Supply Chain & Logistics

Meyers Nave is lead counsel on multiple large-scale cargo, shipping and transportation projects for container terminals and dockside intermodal railyards. We navigate major projects through the CEQA, NEPA, Coastal Act, State Lands and other regulatory frameworks, and advise on multiple long-term planning projects, including the Port Master Plan Update. Our industry leadership is highlighted by our role in the Port’s most important projects and high-visibility litigation, including:

• China Shipping Container Terminal Project (Berths 97-109)
• Yang Ming Container Terminal/West Basin Redevelopment Project (Berths 121-131)
• Pacific L.A. Marine Terminal, Tank Farms, and Pipelines Project
• APL Container Terminal Project (Berths 302-206)
• Trapac Container Terminal Project
• Ultramar Inc. (Valero) Marine Terminal Lease Renewal Project (Berths 163-164)
• Clean Trucks Program

Administrative appeal on BNSF’s proposal to build a third main track along 30 miles of rail corridor west of Needles. The appeal challenged the Regional Water Quality Control Board’s denial of a Water Quality Certification under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, resting on the plain language of the statute, controlling case law, recent federal rulemaking, and the argument that the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act categorically preempts state preclearance requirements for transportation improvements by a private freight carrier. BNSF submitted a revised application, which the Regional Board approved. Read the case study.

Land use, real property and environmental counsel to the Port, including the ferry terminal that will make Redwood City the southernmost hub of the San Francisco Bay Ferry system, connecting the mid-peninsula to San Francisco and the East Bay. The work spans CEQA review, waterfront access, zoning amendments, infrastructure relocation and the coordinated landside and waterside approvals of a multi-phase transportation and redevelopment program. Beyond passenger service, the terminal is built to move first responders and supplies by water after a catastrophic event.

Meyers Nave proudly serves BNSF Railway, the largest freight railroad network in the U.S. by track length, on several transformative projects that strengthen infrastructure and enhance environmental sustainability across Southern California, including:

• Barstow International Gateway Project. a $4.5 billion, 4,500-acre project and the first of its kind developed by a Class I railroad, dramatically improving logistics and sustainability by eliminating the need for truck transport by transferring shipping containers directly from ships at the bustling Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach onto trains bound for Barstow, and from there to destinations across the country.
• Southern California International Gateway. A planned $700 million near-dock intermodal rail facility located approximately four miles from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
• Needles Third Main Track Project. This award-winning project adds a third main line track to ease congestion, increase capacity, and ensure the safe, timely movement of goods between Southern California ports and the rest of the country, a major infrastructure enhancement designed to improve freight mobility and efficiency along one of the nation’s busiest rail corridors.

We created billions of dollars’ worth of reusable design, construction, design-build, and CM/GC (Construction Manager/General Contractor) contract manuals in support of major expansions at the Port of Oakland. These projects upgraded marine terminals, intermodal rail facilities, and landside infrastructure to boost cargo handling capacity, streamline logistics, and accommodate larger vessels as global trade demands evolve.

Meyers Nave is advising BNSF on partnering with the California High‐Speed Rail Authority for CEQA and NEPA review of a project to redevelop existing rail corridors, in coordination with multiple jurisdictions, to operate high‐speed passenger service on a segment of BNSF‐owned track from Los Angeles Union Station to Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center.

Throughout the 2000s and 2010s we prepared reusable design, construction, design-build and CM/GC contract manuals for the Port of Oakland Seaport and Airport Expansion projects (over $2 Billion construction value), the San Francisco International Airport Expansion Project (approximately $1.4 Billion construction value), cities (Berkeley, Santa Clara), counties (Santa Clara and San Mateo), school districts and community college districts (Sonoma Valley, Emeryville, Peralta, San Francisco), Irrigation District (El Dorado), and Kaiser Hospitals (13 hospitals, more than $2 Billion construction value.).

Successfully defended the City’s approval of an Amazon warehouse facility against a CEQA challenge, obtaining dismissal of the action.

Legal counsel on the EIR and project entitlements for redevelopment of the Guadalupe Quarry, including construction and operation of an approximately 1.3 million square foot warehouse together with the closure and reclamation of the existing quarry.

Pursued construction defect claims against the general contractor on a one million square foot warehouse in Northern California for the real estate investment arm of a national insurance company. The recovery followed the discovery of contractor fraud involving installation of a non-fire-rated roof assembly, evidence located because the lead lawyer had trained as an architect before practicing law.

Defense of the state regulation governing emissions from vessels at berth, in Pacific Merchant Shipping Association v. Newsom (2021) 67 Cal.App.5th 711, a rule that reaches every container ship calling at a California port.

Counsel to the County on a specific plan and EIR establishing a framework to transform the Imperial Valley into a hub for renewable energy, mineral recovery, manufacturing and logistics across roughly 52,000 acres beside the Salton Sea. The plan is a pillar of the California Air Resources Board’s 2022 Scoping Plan and is intended to help decarbonize the state’s electricity sector while building a domestic battery supply chain.

Advocacy on behalf of a developer against a draft zoning ordinance that would have prohibited warehouse and distribution uses citywide and imposed significant development restrictions on industrial property. The effort secured favorable changes in later drafts, which the city ultimately adopted.

Defense of an international shipping company in breach of contract actions in New York, Utah, Texas, Michigan and California state and federal courts, including several trials. The firm separately advised the company through an antitrust internal investigation and the related government investigation and enforcement proceeding.

