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Environmental Matters
NATURAL GAS PIPELINES:
In 2023 and 2024, Mr. DePaulo represented six individuals arrested for blocking access to a road employed to construct the Mountain Valley Pipeline. All criminal charges were resolved with $100 fines for misdemeanor violations for simple trespass, a non-incarceration offense. All civil litigation was resolved in US District Court by settlements in which the defendants agreed not to engage in unlawful protests in the future. In four actions filed in the Circuit Court of Summers County, the civil actions were dismissed on the basis of defendants' motions; those civil actions are now on appeal by MVP to the Intermediate Court of Appeals.
Over the Summer and Fall of 2019, Mr. DePaulo defended three climate activists in state criminal proceedings alleging felony violation of "terrorist" threats incident to their 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 the felony "terrorist" threat charges, which argued that some verbal communication is required to support a charge of "terrorist" threat, where the arresting officer has stipulated that the defendant stated "nothing of any consequence" beyond identifying himself. The $4.6 billion MVP and the $7 billion parallel Atlantic Coast pipeline then being constructed across Virginia and West Virginia, could have fund the construction of 580,000 roof-top solar installations, 79% of all households in West Virginia
In February, 2018, Mr. DePaulo successfuly defended so-called "tree-sitters," at the junction of the Appalachian trail and 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.
DEP: 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 concrete 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 ultimately 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 continues to serve on the board of KOTM assisting in efforts to convert former coal mining properties into industrial-scale solar installations.
PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION: Mr. DePaulo has intervened at the PSC on behalf of environmental groups in licensing proceedings to affect the location of West Virginia's first wind mill turbines, and negotiated settlements pertaining to these issues which allowed the wind turbine project to go forward.
Mr. DePaulo 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. In 2015, Mr. DePaulo also served on a PSC-appointed task force to study the futute of "net-metering" in West Virginia.
In 2009 and 2010, Mr. DePaulo represented the Sierra Club in proceedings at the West Virginia Public Service Commission opposing the application by subsidiaries of American Electric Power and Allegheny Energy to construct a 224-mile electric transmission line from Winfield, WV to Maryland.
In 2007 and 2008, Mr. DePaulo represented the Sierra Club in proceedings 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.
COURT LITIGATION: Mr. DePaulo has represented environmental groups in an injunction action before the US District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia to protect access to the Monongahela National Forest, Sierra Club v. Allegheny Wood Products, Mr. DePaulo filed Circuit Court action to protect license plate funding for non-game wildlife conservation efforts, Audubon v. DMV and NASCAR. Mr. DePaulo prevailed for individual citizens to intervene in state enforcement proceedings against polluters under the West Virginia Water Pollution Control Act. Ball v. Cummings.
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. |
Civil Litigation
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 have been filed on behalf of individual investors for failure to adequately disclose the values of stocks.
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.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND ABUSE: Mr. DePaulo has represented plaintiffs successfullly in cases seeking damages for sexual abuse of
students in the West Virginia school systems, including a claim of negligence against Philadelphia school officials for failing to disclose a former teacher's dismissal for sex abuse in communications with a subsequent employer within the West Virginia school system.
PERSONAL INJURY LITIGATION: Mr. DePaulo settled 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.
ENERGY PRACTICE: Mr. DePaulo's experience in the petroleum industry includes negotiation of an offshore exploration contract, and development of an environmental protection program for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. He has defended the largest independent importer 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 excess of one billion dollars 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.
FOIA LITIGATION: In 1976 Mr. DePaulo filed the first lawsuit which successfuly applied the Freedom of Information Act 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.
APPELLATE PRACTICE:
Successful prior appeals have 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.
BANKRUPTCY PRACTICE: Mr. DePaulo has defended debtor-businesses in cases commenced by a creditor-filed, involuntary petition. Mr. DePaulo 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.
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.
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.
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