Slover & Loftus LLP

Number of lawyers: 10

Languages: English

Firm Overview

Slover & Loftus LLP, founded in 1967, is a national law firm that specializes in commercial transactions, litigation, and arbitration in transportation, energy, and administrative law. Clients include investor-owned, municipal, and cooperative utilities, bulk commodity rail shippers and receivers, terminals, intermodal and parcel freight providers, port authorities, state and local entities, regional railroads, and trade associations. The firm engages in trial and appellate advocacy before federal and state courts, administrative agencies, and arbitral tribunals. Additional information on the firm, including attorney biographies, is available at www.sloverandloftus.com.

Main Areas of Practice

Rail Transportation:

Slover & Loftus effectively represents rail customers, including electric utilities and other bulk commodity shippers; intermodal and parcel freight providers; and grain, agriculture, paper, ethanol, fertilizer, petroleum products, and chemical shippers and receivers. The firm has participated in practically every major proceeding before the Surface Transportation Board and Interstate Commerce Commission over the past 50+ years, including rulemakings, declaratory order proceedings, unreasonable rate and practice cases, mergers, and railroad constructions and abandonments. The firm also represents clients in commercial disputes with major railroads in federal and state courts and arbitrations. Slover & Loftus regularly counsels rail customers in the negotiation and administration of rail transportation contracts, including rate adjustments, renegotiations and true-ups, outsourcing arrangements, and rail service issues, including demurrage and accessorial services. The firm has extensive experience with railcar leases and purchases, railroad and customer liability issues, federal preemption, project review under the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, and state and local laws, and corporate transactional work involving railroad and rail asset acquisitions.

Energy & Fuel Supply:

Slover & Loftus has extensive experience representing coal buyers and others in the negotiation of new contracts, administration and renegotiation of existing contracts, audits, and buy-outs and buy-downs, as well as in litigation and arbitration involving coal supply arrangements.

Intermodal:

Slover & Loftus represents intermodal service providers, third-party logistics companies, and intermodal and parcel shippers in a wide array of matters, including complex contract negotiations, administrative and regulatory matters, and litigation/arbitration. The firm assists clients with obtaining reasonable rates and service from carriers in the intermodal transportation supply chain, including negotiating cost-based contract rates and arbitrating rate and service disputes against major rail carriers. Slover & Loftus represents several of the nation’s largest intermodal transportation and logistics companies, as well as many grain, fertilizer, and chemical companies.

Electric & Natural Gas:

Slover & Loftus represents utilities in electric regulatory matters, such as rulemakings and individual utility proceedings involving open access arrangements, regional transmission organizations, reliability standards, cost allocation and attribution matters, and compliance with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reporting and filing requirements. The firm also counsels clients with power and natural gas procurement, including transmission, transportation, and related litigation.

Port Authorities, Terminals, Public Entities & General Commodities:

Slover & Loftus represents major U.S. port authorities and terminals regarding rail access, service, and switching; state and local entities regarding rail acquisition and abandonment, environmental mitigation, and service preservation; and cities and other public owners of rail transportation infrastructure and assets regarding development and expansion of their properties, operating arrangements, and purchases and sales. Other matters include privatization of common carrier freight lines and redevelopment of former railroad properties; coincident commuter and freight rail operations; and development of public-private partnerships, including funding. The firm has also represented chemical and other shippers in connection with contract and common carrier rail transportation, including hazmat liability, indemnification, and preemption.

Regional Railroads, Motor Carriers & Water Carriers:

Slover & Loftus has assisted entrepreneurs and diversified companies in establishing and expanding new rail carriers through line purchases and leases from larger railroads. The firm’s expertise includes rail line acquisitions and sales and trackage rights arrangements, including regulatory approval, labor protection, and financing. The firm has extensive experience in due diligence reviews and proceedings before the Surface Transportation Board, the Federal Railroad Administration, and the Railroad Retirement Board. Slover & Loftus was lead counsel in several landmark cases impacting short line and regional railroads, including the 1990 Wilmington Terminal case, which clarified short line purchasers’ obligations to a seller’s employees, and the 1995 New England Central case, establishing regulatory ground rules when new carriers acquire larger properties. The firm has also represented barge lines, ocean carriers, and several of the nation’s largest motor carriers on a variety of transportation issues, including dealings with Class I railroads.

Practice Areas

• Rail Transportation
• Energy & Fuel Supply
• Intermodal
• Electric & Natural Gas
• Port Authorities, Public Entities & General Commodities
• Regional Railroads, Motor Carriers & Water Carriers

Offices

1828 L Street, N.W.

Suite 1000

Washington, DC 20036

Tel: 202 347 7170 Fax: 202 347 3619

Email: [email protected]