David Ivy-Taylor

David joined Kanner & Whiteley as an associate in 2023. David works on behalf of plaintiffs in environmental litigation and has experience in complex litigation.

David is part of the firm’s environmental team representing the State of New Mexico, the New Mexico Environment Department, and the New Mexico Office of Natural Resources Trustee concerning PFAS contamination at and around military bases in the State resulting from the military’s use of AFFF in fire training operations. State of New Mexico, ex rel. Raul Torrez, et al. v. United States, et al., MDL No. 2:18-mn-2873-RMG (D.S.C.). David also worked to amend the State’s complaint to assert a cause of action for PFAS contamination under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)—a first-of-its-kind case, and a bellwether in the AFFF MDL. David has worked to advance these claims through litigation and settlement opportunities amidst the thousands of other cases currently pending in the MDL. David also serves in the AFFF MDL as Representative Counsel for other plaintiffs asserting claims under CERCLA.

In June 2025, Kanner & Whiteley filed a new PFAS case for the State of New Mexico and the New Mexico Environment Department against the United States and Department of the Air Force. State of New Mexico, ex rel. Raul Torrez, et al. v. United States, et al., No. D-101-CV-2025-01594 (1st Judicial District Court, Cnty. Santa Fe). This lawsuit seeks to enforce a permit issued to Cannon Air Force Base under the State’s Hazardous Waste Act, which unambiguously requires the defendants to clean up PFAS contamination at the base under State oversight—something they have outright refused to do. The case seeks injunctive relief (compliance with the permit) and substantial civil penalties. In both of New Mexico’s cases, David works closely with the State’s employees to advance the litigation and obtain relief from the responsible parties and protect the environment.

David also works on plastic litigation seeking to hold the manufacturers of plastics accountable for the harms of plastic (including microplastic) pollution. Currently, the firm represents the City of Baltimore in a suit against plastic manufacturers/distributors. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore v. Pepsico, Inc., et al., No. C-24-CV-24-001003 (Cir. Ct. Balt. Cty. filed 2024). The firm also represents the City in a similar suit against cigarette manufacturers (cigarette butts are a form of plastic waste), which recently survived a motion to dismiss and is headed to discovery and trial. The firm is actively seeking additional clients for plastic pollution litigation, including states.

David also worked on the firm’s team representing members of the Permian Basin Land Royalty Owners organization in opposing the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (“NRC”) approval of a license application for a facility to consolidate storage of high-level radioactive nuclear waste from across the country in New Mexico. Kanner & Whiteley successfully opposed the NRC’s approval of the Holtec International facility before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. See Fasken Land and Minerals, Ltd., et al. v. NRC, et al., Case No. 23-60377, 2024 WL 3175460 (5th Cir. Mar. 27, 2024) (unpublished) (vacating the license for the New Mexico facility).

David earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Haverford College, Pennsylvania and then graduated cum laude from Tulane Law School with a Certificate in Environmental Law and was awarded the Haber J. McCarthy Environmental Law Award. During law school, he practiced as a student attorney in the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, representing indigent clients in environmental justice cases in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley.” After law school and prior to joining Kanner & Whiteley, David clerked for Judge Roland L. Belsome at the Louisiana Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit.

David is a member of the State Bar of Louisiana and is licensed to practice in all Louisiana State Courts and in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.