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Thomas M. Donnelly - San Francisco, CA
555 California Street26th Floor San Francisco, CA 94104
Jones Day
San Francisco Environmental, Health & Safety Lawyer
Overview
Tom Donnelly has practiced environmental and insurance coverage law for 25 years. He represents clients in environmental litigation, toxic tort, and administrative proceedings; provides environmental compliance counseling and due diligence/transactional support; and assists clients in securing defense and indemnity from their liability insurers...
Tom Donnelly has practiced environmental and insurance coverage law for 25 years. He represents clients in environmental litigation, toxic tort, and administrative proceedings; provides environmental compliance counseling and due diligence/transactional support; and assists clients in securing defense and indemnity from their liability insurers...
Tom Donnelly has practiced environmental and insurance coverage law for 25 years. He represents clients in environmental litigation, toxic tort, and administrative proceedings; provides environmental compliance counseling and due diligence/transactional support; and assists clients in securing defense and indemnity from their liability insurers. Tom's environmental and insurance coverage clients have included high-tech, aerospace, energy, oil and gas, and metals and mining companies; auto manufacturers; utilities; equipment and consumer product manufacturers; food companies; retailers; financial institutions; and real property owners and developers. He has appeared in all federal district courts in California, the Ninth and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeals, and California trial and appellate courts.
Tom's recent representations include: Chevron and Fluor in environmental litigation matters; Lennar, Gruma (food company), and various equipment and consumer product manufacturers in Proposition 65 lawsuits; Firestone Building Products in a regulatory enforcement matter; Nvidia (visual computing), Procter & Gamble, and SanDisk (data storage) in environmental compliance matters; Sutter Home Winery in securing environmental permits for a new winery; various oil and gas companies in climate change compliance matters; and Wells Fargo Bank in environmental due diligence related to real property transactions. For Pacific Gas & Electric Company, after a seven-week trial, Tom secured a verdict that a policy issued by AIG affiliates covered property damage claims (totaling $24 million) asserted against PG&E.
Tom is listed in Chambers USA as one of the leading environmental attorneys in the state of California and has been recognized as a leading environmental attorney by several other trade publications.
About Thomas M. Donnelly
Current Employment Position(s)
- Partner
Practice Areas
- Environmental, Health & Safety
- Government Regulation
- Climate Change
- Business and Tort Litigation (USA)
- Insurance Recovery
- Energy
- Energy / Utilities
- Energy Environmental
- Environmental Compliance Counseling
- Environmental Litigation
- Insurance
- Metals & Mining
- Product Liability Litigation
Representative Cases
- Aerojet-General successfully challenges California city's efforts to order the placement of utility switching station and other structures on property remediated for future residential and commercial development (2009)
- Almaden Properties challenges City of San Jose’s certification of Environmental Impact Report for shopping center construction (2012)
- American Samoa Power Authority successfully defends against threatened federal EPA enforcement action related to alleged discharges of oily wastes into local harbor
- BlackRock Realty Advisors files suit against United National Insurance seeking defense and indemnity under pollution insurance policy (2010)
- Chevron defends against allegations of environmental damage from oil seeps off coast of Brazil (2012)
- Confidential client conducts environmental due diligence for industrial plant closure and redevelopment of property (2010)
- Confidential food and consumer product manufacturers resolve Proposition 65 "citizen group" lawsuits (2012)
- Conservation organization receives assistance with its effort to preserve and protect forest lands and other open space (2009)
- Firestone Building Products seeks product variance from California regulator to sell low-VOC bonding adhesive
- Gruma resolves California lawsuit claiming that tortilla chips and other starchy products require Proposition 65 warning (2010)
- Lennar defends against California Proposition 65 lawsuit involving alleged environmental exposure to naturally-occurring asbestos (2012)
- Leprino Foods secures environmental regulatory agency approval of emission offsets for expansion of California cheese and whey production facility
- NVIDIA receives assistance on environmental law matters
- Oil and gas company develops contracts with suppliers and customers to ensure compliance with renewable and low carbon fuel requirements (2010)
- Perfect Equipment resolves California Proposition 65 lawsuit involving wheel balancing weights
- Procter & Gamble ensures environmental regulatory compliance (2010)
- RBS Citizens leads sponsor financing for Dymatize Enterprises (2012)
- Real estate investment company conducts environmental due diligence for purchase of former industrial property in California
- SanDisk receives advice regarding real property transactions and environmental compliance (2012)
- Sutter Home secures permit to expand Lodi, California winery over environmental group objections (2009)
- U.S. Pre-Finished Metals Corp. resolves federal EPA civil penalty action regarding alleged improper handling and storage of hazardous waste
- Wells Fargo Bank successfully resolves CERCLA cost recovery suit in California (2010)
- Woodstream Corporation resolves California citizen group lawsuit asserting Proposition 65 claims (2010)
Qualifications
Bar Admissions
- California
- U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
Education
- Harvard University Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1988
J.D. - Tufts University, 1985
B.A.
