The lawsuit over Riverhead’s water supply contamination by PFAS/PFOA will have to wait.
The town board today tabled the resolution to hire the San Fransisco environmental law firm after a lawyer from a Melville law firm complained that the town didn’t solicit proposals from multiple firms.
Phil Napoli of Napoli Shkolnik complained that the town did not use an RFP process to choose a law firm to sue the manufacturers of the chemical contaminants.
The law and the town’s internal policy allow the town to enter into professional services agreements without a competitive process.
Napoli represented Riverhead Town a decade ago in previous successful lawsuit over groundwater contamination by the gasoline additive MTBE (Methyl tert-Butyl Ether), which can cause negative health impacts.
Board members agreed to table the resolution hiring the law firm Sher Edlin LLP to sue manufacturers of PFAS/PFOA, which have been found in one of the Riverhead Water District’s wells at Plant 5, located on Middle Road east of Northville Turnpike.
The Riverhead Water District superintendent recommended retaining Sher Edlin, which is representing a number of other Long Island public water suppliers in suits against PFAS manufacturers.
Napoli Shkolnik also has extensive experience in environmental litigation and is currently representing a number of Long Island water suppliers in PFAS/PFOA litigation, according to the firm’s website.
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