Moez M. Kaba

When a catastrophic 2015 acid wastewater spill from the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado sent a 3 million-gallon toxic plume through 200 miles of a primary water source for the Navajo Nation, Kaba and boss John C. Hueston offered to represent the tribe.

“The river turned yellow,” Kaba said. “The Navajo Nation was looking at all the great elite law firms across the country. John and I went out there and did a presentation. We committed that we would work for them at a lower rate than usual, as part of our firm’s wish to do high stakes impact litigation even in cases that do not command the highest fees.”

Kaba and Hueston filed suit for the Navajo Nation against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, their civilian contractors and current and former mine owners and operators, seeking damages in the hundreds of millions to billions of dollars for violations of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), negligence, gross negligence, trespass and nuisance. Navajo Nation v. U.S. EPA, 1:16-cv-00931 (D. N.M., filed Aug. 16, 2016).

In February, the plaintiffs won an important victory when the court refused to dismiss the suit against the EPA’s subcontractor. “They claimed sovereign immunity protection because they were working for the government,” Kaba said. “The judge said no dice, our arguments to the contrary were persuasive and convincing.” Still before the court are dismissal motions by the EPA and the mining companies. “We believe we have the better argument and that we will prevail and get discovery.” Kaba said he has also lobbied Congress for protective legislation for the tribe and prepped Navajo Nation leaders to give testimony.

That work positioned Kaba’s firm to take up another Navajo Nation cause last year when the tribe learned that members had been targeted by Wells Fargo & Co. with predatory lending practices. The tribe’s elders — some of whom do not speak English — were purposely confused and deceived into purchasing bank products to help employees meet quotas, the suit alleges. “Our client was impacted in some unique ways,” Kaba said. “We’re in discovery.” Navajo Nation v. Wells Fargo & Co., 1:17-cv-01219 (D. N.M., filed Dec. 12, 2017).

Kaba’s defense work includes his role as co-lead counsel for Endo Pharmaceuticals, an opioid manufacturer. He is aggressively employing an affirmative litigation strategy to file counterclaims and to bring other parties into cases around the country in the massive suits alleging fraudulent drug marketing. In July Kaba and his team filed the first of its kind suit against Tennessee’s illegal drug supply chain, claiming the true drivers of the public health crisis are illegal dealers, pill mills and online distributors. Endo Health Solutions Inc. v. Alpha Bay, C-41916 (Sullivan (Tenn.) Cir., filed July 20, 2018).

“The cherry on the top for me is to see the direct impact of the elite services we can provide,” Kaba said.

— John Roemer