Knight

Hart is rated by Mid-South Super Lawyers® for his work in Environmental Litigation. He focuses his practice on environmental remediation, defense of environmental enforcement actions, environmental permitting, environmental litigation, and general litigation. He has represented clients before numerous environmental administrative agencies and successfully represented clients in both jury and bench trials in several different Tennessee courts.

• Environmental Litigation
• Environmental Counseling
• Tort, Transportation & Specialized Litigation
• Commercial Litigation
• Insurance
• Environmental
• Catastrophic Events & Major Claims
• Products, Catastrophic & Industrial Litigation

Energy

• Represented several landowners, developers, financial institutions, and other businesses in the acquisition of environmentally contaminated property.
• Negotiated several Brownfield Voluntary Agreements with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation on behalf of landowners, developers, financial institutions, and other businesses.
• Defended blasting company and road builder in $10.9M claim involving claimed damaged to an aquifer that was the source of a municipality’s drinking water.
• Defended construction company in a Clean Water Act Citizen Suit involving alleged damages to natural resources and property.
• Defended construction company in criminal environmental enforcement action related to alleged violations of the Clean Water Act.
• Represented property owner and developer before the Mississippi Environmental Quality Permit Board regarding water quality certification in furtherance of commercial development.
• Represented commercial developer in environmental and zoning dispute regarding Tennessee Aquatic Resource Alteration Permits.
• Defended financial institution in litigation over the sale of property contaminated by petroleum constituents.
• Pursued CERCLA Cost Recovery Action involving PCB contamination in Federal Court.
• Defended several utilities in environmental administrative litigation related the release and storage of PCBs.
• Defended several property owners and businesses in federal and state enforcement actions involving violations of the Clean Water Act and the Tennessee Water Quality Control Act.
• Represented fuel service providers in administrative litigation before administrative agencies involving claims for Underground Storage Tank trust fund eligibility.
• Defended large chemical company in agricultural products liability actions involving alleged crop damage.
• Represented national mining company in matters involving environmental issues related to reclamation and Clean Water Act mitigation.
• Represented companies engaging in various industrial and manufacturing activities that require multi-media environmental permitting, including NPDES and Title V permitting issues.
• Defended businesses in enforcement actions involving alleged violations of the Clean Air Act and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.
• Represented private company in solid waste permitting efforts with the state department of environmental quality.  
• Defended individuals and financial firms in professional malpractice, fraud, and RICO actions.
• Defended businesses and individuals in numerous personal injury, wrongful death, and catastrophic injury cases.   
• Represented individuals and businesses in jury and bench trials in various courts in Tennessee.

• Chambers USA, America's Leading Lawyers for Business
  • Environment – Tennessee, 2021-2024
• Super Lawyers®
  • Mid-South Super Lawyers, Environmental Litigation, 2022-2024
  • Mid-South Rising Star, Environmental Litigation, 2015-2020
• Best Lawyers in America®
  • Environmental Law, 2020-2025
  • Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants, 2024-2025
• Benchmark Litigation
  • Member of the team selected as nationwide Product Liability Firm of the Year, 2018
• Star of the Bar, Nashville Bar Association, 2010
• Top 30 Under 30, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 2009
• United States Department of Justice, Environmental Crimes Section, Washington D.C., Law Clerk, 2005
• Joint Institute for Energy and Environment, Oak Ridge and Knoxville, Tennessee, Law Clerk, 2004

• Tennessee, 2006
• U.S. District Courts
• Tennessee: Eastern, Middle, Western
• U.S. Court of Appeals
• 6th Circuit

• Vermont Law School, J.D., 2006
  • Administrative Editor, Vermont Journal of Environmental Law
  • Member, Moot Court Board
  • Member, National Trial Team
  • Class Senator, Student Bar Association
  • Academic Excellence Award - Civil Procedure
• University of Tennessee, B.A., cum laude, 2002
  • Phi Beta Kappa

• Clerkship, The Honorable Frank G. Clement, Jr., Court of Appeals of Tennessee, Middle Section, 2006-2008

• Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
  • Member, Board of Advisors, 2017-Present
• American Bar Association
  • Section on Environment, Energy and Resources
  • Section on Litigation
• Defense Research Institute (DRI)
  • Toxic Torts and Environmental Law Committee
• Tennessee Bar Association
  • Environmental Law Section
• Nashville Bar Association
  • Environmental Law Committee
    • Chair, 2010
• Harry Phillips American Inn of Court
  • Associate Member, 2007-2008
• Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association

• Speaker and Author, “Site Remediation: Law and Techniques – Environmental Laws Related to Site Remediation and Real Estate Transactions,” CLE Faculty, Half Moon Seminars, Nashville, Tenn., November 2018.
• Frequent Guest Lecturer and Speaker, Vanderbilt University Law School.
• Speaker and Author, “Buying Dirty Dirt: Environmental Issues in Real Estate Transactions,” CLE Faculty, Tennessee Bar Association, October 2016. 
• Speaker and Author, “Tennessee Water Laws and Regulations,” CLE Faculty, Half Moon Seminars, Nashville, TN, August 2015.
• Author, ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, Agricultural Management Committee, Regulatory/Litigation Update—Agriculture and Water, Vol. 18, No. 4, August 2014.
• Author, “Fracking Litigation: Drilling Down on the Issues,” DRI’s The Voice, Vol. 12, Issue 26, July 3, 2013.
• Author, “State Deceptive Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Acts:  Should Accountants Be Held Liable,” Defense Research Institute, Summer 2012.
• Speaker and Author, “Tennessee Water Laws and Regulations: Complying with Water Quality Laws and Regulations,” Half Moon Seminars, Nashville, Tenn., September 2011.
• Speaker and Author, “PCB Management: Top Ten PCB Issues,” Presentation to the Environmental Law Committee, Nashville Bar Association, April 2011.
• Author, “The Risks and Benefits of Rule 26 Amendments for Expert Reports,” American Bar Association, In-House Litigator, Vol. 25, No. 3, Spring 2011.
• Author, “Go Ahead Mentors, Throw Us to the Wolves,” Rantings of a Partner and Pushback from the Associate, American Bar Association, 2011.
• Author, “Stormwater, What? Lenders Must Obtain Permits For Construction Properties in Foreclosure,” Nashville Post, 2011. 
• Speaker and Author, “Utility Law for Tennessee Valley Public Power Association Executives - Environmental Law: The Basics and PCBs,” Nashville, Tenn., August 2009 and 2010.
• Speaker and Author, “Environmental Law Concerns for Industry: Stormwater,” CLE Faculty, Atlanta, Ga, December 2009.
• Speaker and Author, “Environmental Law Issues: How to Recognize Potential Law Issues and the Possible Effects Such Issues May Have,” Nashville Bar Association, CLE Faculty, May 2009.
• Speaker and Author, “Sustainability In Practice,” Presentation to the Environmental Law Committee, Nashville Bar Association, June 2009. 
• Co-Author, “The Trunk or the Tail: How to Move the Elephant in the Room,” The Whisper-DRI Young Lawyer’s Division’s Monthly Newsletter, May 2009.