Law Offices of Matthew F. Pawa, P.C.

The Law Offices of Matthew F. Pawa, P.C. provides high quality legal services in commercial litigation, real estate litigation, major environmental cases, and other legal matters involving consumer rights, unfair business practices, constitutional rights, and personal injuries. The firm offers significant experience representing governments, large and small businesses, environmental and conservation groups, citizens, property owners, non-profit organizations and injured persons. We handle individual cases and class actions. Collaboration with other firms across the nation is a common element of our practice. We work on contingency, hourly and mixed fee arrangements and are open to creative billing arrangements that benefit the client and reward us for success. We handle every case with an eye toward taking it to trial and welcome the opportunity for trial. Our attorneys have backgrounds in both the plaintiff and defense bars and in litigation and land use law. We welcome difficult, challenging, complex, and novel cases.

Breaking News:

March 18, 2010: Amicus Briefs filed Kivalina Case. The Pawa Firm is pleased to report the filing of amicus briefs in support of its Ninth Circuit brief in Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Corp. Amicus briefs were filed by renewable energy companies and by a group of law professors.

  • To read the renewable energy companies' amicus brief, click here.
  • To read the law professors' amicus brief, click here.

March 10, 2010: The Pawa firm today filed the opening brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in the case of Kivalina versus ExxonMobil Corp.

March 8, 2010: Global Warming Lawsuit Announcement. The Pawa Firm is pleased to announce that the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has denied the defendants’ petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc in Connecticut, et al. v. American Electric Power Co., et al. In September, 2009 the Pawa Firm and its partners won a major victory when the court reinstated this case by eight states, the City of New York and three land trusts in a sweeping ruling in our favor. We have sued the five largest greenhouse gas emitters in the country (electric power corporations that burn large quantities of fossil fuels) and we seek a court order to reduce GHG emissions under the common law of public nuisance. Today the court denied defendants’ petition that sought to have the full court of all active Second Circuit judges reconsider the decision.

February 3, 2010: Today attorney Matt Pawa appeared in Boston Municipal Court to represent, pro bono, global warming protestors who slept out on the Boston Commons to call attention to global warming. The Pawa Firm represents climate scientist Dr. James Hansen; author-activist-350.org leader Bill McKibben; and statewide coordinator of The Leadership Campaign Craig Altemose. Over 200 people, mostly students, slept out on the Boston Commons in late 2009 to call on the Massachusetts legislature to take action on global warming. The police ordered the protestors to leave or face criminal trespass charges. The protestors stayed put for the night. Today the prosecutors dropped all criminal charges. The Pawa Firm was joined by attorney James Budreau in its representation of Hansen, McKibben, and Altemose.


Boston Municipal Court 2/3/10. From left to right: James Hansen, Bill McKibben, Matt Pawa, Craig Altemose

January 27, 2010: Today the New York Times has published a major story on our global warming tort cases.

October 23, 2009: The Pawa Firm announces the filing of a class action case against the Bridgeport Port Authority seeking a refund of unconstitutional ferry fees charged to passengers on ferry travel between Bridgeport, Connecticut and Port Jefferson, New York. A federal district court recently held that the Bridgeport Port Authority was violating the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution by charging ferry passengers excessive fees; the court enjoined the fees in a case filed by the ferry company. The class action case filed today by the Pawa Firm and Connecticut lawyer Neal Moskow of Ury & Moskow LLC seeks refunds for those passengers who paid the unconstitutional fees.

Sept. 21, 2009:  Today the Pawa Firm is pleased to announce a victory in the Connecticut and Open Space Institute versus American Electric Power Co. cases   In these two combined public nuisance lawsuits, a group of eight states and the City of New York, along with three land trusts represented by the Pawa firm, sued companies that in 2004, when the case was filed, were the five largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the nation.  In these cases the plaintiffs seek a court order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the common law doctrine of public nuisance.   A district court judge dismissed the case as a political question in 2005.   Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that the case does not present a political question but rather a legal question, that all plaintiffs have proper standing, that we have stated a proper claim under the federal common law of public nuisance and that our public nuisance claim is not preempted.   

To read news articles regarding the Second Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision, click on these links:

August 21, 2009: Today the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled in favor of the State of New Hampshire in its interlocutory appeal in the MTBE case. The state Supreme Court, reversing the trial court, held that the State had properly served two of the defendants while the case was pending in federal court and prior to remand to state court. The two defendants had challenged the state court’s jurisdiction over them on the ground that the federal court had lacked subject matter jurisdiction at the time they were served. The high court disagreed and ruled today that the defendants were properly served.

  • To see a copy of the court’s opinion, click here.

June 16, 2009:  The Pawa Firm today argued an appeal in the New Hampshire Supreme Court in the MTBE case.  The appeal addresses whether two oil companies that are alleged to have added MTBE to gasoline were properly brought into the case at a time when the case was pending in federal court.  The case has since been returned to state court and the two new defendants claim the federal actions bringing them into the case should be given no credence in state court. 

  • To see Matt Pawa’s oral argument in this appeal, click here.
Luke Cole and Matt Pawa

June 8, 2009:  The Law Offices of Matthew F. Pawa, P.C. honors the memory of Luke Cole, who died in a tragic accident last week.  Cole was the President of the Center on Race Poverty and the Environment and a leader in our global warming case on behalf of Kivalina.  

The Pawa Firm attorneys and staff were privileged to have known and worked with Luke and to have become his friends.  Luke was not only a great legal mind but a generous and kind spirit.  We look forward to participating in memorials to Luke and in carrying on his important work.  We offer our deepest condolences to his family.  We urge all those wishing to honor his work to make a contribution to CRPE.

May 19, 2009:  The Pawa Firm is pleased to announce a major victory in the clean car cases (“Pavley cases”).  General Motors, Chrysler and their trade associations have given up the fight against state greenhouse gas laws.  Under a settlement announced today, the automakers will comply with new federal standards that are at least as stringent as the state laws they have been fighting against for years.  They agreed to stay their lawsuits and, upon issuance of the new federal rules, dismiss them. 

  • To read details of the settlement agreement, click here.
  • For further information on these cases on the Pawa Firm’s role, click here.

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