An uncivil action in Maine

ALEX BEAM
An uncivil action in Maine
By Alex Beam, Globe Columnist | March 8, 2006

'Boston Legal" goes to Portland, Maine, this week with a real-life episode -- the latest battle in a long-running lawyergeddon pitting two famous, charismatic lawyers against each other.

A few years ago, Jan Schlichtmann and Thomas Sobol got the idea to file a class-action lawsuit against Maine-based water purveyor Poland Spring, alleging impurities in its water supply. Schlichtmann gained fame as the protagonist of Jonathan Harr's best-selling book, ''A Civil Action," and was portrayed by John Travolta in the movie. Sobol has cachet of his own. He was the star witness in Massachusetts's successful 2003 attempt to reduce its billion-dollar legal bill in the landmark anti-tobacco litigation. I once described Sobol as ''closely resembling Bruce Springsteen before the Boss started showing his age."

In a trial that may last three weeks, expect to see Schlichtmann take the stand against his former colleague and friend, who is being sued by former clients of the two men. ''It's very distressing and tragic," Schlichtmann says. ''To this day I'm astonished that we've ended up in this position." Paparazzi alert! Eco-pol Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to testify, as his New York-based Keeper Springs water company (''where all our profits are donated to the environment") has been enmeshed in the multistate, down-and-dirty battle of mutually assured character destruction.

In a nutshell, Schlichtmann, Sobol, the gravel-voiced criminal defense specialist Max Stern, and Alabama lawyer Garve Ivey mounted a two-pronged assault in 2002 on Poland Spring, which is owned by Switzerland-based Nestle Group. There was the class-action suit, and also business litigation on behalf of Keeper Springs, Glenwood Farms, and two other water companies. After litigation filed in Massachusetts, Maine, and Illinois, Schlichtmann negotiated a $20 million settlement of the business claims and likewise settled the class-action suit. As a Poland Spring customer, I happened to be a ''beneficiary" of the latter suit. I recall receiving some measly coupons that I never bothered to cash in.

Sobol, Ivey, and Stern objected to the settlements. To say that feelings are still raw would be an understatement. ''Nestle put some money on the table, which was not enough for everybody," says Stern, ''and Jan said, 'What we'll do is we'll screw the class.' "

''Schlichtmann bastardized the entire class-action process to get his payoff from Nestle," says Ivey, who has negotiated his way out of being a defendant at the Portland trial. ''This whole [Maine] lawsuit is a figment of Jan's overactive imagination. He generated this lawsuit by former clients of ours to run Tom Sobol off the litigation." (Sobol declined to comment.)

''They are trying to create this bogeyman to justify the unjustifiable -- betraying their clients," retorts Schlichtmann. ''Contrary to the wishes and desires of their clients, they tried to destroy the possibility of a settlement. You can't spin this any other way."

In the original Maine complaint -- there is parallel litigation in Massachusetts, just to confuse you -- two of Sobol's former clients, Glenwood Farms and Carrabassett Spring Water, are suing him for attempting to derail the proposed settlements. Glenwood Farms, which is now part of Nestle, filed an eight-count claim against Sobol, alleging that his acts ''were so outrageous that malice toward Glenwood can be implied." It asks for unspecified damages and court costs.

''It's a dangerous situation for Tom, because he's being tried on the home turf of Poland Spring," says Stern. ''What he's really being tried for is doing what was right and what his conscience told him what to do."


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U.S. Senator Richard Shelby Opposes Landfill

EVERGREEN, AL - Senator Richard Shelby addressed the concerns of Conecuh County citizens about out-of-state garbage coming into Alabama. “It is not a good image of the state to bring in garbage. We have the technology to develop and create energy where the garbage is developed. I would fight to keep a landfill out of my county also.”

When asked about water contamination issues near the existing Timberlands Landfill, Shelby had this to say:

Senator Shelby stated he was not knowledgeable of the mercury con-taminated soil being moved to the landfill in Escambia County, but he would not drink the water if he lived that close to a landfill.

