discontinued with prejudice
- Successfully represented construction company in connection with contract disputes and warranty claims
- Successfully represented individuals in partnership dispute concerning ownership interests in various hotels in California and Washington state
- Represented a major 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 millions of dollars in exposure based on the acquisition of the subsidiary, and purported ownership interest in a drug developed by the joint venture
- Represented health insurance company against securities fraud claims under 10(b) and 20(a), and common law fraud and breach of contract claims
- Represented product manufacturer involved in an arbitration concerning breach of contract, breach of warranty, and negligence claims arising from multimillion-dollar property damage at a distribution center
- Represented significant holding company and its general contractor concerning a high-profile redevelopment project and allegations of negligence in maintaining proper air quality.
- Represented Insurance broking and risk management group against allegations of misappropriation of trade secrets and violations of restrictive covenants in a relatively new and distinct area of the insurance industry
- Represented electric company against allegations of breach of contract, negligence, and unfair trade practices concerning complex issues of the construction of a high-voltage cable system at a power generation facility, which later exploded and caused millions of dollars in property damage
- Represented real estate development company in breach of contract action concerning the sale of a property to a condominium company and whether environmental remediation steps had been adequately addressed
- Represented Saudi Arabian corporation and bank in federal litigation concerning various actions, including Alien Tort Statute and common law tort claims
- Represented international travel corporation and its president against a $30 million lawsuit based on claims of breach of contract, fraud, conspiracy, and breach of fiduciary obligation involving a joint venture relationship
- Represented prominent international businessman and Saudi Arabian multinational conglomerate against a multibillion-dollar complex federal lawsuit
- Represented 501c(3) group in lawsuit against a Middle Eastern country and its regime for various human rights violations
- Represented New York construction company with city-wide contracts in various premises liability actions
- Represented insurance company in complex Defense Base Act administrative action involving allegations concerning the connection between a traumatic brain injury and suicide
- Drafted amicus curiae brief on the scope of an unfair trade practices statute in a high profile case
- Represented industrial investment portfolio company in breach of contract action arising from executive searches in China, dismissed on forum non conveniens grounds
- Represent various commercial and residential real estate owners against claims arising from alleged mold exposure and contamination
- Represent various companies against claims arising from alleged asbestos exposure and contamination
- 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
- Successfully represented 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)
- Represented oil company in oil spill dispute based on theory under New York Navigation Law
- Represented property owners subject to lead paint exposure claims
- Represented major oil company and environmental consultant in toxic exposure claims
- Assisted in briefing appellate arguments on behalf of a large corporation, an individual, and a bank at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit where the lower court’s dismissal of claims against clients was affirmed
- Drafted principal and reply briefs filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on an employment law matter related to allegations of discrimination
- Drafted principal and reply briefs filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on a merit systems protection board case
- Assisted in the representation of hundreds of veterans before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
- Represented medical supplies wholesaler in trademark and unfair competition action concerning importation of international grey market goods.
Honors & Awards
New York Metro Super Lawyers, Rising Stars: Environmental, 2018-22
Background
Admissions
- New Jersey
- New York
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York
- U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut
- U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
Education
- The George Washington University Law School, J.D., 2011
- Van Vleck Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition
- Cohen and Cohen Mock Trial Competition
- American University, B.A., summa cum laude, 2007
- Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society
News & Knowledge
Publications & Events
- Contributor, Goldberg Segalla’s Environmental Law Monitor blog: read Oliver’s blog posts here
- “For the First Time in Four Decades, EPA Uses Emergency Suspension Power on a Pesticide,” Westlaw Today, September 5, 2024
- “EPA Uses Emergency Suspension Power on a Pesticide for First Time in 40 Years,” CLM Magazine, August 20, 2024
- “Reopening Pandora’s Box: EPA moves forward with CERCLA designations of PFOA and PFOS,” (Co-author), CLM Magazine, May 8, 2024
- “A Survey of Trends in PFAS Regulation and Litigation,” The Brief, December 20, 2023
- “EPA Closing in on Drinking Water Regulations,” CLM Magazine, May 9, 2023
- “Environmental Monitoring Costs and the Collision of Contaminants, Old, and Emerging,” (Co-Author), New York Law Journal, March 4, 2021
- “Don’t Go Taking My Land: Did SCOTUS Find a Serious Hurdle for State Limitations on Energy Development?” Goldberg Segalla’s Environmental Law Monitor blog (republished in Martindale Legal Library, Lexology, and PointLogic Energy), July 11, 2019
- “PFAS Update: Unregulated (Mostly), Uncertain, and Ubiquitous” (Co-Author), DRI Toxic Torts and Environmental Law Newsletter, June 2018
- “Environmental Pitfalls of PFAS and 1,4-Dioxane” (Co-Author), For the Defense, June 2018
- “E-Disclosure Bytes — Managing ESI in International Commercial Arbitration” (Co-Author), Mealey’s Litigation Discovery Report and Mealey’s International Arbitration Report, April 2018
- “The Evolving Landscape of Third-Party Funding in International Arbitration” (Co-Author), Mealey’s International Arbitration Report, November 2017
- “Uber’s Online Terms and Conditions Invoking Arbitration Receives 5 Stars” (Co-Author), Inside Counsel, September 21, 2017
- “Forecasting Rough Waters on the Horizon: EPA Overreach and the Clean Water Act” (Co-Author), Mealey’s Pollution Liability Report, November 2016
- “Clarity on the Term Reside is Good News for NY Landlords” (Co-Author), Law360, August 26, 2016
- “Corporate Risk Presented by Ever-Evolving and Growing Cyber Crimes: Trying Times for Directors & Officers” (Co-Author), PLUS Journal, March 2015; Mealey’s Litigation Report: Cyber Tech & E-Commerce, April 2015; Mealey’s Emerging Securities Litigation, July 2015
- “PFAS Litigation: Before and After the AFFF-MDL, Recent Historical Settlements, and Critical Coverage Considerations,” (Co-presenter), Client Presentation, June 18, 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
- “Federal Regulatory Developments in PFAS,” Perrin Conferences PFAS Litigation & Regulatory Developments Conference, Panelist, February 9, 2023
- Co-presenter, “PFAS Litigation,” January 31, 2023
- “PFAS,” Client Presentation, April 26, 2022
- “PFAS,” Client Presentation, April 12, 2022
- “PFAS 2.0,” (Co-Presenter), June 30, 2021
- Co-Presenter, “Effective Planning and Preparation of Emergency Action Plans, Media Strategy, and Placement of Insurance To Mitigate Environmental Disasters and Emergencies,” CLM Southeast Conference, Atlanta, GA, November 8, 2018
- “US Department of Health and Human Services’ Highly Anticipated ATSDR Report on PFAS” (Co-Presenter), Goldberg Segalla Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Webinar Series, October 4, 2018
- “Rough waters on the Horizon — EPA Overreach Involving the Clean Water Act,” Webinar, September 30, 2016
RECENT INSIGHTS
February 9, 2024
December 27, 2023
September 29, 2022
October 18, 2021
September 30, 2021