Dan Farino is a partner in Archer’s Environmental Law Practice Group, where he concentrates his practice on complex environmental litigation. Dan has a wealth of experience in the defense of product liability, natural resource damage, toxic tort, property damage, and personal injury claims in a number of jurisdictions, with significant experience in mass tort product liability multidistrict litigation involving defective design and failure to warn theories of liability in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Puerto Rico, and beyond. Dan has particular sophistication in preparing key fact and expert witnesses for deposition, as well as deposing fact and expert witnesses in an array of subject matters, including those involving soil and groundwater contamination from underground storage tanks and surface spills.
Dan also has significant regulatory law experience, and regularly assists and advises clients in navigating New Jersey’s complex SRRA, TRSR, and ISRA regulations and obligations. As a member of Archer Discovery Strategies, Dan maintains in depth knowledge of e-discovery trends and obligations, and frequently oversees the collection, review, and production of paper documents and electronically stored information in state, federal, and multidistrict litigations.
Dan is a Director of the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Environmental Section, and has served as the vice-chair of Medford Township’s Environmental Affairs Advisory Committee.
Representative Experience
- Ongoing representation of an international petroleum company in multiple MTBE product liability cases alleging defective design and failure to warn and seeking natural resource damages in a consolidated multidistrict litigation in the Southern District of New York involving lawsuits in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Puerto Rico, and beyond.
- Lead counsel in actions for property damage and nuisance under the Spill Act associated with operations at service stations.
- Frequent regulatory and compliance counseling for a client engaging in the ongoing investigation and remediation of petroleum hydrocarbons.
- Successfully secured national and international payment for denied insurance claims for complex product liability insurance claims on behalf of energy client.
- Obtained favorable settlement on behalf of gasoline service station operators in action under Spill Act to recover for remediation necessitated by negligent contractors.
- Deposed numerous homeowner plaintiffs in mass plaintiff toxic tort actions alleging exposure to hazardous substances.
- Defended depositions of hydrogeologic and other technological experts in mass plaintiff toxic tort action alleging exposure to hazardous substances.
- Obtained successful dismissal of personal injury action from Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on basis of forum non conveniens.
- Obtained favorable settlements of contribution actions under the Spill Act in groundwater and soil contamination matters.
- Successful negotiations of Notices of Violation with state regulatory agencies for violations of New Jersey’s Administrative Code and Technical Regulations, resulting in a favorable reductions of penalties on behalf of gasoline service station operators.
Professional and Community Involvement
- Treasurer, Environmental Law Section, New Jersey State Bar Association
- Burlington County Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- Former Vice-Chair, Medford Township’s Environmental Affairs Advisory Committee
- Former Member, Young Lawyer Committee, Burlington County Bar Association
- Volunteer coach for local baseball teams
Articles and Presentations
- “Are Suppliers Really ‘Responsible?’: A Fireside Chat on a Recent Appellate Decision Regarding Supplier Liability under New Jersey’s Spill Act“, Archer & Greiner, P.C., June 3, 2021
- NJ Pact: Effects, Predictions, & Incentives, New Jersey State Bar Association’s Environmental Law Section & NJICLE, November 10, 2020
- A 2,020-Foot Overview of New Jersey’s Spill Act, New Jersey State Bar Association’s Environmental Law Section & NJICLE, October 14, 2020
- ABA Products Liability Committee’s Fifty-State Survey: Toxic Exposure Claims (New Jersey and Pennsylvania sections) (October 2016)
- “The Social Media Authentication Battle Rages in Third Circuit and Elsewhere“, Legaltech News, December 6, 2016. By: Dan Farino, Esq. and Douglas G. Leney, Esq.
- “Transforming the Regulatory Landscape for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals“, New Jersey Lawyer Magazine – Environmental Law Issue, October 5, 2016. By: Dan Farino, Esq. and Daniel Flynn.
- “Social Media Can be a Minefield – or a Goldmine“, published in The National Law Journal (August 15, 2016) By: Dan Farino, Esq. and Douglas G. Leney, Esq.
- “Law and the Fear of Cancer,” printed in the April 2014 Today’s General Counsel. By Phil Cha, Esq. and Dan Farino, Esq.
- “Handling Lawsuits for Fear of Cancer From Toxic Torts”, reprinted with permission from the Feb. 28, 2014, volume of the New Jersey Law Journal. © 2014 ALM Media Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited. By: Phil Cha, Esq. and Dan Farino, Esq.
- “ENSURING OBJECTIVE REASONABLENESS: AN EXAMINATION OF FEAR OF CANCER LAW“, printed in the January 2014 Chemistry Council of New Jersey Newsletter, CHEMUNIQUÉ. By: Phil Cha, Esq. and Dan Farino, Esq.
- Daubert Considerations for Hot Button Environmental Litigation, New Jersey State Bar Association’s Environmental Law Section, June 21, 2019, Cape May, NJ
- Underground Storage Tanks, Environmental Due Diligence, and Litigation Lessons Learned, Client Presentation, April 30, 2019.
- Hot Topics in Environmental Law Webinar: PFAS Regulatory Status and Litigation Themes, New Jersey State Bar Association Webinar, April 25, 2019.
- CERCLA Contribution Claims: Guidance and Litigation Strategies for Environmental Lawyers, NJICLE Webinar, January 18, 2018.
- Toxic Torts: Emerging Issues and Litigation Strategies, New Jersey State Bar Association Environmental Section/NJICLE, New Jersey Law Center, November 2, 2017, New Brunswick, NJ
- Emerging Contaminants: Litigation Themes and Considerations, New Jersey State Bar Association’s Environmental Law Section, June 23, 2017, Avalon, NJ
- Corporate Compliance and Ethics & eDiscovery Trends and the Use of Social Media, Rutgers Institute for Professional Education, December 3, 2016, Camden, NJ
- TSCA in the 21st Century: Existing Regulation of Chemicals in Commerce and Looming Changes, New Jersey State Bar Association’s Environmental Law Section, June 24, 2016, Cape May, NJ
- “Proposed RCRA Amendments for Management of Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals,” New Jersey State Bar Association’s Environmental Law and Health Law Sections, March 1, 2016, New Brunswick, NJ
- “Recent Developments in E-Discovery and the Impact of Technology on Litigation,” Camden County Bar Association, October 28, 2015, Tavistock Country Club, NJ
- “Discovering Social Media: Common Challenges and Best Practices,” Camden County Bar Association Young Lawyer’s Committee, February 19, 2015, Tavistock Country Club, NJ
- “E-Discovery in Contemporary Litigation: Basics and Best Practices,” Archer Discovery Strategies, October 9, 2014, Tavistock Country Club, NJ
- “Toxic Soup: Unregulated Contaminants in Water & Future Litigation Challenges,” Archer, P.C., June 25, 2014, Haddonfield, NJ
- “Toxic Soup: Unregulated Contaminants in Water & Future Litigation Challenges,” Chemistry Council of New Jersey, April 28, 2014, Stockton Seaview Hotel and Golf Club, Galloway Twp., NJ