A defense decision at bench trial in Los Angeles Superior Court ended breach of contract claims over an international sale of scrap iron, a cross-border transaction that turned on expert testimony about the scrap market in South Korea and on sales originating in Mexico. Meyers Nave also represented a manufacturer of video game components in a contract and tort action in California state court arising from a dispute with its supplier.

Our client faced a barrage of claims from a former senior executive. The suit alleged age discrimination, constructive termination, unpaid commissions, and retaliation, with $2.8 million in damages at stake. At trial, we presented key evidence showing the executive had poor performance, had accepted a higher-paying role before resigning, and had sought commissions for accounts he no longer managed. The court found in our client’s favor on every count in a full defense verdict.

City of Los Angeles (Port of Los Angeles) China Shipping Terminal. Meyers Nave was brought in to help resolve long-standing issues presented by an adverse Court of Appeal decision setting aside an EIR.

Negotiated the MOU with the California Attorney General’s Office that set the greenhouse gas inventory and impact protocols for more than a dozen large-scale projects on Port property, together with the mitigation frameworks agreed with environmental and community groups.

Meyers Nave represents the City in its ongoing joint project with the Army Corps of Engineers for the dredging of Newport Harbor and disposing of spoils, including the construction of a contained aquatic disposal (CAD) facility within the harbor. The firm’s work includes Section 404, Coastal Act and Water Board permitting, as well as the successful defense of three lawsuits challenging the project.

Large California Port. Conducted numerous confidential investigations including into allegations of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and failure to accommodate following a probationary termination. Claims were reviewed under applicable personnel rules and EEO policies.

(3) Trapac Container Terminal Project. We advised POLA on compliance with CEQA and NEPA in connection with its preparation of a joint EIS/EIR for a proposed lease to expand container terminal operations at Berths 136-147.

Airfield & Terminal Modernization Project (ATMP). Meyers Nave is lead counsel for this multi-billion-dollar overhaul of LAX’s ground transportation and terminal infrastructure, including detailed review of planning documents and EIR.

Meyers Nave provided land use and environmental counsel for a project to redevelop and modernize existing air cargo facilities along the Century Boulevard corridor at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), which will optimize land use and cargo throughput with improved technology and efficiency while also retaining and creating jobs in the region.

Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., et al. v. City of Los Angeles, et al. Represent Port of Los Angeles in decades-long dispute related to the air quality impacts of continued operation of an existing marine terminal.

Extensive legal oversight and review on numerous Environmental Impact Statements/Environmental Impact Reports (EIS/EIRs) and multiple related legal opinions for projects at the Port of Los Angeles.

Yang Ming Container Terminal/West Basin Redevelopment Project (Berths 121-131). Meyers Nave advises the Port on all CEQA issues related to the expansion of Yang Ming Container Terminal.

Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT). Meyers Nave provided CEQA and land use counsel for the $2 billion Bradley West Project, a major renovation of the international terminal and gates at LAX.

Advised on CEQA and NEPA compliance for the EIR for the proposed lease renewal of the Ultramar Inc. (Valero) marine petroleum products terminal at Berths 163-164, increasing annual throughput from 14 million to 17 million barrels.

Meyers Nave is lead counsel to BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) on the Barstow International Gateway (BIG) project, one of the most significant private freight infrastructure investments in California history.

Meyers Nave advised BNSF on partnering with the California High‐Speed Rail Authority for CEQA and NEPA review of a project to redevelop existing rail corridors, in coordination with multiple jurisdictions, to operate high‐speed passenger service on a segment of BNSF‐owned track from Los Angeles Union Station to Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center.

Meyers Nave represented Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), North America’s largest freight railway, in seven lawsuits (later consolidated) challenging its $700 million Southern California International Gateway project, a near-dock rail transfer facility serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Clean Trucks Program Representing POLA and the Port of Long Beach, Meyers Nave facilitated the environmental review for implementing a program to convert diesel trucks to liquid natural gas, enhancing environmental compliance and sustainability.

Meyers Nave served as lead outside land use and environmental counsel to the City of Oakland for the proposed Howard Terminal waterfront ballpark and mixed-use development project for the Oakland Athletics at the Port of Oakland.

Our attorneys provided in-depth review of the Port of San Diego’s Master Plan Update and Port Master Plan Update Program Draft EIR involving compliance with the Coastal Act and long-range policy and planning issues, including sea level rise and comments provided by Coastal Commission staff.

Chief outside counsel for the CEQA and NEPA review of the $600 million Pacific L.A. Marine Terminal, the state’s first new oil shipping terminal in over a decade, including the joint EIS/EIR prepared with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the successful defense of the project in Jesse N. Marquez v. City of Los Angeles.

Meyers Nave serves as lead environmental compliance and land use permitting counsel for multiple large-scale cargo, shipping and transportation projects for container terminals and dockside intermodal railyards.

Meyers Nave assisted SANDAG in developing an MOU for the San Dieguito Restoration Project to create 150 acres of coastal wetlands.

Meyers Nave represents the Center for Natural Lands Management in its efforts to ensure protection of the critically endangered Pacific pocket mouse through extremely contentious litigation with the City of Dana Point involving issues under the Endangered Species Act, the Coastal Act, conservation easements, and public access and rights.

Meyers Nave represents the Southwest Resource Management Association in negotiating conservation easements, endowment agreements and other real estate transactions for preserving open space and conservation lands throughout southern California.

Korean Air Cargo Terminal Improvements. CEQA advice on expansion of cargo warehouse and office facilities.