Honors: summa cum laude
Major: Political Science
Major: History
Articles
Published Works
- The Climate Report, 2012
- The Climate Report, 2012
- The Climate Report, 2012
- 2011 Rountable Series: Environmental Law, California Lawyer, 2011
- The Climate Report, 2011
- Cap-and-Trade in California Is Imminent, 2011
- CARB Releases Modified Cap-and-Trade Regulations for Final Approval, 2011
- The Climate Report, 2011
- The Climate Report, 2011
- EPA Proposes Hazardous Air Pollutant Emission Limits for Electric Generating Units, 2011
- California Superior Court Enjoins California's Cap and Trade Program for Greenhouse Gas Emissions, 2011
- Regulation of Chemicals in Consumer Products, 2011
- California Adopts Cap-and-Trade Program for Greenhouse Gas Emissions, The Environmental Counselor, 2011
- The Climate Report, 2011
- California Adopts Cap and Trade Program for Greenhouse Gas Emissions, 2011
- The Climate Report, 2010
- The Climate Report, 2010
- Climate Change Regulation Via the Clean Air Act: EPA's New Greenhouse Gas Rule for Facilities, 2010
- The Climate Report, 2010
- EPA Proposes to Add Oil and Natural Gas, Carbon Sequestration, and Fluorinated Gas-Emitting Facilities to Greenhouse Gas Reporting System, 2010
- EPA Delays Greenhouse Gas Permits for Manufacturing Plants, 2010
- Overview of California's Preliminary Draft Cap and Trade Program, 2010
- The Climate Report, 2010
- The Climate Report, 2009
- The Climate Report, 2009
- California Still Leading the Way in Environmental Regulation, Practice Perspectives: Environmental, Health & Safety, 2009
- Policy Holders in Environmental Cleanup Actions are Potentially Entitled to Multiple Policy Limits; Multiple Causes of Loss are Not a Basis to Deny Coverage, 2009
- California's Global Warming Solutions Act: Creating a Haze of Uncertainty for Business, 2008
- The Fall-Out From Cooper v. Aviall, Chemical Waste Litigation Reporter, Vol. 50, No. 3, 2005
Office Information
Address
555 California Street26th Floor San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone
Fax
- (415) 875-5700
Websites
Achievements
Other Sources of Feedback About Thomas M. Donnelly
Included on the 2021 Northern California list
Past Lists
- 2020 Northern California Super Lawyers list
- 2019 Northern California Super Lawyers list
- 2018 Northern California Super Lawyers list
- 2017 Northern California Super Lawyers list
- 2016 Northern California Super Lawyers list
- 2015 Northern California Super Lawyers list
- 2014 Northern California Super Lawyers list
- 2013 Northern California Super Lawyers list
- 2012 Northern California Super Lawyers list
- 2011 Northern California Super Lawyers list
- 2010 Northern California Super Lawyers list
- 2009 Northern California Super Lawyers list
- 2008 Northern California Super Lawyers list
- 2007 Northern California Super Lawyers list
- 2006 Northern California Super Lawyers list
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