Sep. 12, 2013
Timothy T. Coates
See more on Timothy T. CoatesGreines, Martin, Stein & Richland LLP | Los Angeles | Practice type: Appellate litigation
Coates has made a specialty out of defending police officers and their employers over actions they took in the line of duty. But this year, Coates did a 180 degree turn, focusing much of his energy on environmental law.
He successfully represented Los Angeles County Flood Control District in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. The court ruled that county officials didn't violate the Clean Water Act when polluted water moved through portions of the Los Angeles and San Gabriel rivers that the district maintains. The opinion reversed the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which had sided with environmental groups, and ruled that the Los Angeles County Flood Control District failed to clean up polluted urban runoff. Los Angeles County Flood Control District v. Natural Resources Defense Council Inc. (2013) 133 S. Ct. 710.
"I'd done some environmental law in the past, but nothing with the Clean Water Act," said Coates, who was brought up to speed by co-counsel Howard D. Gest and David W. Burhenn, also Los Angeles attorneys. "I thought it was my job to translate the Clean Water Act into plain English for a court that doesn't see Clean Water Act issues a lot. It's a real challenge to sometimes explain the esoteric and difficult concepts into straightforward terms that a court will get." The win was Coates' fourth before the U.S. Supreme Court in the past four years.
Coates also advised the city of Riverside on whether the historic Mt. Rubidoux cross, which was situated in a city park, violated the First Amendment. "The law concerning crosses on public property is all over the place," Coates said. The city ultimately sold the property to local historical groups.
- EMILY GREEN
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