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CLASS ACTION LITIGATION: In 2020, Mr.DePaulo represented a totally disabled individual in an injury claim arising out of the 2014 chemical spill in the Elk River which polluted the water supply for 300,000 customers of West Virginia American Water Co, The action resulted in an award of $1,000,000, the largest individual court-authorized award in the class action commenced in 2014.
UNIFORM TRUST ACT LITIGATION:
In a continuing action, commenced in 2012, Mr. DePaulo obtained an Order of Interim Relief removing individual co-trustees engaged in long-term, self-dealing with trust assets involving several million dollars. Corporate properties repeatedly looted by prior trustees, including a family-owned manor house in the Loudon Heights neighborhood of Charleston, WV, were liquidated for distribution to trust beneficiaries. Actions for compensatory and punitive damages against prior trustees are pending.
UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION: In 2020, Mr. DePaulo successfully prosecuted an unemployed client's appeal to the Kanawha County Circuit Court of the decision of the Board of Review Workforc denying her unemployment benefits for "cause," where her dismissal from employment was based on her having engaged in political speech protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
ZONING: In April 2018, Mr. DePaulo represented organizers of Lewisburg's first "Renaissance Festival" before the Greenbrier County Board of Zoning Appeals, Plainning Commission in efforts resulting in the issuance of a permit allowing the Festival to present its program throughout June, 2018.
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APPELATE PRACTICE: Mr. DePaulo's appellate practice has included Farmers Mutual Insurance Company v. Tucker (reversing prior controlling precedent), SER Ball v. Cummings (establishing criteria for mandatory intervention under Rule 24), and Taylor v. Culloden PSD and West Virginia American Water Company (applying continuous tort exception to avoid statute of limitations) . He has argued cases in the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Sixth and District of Columbia Circuits.
FOIA LITIGATION:
In 1976 Mr. DePaulo filed the first case successfuly applying the Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to computerized records of the federal government. He has also advocated the use of statistical "disclosure avoidance techniques" as a tool for reasonably segregating exempt and non-exempt data, before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Yeager v. Drug Enforcement
Administration.
BANKRUPTCY MATTERS: Mr. DePaulo bankruptcy experience has included representation of individuals and businesses seeking relief under Chapter 7, Chapter 11, and Chapter 13 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, and has defended debtor-businesses in cases commenced by a creditor-filed, involuntary petition. He has also represented minority stock holders in bankruptcy proceedings to displace corrupt management before the United States Bankruptcy Court and District Court for Maryland, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
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MIC LITIGATION: On February 8, 2011, Mr. DePaulo filed Nye v. Bayer CropScience, a civil action to enjoin the restart of the Bayer CropScience MIC (methyl isocyanate) plant in Institute, WV unless and until Bayer, and related agencies of the state and federal government, could certify that they had implemented the recommendations of the Chemical Safety Board's investigation following a fatal explosion at Institute in August 2008. Bayer's Institute plant was the only facility in the world that stored large quantities of MIC, the highly volatile toxic chemical released in December 1984 in Bhopal, India, killing tens of thousands of citizens of Bhopal.
Based on affidavit, and after hearing, on February 10, 2011, the US District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia granted a motion for temporary restraining order, and entered a TRO barring the restart of the Institute plant. In the ensuing weeks Bayer produced more than 300,000 pages of documents in discovery. On Friday, March 18, 2011, immediately preceding a hearing on a preliminary injunction and supporting exhibits, scheduled for Monday, March 21, Bayer announced, and restated in the USDC, that it would permanently cease all manufacture, transportation and storage of MIC at the Institute plant.
NATURAL GAS PIPELINESIn 2023 and 2024, Mr. DePaulo represented protesters facing trespass and other charges in criminal proceedings, and in related civil damage proceedings brought by Mountain Valley Pipeline, in the U.S. District Courts of the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia and in Circuit Courts. All criminal proceedings were concluded with a one hundred dollar fine, and all civil claims were dismissed at the trial level; appeals are pending.
Mr. DePaulo has defended climate activists in state criminal proceedings, including cases alleging felony violation of "terrorist" threats incident to tying their bodies to equipment employed in the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a $4.6 billion natural gas pipeline. The court granted defendants' motion to dismiss with prejudice the felony "terrorist" threat charges.
In February, 2018, Mr. DePaulo successfuly defended so-called "tree-sitters" on Peters Mountain protesting construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, in a civil action commenced by MVP to obtain an injunction against continued occupation of the natural gas pipeline right of way. The Court ruled that MVP had failed to establish that the defendants were sitting in trees located on the MVP right of way and, ultimately, dismissed the MVP lawsuit.
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
: In early 2019, Mr. DePaulo successfully represented a Monroe County, WV landowner in a Circuit Court appeal resulting in the reversal of an Environmental Quality Board order imposing environmental clean up costs on the landowner for a chemical spill caused exclusively by a truck operator who overtuned its vehicle on the landowner's property.
MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL: In 2014 and 2015, Mr. DePaulo represented the Kanawha Forest Coalition in actions before the WV DEP, the Surface Miine Appeal Board, the Kanawha County Circuit Court and the Supreme Court of Appeals, resisting the issuance of a surface mining permit that would have permitted a destructive mountaintop removal mine immediately adjacent to residents of Loudendale, and across the street from the Kanawha State Park. DEP ulrimately revoked the suface mining permit on the basis of repeated, documented violations of the permit.