A pro-landfill advocate speaks and U.S. Senator Shelby definitively reponds:

Evergreen resident Mike Fordham introduced himself as a supporter of the proposed landfill, and stated that the landfill was going to be a solid waste treatment facility for green energy. Several people in attendance objected saying this has never been proposed. Mr. Fordham said unlawful garbage dumps are a problem in this county because of the lack of garbage service, and this would be a solution. Senator Shelby answered “I don’t want garbage from New Jersey or any other state coming into Alabama. Conecuh County, and every county, should have a county-wide garbage pick-up service and the commissioners should be the ones to implement, control and support this service.”

Where Are They At?

Some of my contacts in the greater Monroe-Conecuh County area have told me that they see a sparseness of activity around the headquarters of the Conecuh Woods Landfill in Evergreen. What's going on? Are they folding their tents or gathering strength for a coming battle? Maybe they would rather be in Florida for the winter months or should I have said New York. I spoke by phone with one of the opposition team and there was high confidence all around.

New subject: Since Mayor Bloomberg of New York City is exporting all his trash down South, and now is considering a presidential run, I wonder who his campaign manager in Conecuh County will be? I'll let you know as soon as I find out.

More growth for south Alabama, why do we want a landfill?

The economic impact of Thyssen-Krupp is already having its influence on south Alabama. Soon a new aircraft assembly plant maybe coming to Mobile making it the Seattle of the Gulf Coast. This article and interview in Marketplace tells it all:

Doug Krizner: European plane maker Airbus is reportedly considering a new factory in Alabama. A weak dollar and a soaring euro are the reasons why.

Let's bring in David Gow from London's Guardian newspaper. David, you describe this as the chief of Airbus issuing a wake-up call for Europe.

David Gow: Those were the words he used. He said that Europe has to wake up to the decline of the dollar and the impact that this has on European industry and manufacturing in particular. That it's going to force companies to outsource or relocate more and more of its production to the dollar zone.

Krizner: Now, is the relationship between the dollar and the euro a life-threatening situation for Airbus, do you think?

Gow: Yes. Because basically, every 10 cents fall in the value of the dollar costs Airbus 1 billion euros, which in American terms is the equivalent of $1.4-$1.5 billion.

Krizner: So you are reporting in your article for the Guardian that Airbus officials are confirming that they are considering a plan to set up this new factory in Alabama. What would they produce there?

Gow: First of all, they would produce, if they win the Pentagon contract for these air-to-air refueling planes, they would build them there. But at the same time, they could also build parts for planes which would be destined for the U.S. airlines.

Krizner: So I want to zero in here. What you're saying, then, is that this entire move toward Alabama is contingent upon Airbus winning the Pentagon contract, or not?

Gow: That's right. There's a huge -- it's one of the biggest lobbying campaigns in aerospace that the military in America you've seen for many, many a year. Supposedly, a decision will be taken early next year.

Krizner: David Gow is business report for The Guardian in London. We've been speaking to him this morning from Brussels. David, thanks so much.

Gow: OK, thank you!

With the spinoff industry that will come from Thyssen-Krupp and Airbus why do the citizens of Monroe,Conecuh,and Escambia County want to settle for the nation's largest trash dump?

Property Values and Landfills - It ain't pretty

Do you think Mayor Bloomberg of New York City gives a damn about where his vast amount of trash goes when it leaves on a train or barge each day? The South is rapidly becoming the dumping ground for trash from New York and other large urban areas. Reducing their trash raises their property values and lowers ours.

Growing up in Maryville, Tennessee frequently I would hear my peers comparing notes on where their daddies worked. The most common answer was the "plant." The plant was the Aluminum smelter and rolling mill in Alcoa, Tennessee. It was a good thing to work at the "plant." It provided a good income, great health care, and a substantial retirement. Kids had a certain amount of pride about their daddies working at the plant.

