John C. Guadnola

Brad Jones is a litigator practicing environmental and complex securities and business litigation, with an emphasis on class actions. A Super Lawyer for each of the last eight years, Brad has recovered over $100 million for plaintiffs he has represented and has successfully defended clients against numerous multi-million dollar lawsuits. Brad has particular expertise in defending against Clean Water Act citizen suits and representing parties in litigating environmental cleanup responsibilities under CERCLA and the Model Toxics Control Act. He has achieved multi-million dollar judgments in arbitration and litigation in both state and federal courts and has successfully mediated dozens of cases.

Brad’s clients have included the Washington Department of Natural Resources, King County, the cities of Seattle and Tacoma, and numerous Fortune 500 companies. Brad began his career representing various public utility defendants in the WPPSS securities fraud lawsuit.

An active supporter of the arts, Brad has served as a board member and past president of the Tacoma Art Museum, a board member of Arts Fund, and a board member of Crows Shadow Art Institute. When he’s not working, his favorite place to be is his cabin in the San Juan Islands where he likes to spend his time fishing and tending his garden. His second favorite place in the world is Italy.

Environmental Class Actions. Brad has been lead counsel for plaintiffs in five successful class action lawsuits involving personal and property damages caused by negligently operated landfills and sewer treatment plants.

Bellingham Bay. Brad successfully facilitated negotiations between a city, a port district, a fortune 500 corporation and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources regarding an allocation of liability for a variety of contaminated sediment sites. He has mediated other cleanup cost allocations and testified as an expert witness on cleanup cost allocations and the reasonableness of MTCA attorneys’ fees.

Metropolitan Securities Litigation. Co-lead counsel in six year federal securities fraud action that recovered over $40 million on behalf of investors in Metropolitan Mortgage and Summit Securities.

City of Seattle. Lead outside counsel in matters relating to the allocation of tens of millions of dollars in contaminated sediment cleanup around Gas Works Park.

Port Angeles HarborWorks Development Authority. Lead counsel to HarborWorks in the investigation and analysis of environmental cleanup and permitting issues associated with the potential purchase of an abandoned 80-acre industrial facility.

Bellingham Bay. Retained by a PLP group, including the Georgia Pacific Corporation, the City of Bellingham, the Port of Bellingham, and the Washington Department of Natural Resources, and successfully achieved an allocation of contaminated-sediment liability and facilitated a collaborative voluntary cleanup of contaminated sediments in Bellingham Bay.

Dow Chemical Company. Successfully defended Dow Chemical Company in a multi-million dollar MTCA cost-recovery action. Obtained a dismissal and recovery of most of Dow’s attorneys’ fees and expenses.

Cedar Hills Landfill/Cedar Grove Composting. Lead plaintiffs’ counsel in a class action lawsuit that recovered $25 million for area residents negatively affected by two large solid waste facilities.

Washington State Department of Natural Resources. Lead environmental attorney in project to redraft all of the DNR Aquatic Resources Division’s aquatic lands lease agreements. DNR owns and manages approximately two million acres of aquatic lands, which include contaminated sediments in a dozen Superfund sites and over 40 MTCA sites.

Thea Foss Environmental Master Plan. Lead environmental attorney representing the City of Tacoma in connection with all environmental issues involving the purchase, remediation, and development of Tacoma’s downtown waterfront. Negotiated the first ever multi-site Consent Decree with the Department of Ecology.

Asarco Litigation. Represented three separate property owners in three successful suits against Asarco for soil and groundwater contamination from Asarco slag. Successfully argued for recovery of litigation costs before the Washington State Supreme Court. Also represented two property owners in successful suits against Asarco for sediment contamination in the Hylebos Waterway.

SSA Marine, Inc. Represented SSA in negotiations with Reichhold, Inc. for the purchase of a 52-acre heavily contaminated former chemical plant. Negotiated two Agreed Orders with Ecology for SSA’s assumption of the RCPA permit and cleanup obligations.

City of Tacoma. Assisted the City of Tacoma in negotiations with Ecology and PLP’s on an Agreed Order for a remedial investigation of a former coal-gasification facility. Led the formation of the PLP group. Also represented the City of Tacoma in connection with environmental issues associated with the redevelopment of Union Station.

In addition to the above projects, Mr. Jones was a member of the Department of Ecology’s External Work Group responsible for reviewing and recommending changes to the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA). Mr. Jones participated in drafting the private right of action amendment to MTCA (RCW 70.105D.080) and testified before the legislature. He also led the drafting effort for the MTCA permit-exemption provisions that were adopted by the legislature in 1994 (RCW 70.105D.090).

SSA Marine. Brad has succesfully defended various SSA Marine subsidiaries against Clean Water Act citizen suits. Most recently, Brad obtained a dismissal of a Clean Water Act suit alleging violations of the Act at a marine terminal.

EDUCATION

J.D., University of Puget Sound School of Law, 1987
cum laude
B.A., Whitman College, 1980

JURISDICTIONS ADMITTED TO PRACTICE

Washington State Courts
District Court, Western District of Washington
District Court, Eastern District of Washington

PROFESSIONAL & BAR ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIPS

Washington State Bar
American Bar Association

PROFESSIONAL HISTORY

Washington Public Utility Districts Association, Publications and Research Director 1981-84
Joined Firm in 1987
Represented various utility defendants in WPPSS securities fraud litigation (MDL 551)

HONORS & AWARDS

Best Lawyers – Seattle, 2015 Energy Regulatory Law
Selected for the 2015-2021 Washington Super Lawyer Lists
Best Lawyers in America, 2016-2018 Environmental Law

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

Board member Crows Shadow Art Institute 1992-2001
Board member Arts Fund 2003 – present (chair, Pierce County Cabinet, 2005-2008)

ARTICLES & PRESENTATIONS

Frequent speaker on hazardous waste issues including allocation of cleanup costs among liable parties, contaminated sediments, environmental master planning, and liability issues affecting real estate transactions.