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Tiffany M. Andras is a litigator with experience representing clients in a wide range of complex matters in various federal jurisdictions and in multi-district litigation. She has experience in CERCLA environmental litigation, class actions, products liability, shareholder disputes, director and officer fiduciary duty claims, fraud, commercial banking, wage and hour disputes under the FLSA, general commercial contract disputes, and defending clients against claims brought under various federal statutes. She has worked with clients facing enforcement action by federal regulatory agencies, helping companies navigate responses to requests for information, and is experienced working with clients facing ongoing civil investigations by the Department of Justice under the False Claims Act.

On June 18, 2020, the Seventh Circuit handed down a decision in a case involving historical environmental contamination that eases the path to federal court for defendants who are haled into state court for acts that occurred while defendants were assisting the federal government. In Sherrie Baker et al. v. Atlantic Richfield Company, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, et al., No. 19-3160, 2020 WL 3287024, — F.3d — (7th Cir. 2020), the court adopted a new standard for federal officer removal, holding that defendants act under color of federal office and are entitled to a federal forum when sued for conduct relating to acts for the federal government, even if the conduct at issue in a particular case only partially implicates the federally directed acts. This decision has consequences that reach beyond defendants facing environmental liability, as did the defendants in Baker, as it could provide an additional avenue to a federal forum for companies that have either been awarded federal contracts, or that supply customers who hold federal contracts.
Continue Reading 7th Circuit Lowers Removal Hurdle for Defendants That Assisted the Feds