Christopher Strunk is a Partner resident in GRSM’s San Francisco office with more than 25 years of experience litigating complex Environmental and Toxic Tort disputes and serves as a co-leader of GRSM’s national Cannabis, Hemp & CBD National Practice Group.
Representative Experience
- Obtained a $2,000,000 stipulated judgment in a breach of contract/fraud case brought against a hydroponics retailer after obtaining case-terminating concessions in written discovery and at deposition. (2023)
- Won a motion to stay a preferenced living mesothelioma case in Los Angeles County based on forum non conveniens, one of only a handful of such motions granted on this basis in asbestos litigation in the county in the past decade. (2023)
- Won full summary judgment in Los Angeles Superior Court in a wrongful death mesothelioma case after excluding Plaintiff’s expert reports as hearsay (2024)
- Excluded plaintiff’s key asbestos testing expert at the motion in limine phase for discovery noncompliance (2024)
- Won multiple summary adjudication motions for a drywall client on fraud and punitive damages (2015 – 2018)
- Won two demurrers on fraud and punitive damages, with our motions being granted without leave to amend (2023)
- Prosecuted a complex breach of contract, business tort, and Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 claim on behalf of an equine business owner and obtaining a substantial settlement. (2018)
- Participated in a three-week complex federal CERCLA trial as a lead trial lawyer, resulting in a verdict which was less than 25% of plaintiff’s “bottom line” pre-trial demand. (2012)
- After obtaining concessions at deposition from plaintiffs’ key expert, won summary judgment for an industrial equipment manufacturer upon reconsideration in an asbestos-related death claim involving more than $10 million in claimed damages.(2009)
- Won a motion to dismiss a claim brought against an out-of-state hydroponics supplier to the cannabis industry in a high stakes toxic tort matter involving pesticide exposure with more than $10,000,000 in potential liability. (2018)
- Successfully litigated a motion to compel arbitration in a seven-figure breach of contract and unfair business practices claim against a large, Nevada based hydroponics supplier, barring plaintiff from pursuing equitable relief and severely capping money damages and resulting in a complete dismissal of the claim. (2022)
- Author, Navigating Hemp’s Legal Headwinds in 2022, “Best of” Series, GPSolo magazine, American Bar Association, October 2022
- Author, Yes to Cannabis! Just Not in My Backyard: An Analysis of Odor-Based Claims in the Cannabis Industry, The Brief, American Bar Association, August 2020
- Author, How Green is the “Green Rush”? Recognizing the Environmental Concerns Facing the Cannabis Industry, Volume 21, Vermont Journal of Environmental Law, 2019-2020
- Author, Colorado Marijuana Distributor Wins Battle in “First of Its Kind” Pesticide Exposure Lawsuit, But Is the War Just Beginning?, GRSM ETT Defense Insight Blog, April 11, 2016
- Author, California appellate court bucks national trend, allows plaintiff experts to opine that “every asbestos exposure is a substantial factor”, GRSM ETT Defense Insight Blog, March 4, 2016
- Author, Welcome to the Hotel California? Out-of-state plaintiffs should check out and leave, says new decision, GRSM ETT Defense Insight Blog, June 22, 2015
- Author, Mesothelioma Linked to Therapeutic Radiation, GRSM ETT Defense Insight Blog, March 4, 2015
- Author, Is the MDL a “sophisticated misuser” of California law? California appellate court refuses to apply sophisticated user doctrine, rebukes Feds, GRSM ETT Defense Insight Blog, October 31, 2014
- Speaker, Smoky Horizons: A synopsis of employment, environmental, and litigation challenges facing the cannabis industry, MyLawCLE and Federal Bar Association, October 2024
- Speaker, Bitter Harvest: An Updated Evaluation of Litigation Risks in the Cannabis Space, Defense Research Institute Cannabis Law Virtual Seminar, September 2024
- Speaker, Environmental Issues in the Cannabis Industry: Evolving Regulations and Litigation for Marijuana, CBD, and Hemp, Strafford Webinar, October 2019
- Featured Speaker, “Understanding the USDA Interim Hemp Regulations: A Nuts & Bolts Guide to Compliance,” presented by the National Industrial Hemp Council (Washington DC, November 2019)
- Featured Speaker, The Current Legal Regulatory Framework on Industrial Hemp, National Industrial Hemp Council Hemp Business Summit, August 2019
- Featured Speaker, Smoke on the Water: Environmental Issues in Cannabis, Defense Research Institute Cannabis Law Conference, May 2019
Admissions
- California
- Illinois
- Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Courts, Northern & Central Districts of California
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Education
- J.D., Villanova University School of Law, 1998
- Associate Editor, Villanova Environmental Law Journal
- Niagara International Law Moot Court Team
- B.A., cum laude, English and Political Science, Boston College, 1995
- Officer, Fulton Debating Society
Honors
- Top Rated Lawyer-AV® Preeminent™, Martindale-Hubbell
- The Legal 500, recognition in Environmental Litigation (2019)