John, a partner in the New Orleans office, has been with the firm since 1975 and is also the practice coordinator for the tort litigation group. John's practice is exclusively litigation, in the area of toxic torts, pharmaceutical, environmental, class actions, health care and commercial litigation. Prior to joining the firm, he served in the United States Coast Guard as an Assistant District Legal Officer from 1971 to 1975.

• Tulane University, LL.M. in Environmental Law, 1999; J.D., 1971

• Member: American Bar Association (Co-Chair Mass Torts Committee, Litigation Section, 2007-08; Vice Chair Mass Torts Committee, Litigation Section, 2005; Chair, Book Publications Committee, 2002-2003, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources; Chair, Fall Meeting 2001 Committee, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources); Defense Research Institute; Louisiana State Bar Association (Environmental Law Section); American Health Lawyers' Association; CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) New Orleans - dealing with abandoned and neglected children, President 2003-2005, New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute Board of Directors 2004 -; GNO, Inc., Chair of Insurance Task Force

• Moderator, "Class Actions and the Law of Unintended Consequences: How Lawyers in the Real World React to Changes in Procedural and Substantive Rules," American Bar Association, Section of Litigation and the Center for Continuing Legal Education, 10th Annual National Institute on Class Actions, San Diego, California (October 2006)
• "Mass Torts - Managing Tort Crisis on Multiple Fronts," American Bar Association annual joint seminar by the Litigation Section's Mass Torts, Environmental Litigation and Products Liability Committees, Vail, Colorado (January 2006).
• "Class Action Countdown: What's Hot on the Class Litigation Front" American Bar Association, Section of Litigation and the Center for Continuing Legal Education, 9th Annual National Institute on Class Actions, San Francisco, California (October 2005).
• "Katrina: We Won't Talk About Camille Any More," presentation to the Fall Meeting of the ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, Nashville, Tennessee (October 2005).
• Contributing Author: "The New Medicare Modernization Act of 2003," Published by the American Health Lawyers Association, (March 2004).
• "Novel Mass Tort Resolution Techniques," 4th Annual Class Action/Mass Torts Symposium, Louisiana State Bar Association (October 2003).
• "Jury Selection in Environmental Litigation," Nuts and Bolts of Environmental Litigation, Louisiana State Bar Association (September 2003).
• "Managing Class Action/Mass Tort Cases," Workshop for Judges of the Fifth Circuit, Federal Judicial Center, (April 2003).
• "Environmental Incident Management: Real World Advice for Real World Crises" American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, 31st Annual Conference on Environmental Law, Keystone, Colorado (March 2002).
• Clean Water Act §404 "Fill; The Primary Purpose Test in Transition," Water Quality and Wetlands Committee Newsletter, American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources (March 2000).
• "Private Claims for Environmental Damages, An Environmental Law Primer for the Oil and Gas Lawyer and Landman," Louisiana State University Law Center and the Mineral Law Institute (August 1999).
• "GATT and the Environment: The Friction Between International Trade and the World's Environment," Tulane Environmental Law Journal (May 1992).
• "Punitive Damages, an Overview and Current Trends," RIMS Meeting, New Orleans (1986).

    Toxic Tort, Environmental and Class Action Litigation

• Defense of class action involving approximately 3,000 plaintiffs arising out of a styrene monomer accident, resulting in the evacuation of a large portion of the campus of a university in Baton Rouge and numerous injury claims.
• Defense of a railcar owner and loading facility arising out of a butadiene leak and subsequent fire, requiring the evacuation of approximately 10,000 residents of New Orleans and 1-1/2 day closure of the interstate highway. The litigation, involving 8,000 class members, proceeded through all levels of the Louisiana courts.
• Exposure, death, and injury claims arising out of the explosion of petroleum storage facilities at a terminal near New Orleans, as well as related environmental cleanup.
• Defense of national solvents manufacturer in connection with claims of a broad variety of symptoms and ailments arising out of long term work place exposures.
• Defense of silicosis cases on behalf of a protective equipment manufacturer and its insurer, arising out of shipyard work in south Louisiana.
• Defense of utility company in a series of cases involving mercaptan releases.
• Defense of class actions arising out of a train derailment and xylene release resulting in claims by more than 4,000 residents of a partially evacuated Louisiana town.
• Litigation regarding "stigma" damages sustained by owner of property adjacent to contaminated site.
• Defense of a class action arising out of a railroad tank car release of dimethyl sulfide at two locations in the city of New Orleans.
• Defense of mass joinder hearing loss cases arising out of industrial exposure.
• Defense of class action involving a claim for injuries to 30,000 coal miners arising out of alleged exposure to isocyanate.

• Representation of international pharmaceutical manufacturer in birth defect litigation.
• Defense of international pharmaceutical manufacturer in Louisiana and Mississippi in nationwide litigation involving claims of autism and related problems allegedly caused by the use of certain childhood vaccines.
• Representation of hospitals in administrative proceedings regarding certificates of need for MRI facilities, an ambulatory surgery center and medical office buildings (Mississippi).
• Defense of diet supplement manufacturers in suits contending that products containing ephedra resulted in strokes and other serious injuries.

• Successfully represented national theatre chain in a dispute with the owners of a retail complex in the New Orleans area concerning termination of a lease and a variety of mold and premises condition issues.
• Represented national hotel chain in connection with various commercial disputes related to its hotel in downtown New Orleans, involving its HVAC systems and its roofing systems.
• Successfully represented international trank car fleet owner in a contractual dispute with a coatings manufacturer concerning the failure of coating systems on a fleet of railroad tank cars.
• Successfully represented a major contractor in a multi million dollar dispute with Louisiana Power and Light Company concerning construction of the Waterford nuclear power plant.
• Represented a petroleum trading company in a multi million dollar dispute with Shell Oil Company.