What will generations of children in rural south Alabama say when they compare notes with their peers? My daddy works at the largest "dump" in the United States. Somehow I don't think this is the dream that south Alabamians want for their children. I also don't think their children will want to inherit property that will have less relative value than when their parents owned it before the landfill

This comes from Propex:

Proximity to landfills and hazardous waste sites can severely affect property values. Any property close to an active landfill will probably be devalued as a matter of course. Depending on how close the property lies to the site, whether the site is still active, and (if not active) if the waste has been properly encapsulated or removed, the value of a tract of land or home could be affected in many different ways. For example, if an active landfill is declared "closed" and proper measures are taken to ensure that there is no risk of contamination from the waste therein, the value of a nearby property may rise from the low value it had from being located near an active waste site. Devalued property may further regain some of its previous value if the former waste site is improved or developed commercially. However, if the waste site is not properly closed and encapsulated, or if waste leaks into the surrounding properties while or after it is active, property values may be irreversibly lowered.

Would the Conecuh County Commission be willing to make a guarantee to county residents to make up the difference between land values before the landfill and AFTER the landfill, and give that guarantee in writing to each property owner? Ask them...

New York City's Long Term Trash Export Program

I'm making a guess as to how this landfill crisis started. In September, 2006, Mayor Michael Bloomberg of the City of New York, totally revamped the city's solid waste management plan.

In 2006 Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed legislation establishing a new solid waste management plan, which will use barges and trains to export 90% of the city’s 12,000 daily tons of residential trash. Under the previous scheme trucks and tractor-trailers were used for 84% of the trash

Translated: Too much truck traffic hauling trash out of New York. Solution: Export it by rail and barge to remote locations. Here are some excerpts of the plan:

*Reducing the City’s dependence on transport by transfer trailer to disposal sites is a priority. Some 93% of all truck-transferred DSNY-managed Waste is disposed in landfills and most of the landfills under contract are within a radius of 200 miles of the City. A combination of factors is causing the depletion of this capacity and an increase in disposal price. The recent re-bidding of some Interim Export contracts that rely on truck transport to landfills has reflected an average increase of 19% over the initial contract prices.

* Remote disposal capacity remains available, but truck-based transfer to these sites is not economically viable.

* Developing a barge/rail transport system capable of accessing this remote capacity could offset potential increases in disposal costs.

* Developing a long-term solution should be equitable to the greatest extent possible.

* Any long-term solution should be able to be implemented without causing significant adverse impact

When Mayor Bloomberg signed that document in September of 2006, he created a tremendous opportunity for landfill and waste disposal interests. The only requirement was being able to receive the trash. If a landfill had a railhead so much the better. If it was in short commuting distance from a port to receive barge traffic that would be good too.

Conecuh Woods is close to a railhead in Range,Alabama and is only 72 miles from the Port of Pensacola and 79 miles from the Port of Mobile. Here's a scenario:

You are a landfill entrepreneur, think about it, 12,000 tons of trash a day flowing in by barge and rail from New York City. It makes you want to salivate.My God all that money! It reminds one of the Dire Straits songs: Money for Nothing. When you listen to song change the chorus to ...money for nothing and the trash is free.

Until next time...

Have Pro-Landfill Forces Politicized the Battle?

With the defacto mouthpiece of the Conecuh Woods Landfill being a former Alabama Democratic State Executive Director, has Conecuh Woods politicized the process? Does this mean that Democratic Chairmen in Monroe, Escambia, and Conecuh counties have been enlisted in the big money fight to bring an environmental atrocity to Southwest Alabama? If you are opposed to the landfill and live in one of the most affected counties mentioned above, you might want to ask your local Democratic chairman if they are opposed to the landfill or for it. You might want to ask them what their relationship is to Conecuh Woods mouthpiece and former State Democratic Executive Director, Phillip Kinney.

In case you don't know who your local Democratic chairmen are, I am happy to provide contact information for you:

Conecuh: The Honorable Tommy Chapman home: 251-578-1406 work 251-578-4977

Monroe: Mr. Milton Coxwell home 251-743-4055 work 251-575-2146

Escambia: Mr. Reo Kirkland Jr. home 251-578-5115 work 251-867-5711

Just so you don't think that I am invading these gentleman's privacy by publishing their phone numbers, this information is easily accessible on the State Democratic website.

See praise for Monroe Journal's courageous reporting on the landfill issue.