Plastics and the Future of Plastics Litigation
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS: [TELS] Plastics Supplemental Materials
PANEL DESCRIPTION
Plastic and microplastic pollution is one of the defining environmental challenges of our time, and the legal landscape around plastics is evolving rapidly. From consumer products and food packaging to plastic waste in the environment, litigation is increasingly being used to hold companies accountable for environmental and health harms and to push for systemic change. This panel explores the current state and future of plastics litigation, examining recent cases, regulatory developments, and emerging legal strategies. Panelists will discuss trends in liability and corporate accountability, as well as the broader implications for environmental law, public policy, and sustainability initiatives.
Moderated by Molly Mitchell.
DAVID IVY-TAYLOR, KANNER & WHITELEY
David is an attorney at Kanner & Whiteley, a boutique New Orleans law firm specializing in environmental law, consumer protection, and public entity representation. David works primarily on behalf of plaintiffs in environmental litigation.
David currently represents the City of Baltimore in its novel litigation seeking to hold the manufacturers of plastics accountable for the harms of plastic (including microplastic) pollution. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore v. Pepsico, Inc., et al., No. C-24-CV-24-001003 (Cir. Ct. Balt. Cty. filed 2024). David also represents the City in a similar suit against cigarette manufacturers (cigarette butts are a form of plastic waste), which recently survived a motion to dismiss and is headed to discovery and trial.
David also represents the State of New Mexico, the New Mexico Environment Department, and the New Mexico Office of Natural Resources Trustee in various PFAS matters, including a first-of-its-kind case being litigated as a bellwether in the AFFF MDL which seeks to recover the State’s costs and natural resource damages arising from PFAS contamination at various military bases in the state.
David earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Haverford College, Pennsylvania and then graduated cum laude from Tulane Law School with a Certificate in Environmental Law and was awarded the Haber J. McCarthy Environmental Law Award. During law school, he practiced as a student attorney in the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, representing indigent clients in environmental justice cases in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley.” After law school and prior to joining Kanner & Whiteley, David clerked for Judge Roland L. Belsome at the Louisiana Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit.
PATRICK BOYLE, CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
Patrick Boyle is an Attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) where he conducts legal and factual research in support of campaigns that seek to hold the petrochemical industry accountable for its harms. He co-authored CIEL’s 2024 report, Making Plastics Polluters Pay: How Cities and States can Recoup the Rising Costs of Plastic Pollution. Prior to joining CIEL, Patrick worked at EarthRights International, where he litigated cases involving environmental and human rights abuses by multinational corporations, and at the Center for Protest Law and Litigation, where he litigated excessive force and free speech cases. Patrick earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Tulane University and graduated cum laude from UC Law San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings). He is licensed to practice in California and the District of Columbia.