In 2004, Mr. DePaulo assisted Larry Gibson in creating the Keeper of the Mountains Foundation which fought mountaintop removal coal mining through the date of Larry's death in 2012, and in litigation to protect EPA rulings protective of persons residing in MTR communities. He continues to serve on the board of KOTM.
PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION: Mr. DePaulo represented the Sierra Club in proceedings at the West Virginia Public Service Commission relating to the application by an Allegheny Energy's subsidiary to obtain authorization to build an interstate electric transmission line from Pennsylvania, across West Virginia, and terminating in Virginia.
Mr. DePaulo has represented environmental groups in actions to protect access to the Monongahela National Forest, Sierra Club v. Allegheny Wood Products, to protect license plate funding for non-game wildlife conservation efforts, Audubon v. DMV and NASCAR, and to permit
individual citizens to intervene in state enforcement proceedings against polluters under the West Virginia Water Pollution Control Act. Ball v. Cummings.
Mr. DePaulo has filed protests at the West Virginia Public Service Commission
on behalf of environmental groups in licensing proceedings relating to the location of wind mill turbines, and negotiated settlements pertaining to windmill applications. He has also represented an environmental organization in complaint
proceedings at the PSC against electric utilities resulting in the issuance of the first order permitting "net metering " of private wind power
electric generators by electric utilities.
Mr. DePaulo has assisted in the organization and qualification of tax exempt 501(c)(3) organizations that engage in environmental education and community action, and tax exempt 501(c)(4) organizations engaged in political advocacy.
ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION:Mr. DePaulo helped organize and served as a director of Appalachian Stewardship Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization that funds environmental remediation programs in Appalachia.
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SECURITIES LITIGATION: In March, 2011, Mr. DePaulo successfully prosecuted and settled a federal securities act cause of action in the United States District Court of Nebraska on behalf of an individual investor. The civil action for fraud, misrepresentation and breach of contract was commenced against promoters of oil and gas drilling programs for investments over a ten-year period, and resulted in a return of the entire investment plus interest.
Additionally, in December 2010, he successfully defended a registered investment advisor before FINRA in litigation arising out of the collapse of the stock market in late 2008. The action, appealed repeatedly by the unsuccessful plaintiff, resulted in the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals issuing a permanent injunction barring the plaintiff from commencing future actions against the defendant. Additional investor actions against underwriters on behalf of individual investors for failure to adequately disclose the values of stocks, have been filed with FINRA and settled by mediation.
SECURITIES REGISTRATION: Federal agency experience includes registration in 1976 of First Variable Rate Fund for Government Income, Inc. (the initial mutual fund of the Calvert Investments group of funds) with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
FEDERAL ENERGY LITIGATION: Mr. DePaulo's experience in the petroleum industry has included negotiation of an offshore exploration contract, and development of an environmental protection program, for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. He has also represented independent importers of crude oil into the United States in agency and court proceedings against the United States Department of Energy, and has prosecuted a group of plaintiff actions against the U.S. Department of Interior seeking recovery of overcharges in sales of USGS royalty crude oil to small refiners.
Mr. DePaulo has represented transporters of nuclear materials in enforcement proceedings before the Federal Aviation Administration, and
public interest safety groups in rulemaking proceedings before the Federal Highways Administration
INTERNATIONAL PRACTICE: Mr. DePaulo has represented a coalition of Great Lake port operators before the Agency for International Development and the United States
Congress in issues relating to cargo preference subsidies for American flag vessels.
His representation of international clients has included
European exporting companies active in the Peoples Republic of Angola, and manufacturers of infra-red security devices with homeland security
applications, regarding intellectual property licensing negotiations in the United States.
PERSONAL INJURY LITIGATION: Mr. DePaulo obtained $500,000 in a civil action against a drunk driver for injuries to a 23-year old single mother and infant child whose vehicle was struck in 2012 by a former City of Charles Town policeman, and prosecuted claims against the City police and Jefferson County Sheriff's Department for unlawfully attempting to shift blame for the motor vehicle accident to the injured 23-year old mother, and away from the former City policeman, whose whose alcohol level registered .23, nearly three times the legal limit.
DePaulo has settled claims against Polaris for the death of a sixteen year old child riding on an ATV with a defective clutch, and against Ford for bodily injury as a result of a defective throttle cable in a Ford Escape, which was subsequently recalled.
BAR ADMISSIONS AND PUBLICATIONS: Mr. DePaulo is a member of the bars of West Virginia and the District of Columbia. He has been admitted to the bars of the United States Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Third, Fourth, Sixth and D.C. Circuits, and the U.S. District Courts for West Virginia, the District of Columbia, Nebraska and Maryland.
He has appeared pro hac vice in the United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Eastern District of Kentucky, Texas, Louisiana and Wyoming.
Publications include OPEDS published in newspapers,and "How Does A Centipede Ride a Pogo Stick?", an analysis of the application of Subpart F of the
Mandatory Petroleum Price Regulations to Crude Oil Resellers Prior to January 1, 1978.
Passeggiata:
che cos'è ?
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