Lawyers

Ms. Otuteye specializes in construction, environmental and real estate matters. Her experience includes complex environmental investigations and remediations, strategic counseling on environmental insurance, regulatory agency compliance and enforcement defense and drafting and negotiating consulting, access, settlement and tolling agreements and commercial leases.

Ms. Otuteye received her undergraduate degree in Government from Harvard University and holds a J.D. from U.C. Berkeley's Boalt Hall.

Representative Matters

Environmental Investigations and Remediation Management

• Represent and counsel clients in environmental investigations, strategies, transactional, compliance, and regulatory agency enforcement defense matters, land use and CEQA projects. Assist and coordinate small and large scale environmental investigation and remediation projects.
• Substantial experience representing Fortune 500 client involved in major Southern California Superfund case.
• Asbestos site cleanup representing an Inland Empire city. Investigation and remediation of chemical solvent recycling site in La Mirada, California, representing major chemical company.
• Work with and negotiate access agreements with all on-site and off-site owners for investigation and/or remediation of property affected or potentially affected by contamination. Coordinate Phase I and Phase II environmental assessment and investigation work.
• Locate, contract with, and manage consultants, engineers, contractors, investigators or others with expertise needed for the project

Title and Due Diligence

• Research and investigate chain of title for potential responsible parties.
• Research and investigate property title matters including financing and competing title interests such as adverse possession and easements. Analyze title for encroachments, conditions, restrictions, covenants, and historical uses with view to effect of title issues on current property management, project development, environmental cleanup and insurance needs.
• Research, investigation and analysis of client holdings, client potential contribution liability and that of other potential responsible parties at California superfund site and other contaminated properties in California.
• Extensive research, investigation, analysis and negotiation concerning other complex property interests such as mineral estate interests, oil and gas leases, and historic easements and uses.
• Worked with Board of Directors of a Native American economic development group assisting with corporate formation documentation and interpretation.

Litigation

• Research, analysis, depositions, motions, witness investigations, discovery, compilation of exhibits and attorney and witness preparation for trial in cases involving mold, oil spills, hazardous waste migration, nuisance, trespass, and strict liability.
• Mechanics lien filings and foreclosure and filing of secured and unsecured claims of clients in Bankruptcy Court.
• Draft and negotiate tolling agreements in environmental litigation.
• Draft and negotiate settlement agreements and trust account agreements in business and environmental litigation.

Commercial Development and Leasing

• Draft, customize and negotiate commercial leases for developers, bioengineering and geotechnical consulting firms, and manufacturer of large mechanical and industrial equipment.
• Investigate and resolve title issues and other due diligence environmental and property investigations.
• Extensive modifications and addendums to leases to tailor to client’s needs for environmental investigation, payment and protection, inspection and remediation.

Contracts

• Draft, review and negotiate commercial and construction contracts for heavy industrial, real estate and environmental consultant clients.
• Handle lien and construction claim matters for major industrial contractor.

Insurance

• Assessment of environmental insurance needs for developers and other business clients with environmental project components.
• Analysis of relevant insurance programs and negotiation and placement of pollution legal liability insurance policies.
• Analysis of commercial general liability policies with respect to coverage of environmental defense claims.

Government Agencies

• Work with Regional Water Quality Boards, Department of Toxic Substances Control, South Coast Air Quality Management District, Port of Long Beach, on California Superfund site and on investigation and clean up of other contaminated sites involving mold, water intrusion, asbestos, oil field wastes, and volatile organic chemicals.