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Stanley N. Alpert, a partner at Constantine Cannon, brings years of experience to complex commercial litigation and arbitration and environmental litigation and sustainability counseling.
Mr. Alpert served for 13 years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, as well as a commercial and real estate litigation associate at Kaye Scholer LLP, and a federal judicial law clerk to the Honorable Edward B. Davis in Miami. At the U.S. Attorney's Office, Mr. Alpert had many trials and appeals involving contracts, torts and environmental matters. He has also served subsequently as Plaintiffs' Liaison Counsel in a federal multi-district litigation. At Constantine, he represents clients in commercial litigation and arbitration, and with environmental, land use, and business issues. He lectures frequently on green building, carbon regulation, and green business, both at Continuing Legal Education courses and at green conferences such as WalMart's in Bentonville, Arkansas. He is a LEED-certified Green Associate. He is a first-chair trial attorney for plaintiffs and defendants.
As Chief of Environmental Litigation for the U.S. Attorney's Office, Mr. Alpert prosecuted, defended and supervised complex environmental civil and criminal cases under CERCLA, RCRA, NEPA, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Ocean Dumping Act, the Endangered Species Act, and other regulatory schemes. Mr. Alpert received many awards, including the Henry L. Stimson Medal for Outstanding Performance as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, by the Association of the Bar for the City of New York. He twice received the Justice Department's Director's Award for Superior Performance.
During his tenure at the United States Attorney's Office, Mr. Alpert achieved an $11.2 million Consent Decree with ExxonMobil Corporation for hazardous waste violations on Staten Island. United States v. Mobil Oil Company, CV-96-1432 (Gleeson, J.)(E.D.N.Y.). Mr. Alpert tried a case against Phelps Dodge Corporation, in which the court ordered the rescission of a $14.7 million real estate contract by which the Postal Service had purchased a property containing hazardous wastes in Maspeth, Queens. United States Postal Service v. Phelps Dodge, 950 F. Supp. 504 (E.D.N.Y. 1997). After a jury trial, he obtained a 21-month prison term for a contractor who ordered workers to rip asbestos out of a residential basement with no protective equipment. United States v. Itzkowitz, 1998 WL 812573 (E.D.N.Y.), aff'd 172 F.2d 99 (2d Cir. 1999).
Superfund Litigation and Consulting. At the U.S. Attorney's Office, Mr. Alpert negotiated a precedential $15 million Superfund Consent Decree in which 84 parties agreed to fund a cleanup at the Mattiace Petrochemical Site in Glen Cove, New York, through the assumption of liability by an environmental contractor and an insurance company underwriting cost overruns. United States v. Mattiace Industries, Inc., CV-03-1011 (Seybert, J.) (E.D.N.Y.). For an article Mr. Alpert wrote on the Mattiace settlement, click here. Mr. Alpert counsels businesses and individuals regarding Superfund and other cleanups and litigation.
NEPA and State Review Law Counseling and Litigation. Mr. Alpert counseled the General Services Administration regarding its environmental impact statement (EIS) for the new Eastern District courthouse. When the EIS was challenged, after eight days of hearing and on appeal, Mr. Alpert defeated the effort under NEPA to enjoin the courthouse construction. Concord Village Owners, Inc. v. Barram, CV-97-2607 (Patterson, J., by designation), aff'd, 122 F.3d 1055 (2d Cir. 1997). More recently, Mr. Alpert assisted the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club, and the National Parks Conservation Association at a NEPA trial in Miami to protect sources of the city's drinking water supply. Sierra Club v. Strock, 495 F.Supp.2d 1188 (S.D.Fla. 2007). Mr. Alpert advises and litigates regarding environmental impact statements.
Environmental and Toxic Tort Damages Litigation. During 2004-05, Mr. Alpert was Plaintiffs' Liaison Counsel to the multi-district MTBE litigation in the Southern District of New York. Consolidated before the court were lawsuits brought by municipal authorities or privately-owned water companies, seeking damages for the removal from drinking water sources of a gasoline additive that can render water unfit for consumption. For an article Mr. Alpert wrote for Mealey's titled Understanding How a Multi-District Litigation Works, click here.
For a paper Mr. Alpert presented to the Air & Waste Management Association titled Legal Framework Surrounding Vapor Intrusions: Statutory and Common Law Toxic Tort Challenges, click here. Mr Alpert has also co-chaired the New York State Bar Association's CLE on vapor intrusions, click here.
Carbon Regulatory Counseling. American businesses are realizing that being ahead of the curve when it comes to energy savings is smart business. Carbon regulatory schemes have emerged at the State level, such as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, www.rggi.com, and EPA carbon regulation is both extant and emerging at the U.S. federal level. Green building can save clients money and reduce their carbon footprint at the same time. Mr. Alpert advises clients and conducts seminars on the emerging regulatory schemes to enable smart initiatives that are good for the environment and good for business.
Sustainability Advising. Companies have realized that compliance is no longer merely the avoidance of a negative. Going to environmental compliance and beyond can avoid legal liability and have positive impacts in the court of public opinion. There is a triple bottom line: economic, environmental, and social, and Mr. Alpert assists companies in their efforts to do good and do well. He also advises emerging green businesses on contracts and business strategy.
Mr. Alpert was named by Law & Politics as a New York Super Lawyer in environmental and business litigation for 2007 through 2011.
Mr. Alpert is a member of the New York and Florida bars. He is a frequent speaker on litigation and environmental issues. He is Co-Chair of the Toxic Torts Committee, Environmental Law Section, New York State Bar Association.
Mr. Alpert received his J.D., cum laude, from University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was a Legal Writing Instructor and an Editor of the Law Review. His Comment, NEPA's Role in Protecting the World Environment, appears at 131 U. Pa. L. Rev. 353 (1982). He earned his B.S. in Economics, with Outstanding Academic Performance, from Binghamton University (SUNY).
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Commercial Litigation
Environmental Litigation and Counseling
New York, Florida
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of N.Y.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of N.Y.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Just Warming Up: Climate Litigation And Regulation of Greenhouse Gases,
New York Law Journal, Aug. 23, 2011
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The business of 'green': Fix it before it's broken,
The GreenZine, March 2010. To view the article click here.
U.S. Supreme Court Toughens Burdens of Proof Under CERCLA,
New York Law Journal, July 10, 2009
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Presentation to the Air & Waste Management Association's Professional Development Course: Vapor Intrusion - The Next Great Environmental Challenge
(January 2006)
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Federal and State Hazardous Substance Litigation: Allowing a Remediation Contractor To Assume Site Liabiltes Discussion of United States v. Mattce Industries, Inc.
A Monthly Journal of Federal, State and Private Hazardus Waste Litigation (November 2005)
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Understanding How A Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) Works
The Alpert Firm
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March 18, 2012
New York cable TV Lawline program about the future of green building and renewable energy. To view the show click here.
Oct. 19, 2011
Sustainability is Smart Business and that Includes Remediation, The Association for Environmental Health & Sciences Foundation, The 27th Annual International Conference on Soils, Sediments, Water and Energy, Amherst, MA
Sept. 29, 2009
The Business of Being Green -- How Emerging Laws Make Sustainability an Imperative, New York City Bar.
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