Mr. Edelstein is a partner in the firm’s litigation department. David currently represents Fortune 100 companies, large multinational corporations, and smaller businesses at several of the largest Superfund sites in the country. David has also handled numerous cases involving claims for natural resource damages and has extensive experience negotiating with Trustees, governmental entities and private parties. He also has significant experience representing clients in litigation brought pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), and comparable state statutes. Most recently, David won dismissal of a CWA citizen suit for his client following a five-day evidentiary hearing. In addition to his litigation practice, David provides regulatory counsel to clients performing environmental remediation under federal and state law. Over the past several years, he has represented a major international corporation in negotiations with regulators and municipal governments in several States with respect to the on-going investigation of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) at several sites, and he is intimately familiar with the emerging law related to PFAS.
Representative Experience
- Served as lead trial counsel for a real estate developer in federal litigation concerning the multi-million dollar cleanup of TCE contamination at a former industrial property, obtaining the complete dismissal of all claims against his client after a four-week trial that included claims brought under RCRA, CERCLA, the Spill Act and the common law.
- Served as trial counsel for international chemical company during week-long evidentiary hearing that resulted in dismissal of a CWA citizen suit against his client.
- Defended individuals, small businesses and multiple Fortune 500 companies in natural resource damage litigation arising under state and federal law.
- Defended an international petro-chemical company in multi-district products liability litigation concerning the use of the gasoline additive MTBE.
- Prosecuted contribution and cost-recovery claims on behalf of a Fortune 100 company in connection with the investigation and remediation of a petroleum bulk storage terminal
- Represented a building products manufacturer in connection with sediment contamination at the Portland Harbor Superfund Site.
- Represented a major chemical company in connection with sediment contamination in the Passaic River and Newark Bay.
- Represented clients in numerous multi-party negotiations concerning the closure of municipal landfills and allocation of cleanup costs at state and federal superfund sites.
- Represented a property owner in complex civil litigation concerning the condemnation and redevelopment of a former industrial property.
Professional and Community Involvement
- Administrator, Justice Stewart G. Pollock Environmental Inn of Court
- American Bar Association
- New Jersey State Bar Association
- Pennsylvania Bar Association
- Camden County Bar Association
- Bucks County Red Cross Leadership Council
- Pennsbury Recreational Basketball League Coach
- Newtown Friends School Diversity Committee
Articles and Presentations
- Co-Author, “USEPA Announces Proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulations for PFAS Compounds,” Archer & Greiner, P.C. Client Advisory (March 2023)
- Presenter, “Recent Developments in Environmental Law: PFAS,” Camden County Bar Association All You Can CLE (December 2022)
- Co-Author, “What Companies Should Know About PFAS Compounds,” Bloomberg Law (September 2022)
- Co-Author, “Pennsylvania Proposes Drinking Water Standard for PFAS,” The Legal Intelligencer (March 2022)
- Co-Author, “Pennsylvania Latest State to Propose PFAS Water Regulations,” Bloomberg Law (March 2022)
- Co-Author, “Clean Water Act Liability for Groundwater Contamination,” Environmental Protection (November 2018)
- Under the Microscope: The Use of Citizen Suits to Scrutinize Remedial Activities, Chemistry Council of New Jersey Annual Spring Conference (April 2015)
- Co-Author,” Tick, Tock: Appellate Court Starts the Clock on Spill Act Contribution Claims, New Jersey Law Journal (Reprinted with permission (November 2013)
- Redeveloping the Law of Eminent Domain: New Concepts of ‘Just Compensation’ and Environmental Blight, Lorman Education Seminar (April 2007)