26-1711 Authorizing Retainer Agreement for Representation Arising from PFAS Products RESOLUTION NO. 26-1711
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF LONGWOOD, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING
THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A RETAINER AGREEMENT WITH THE
LAW FIRMS OF BRYSON HARRIS SUCIU & DEMAY, PLLC, MILBERG
COLEMAN BRYSON PHILLIPS GROSSMAN, LLC, AND NAPOLI SHKOLNIK,
PLLC, FOR REPRESENTATION OF THE CITY IN NATIONAL LITIGATION AND
SETTLEMENTS ARISING FROM PRODUCTS CONTAINING
PERFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES ("PFAS"); PROVIDING FOR
SEVERABILITY, CONFLICTS, CODIFICATION, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, federal and state governments have recognized that certain chemicals,
specifically those found in firefighting foam products (known as aqueous film forming foam" or
"AFFF") and/or products containing PFAS can produce harmful health effects; and
WHEREAS, such PFAS-containing products or manufacturing sources may contaminate
water sources and other sites, including wastewater facilities, landfills, and firefighter training
centers, resulting in costly testing and treatment protocols; and
WHEREAS, hundreds of local governments across the United States have brought legal
action against the manufacturers and distributors of such PFAS-containing products for the
recovery costs associated with the burden that is now placed on local governments to monitor
and, if necessary, abate any PFAS issues; and
WHEREAS, the law firms of Bryson Harris Suciu & DeMay, PLLC, Milberg Coleman Bryson
Phillips Grossman, LLC, and Napoli Shkolnik, PLLC, have presented for review and consideration
the Retainer Agreement attached hereto as Exhibit 1, which is incorporated as if fully set forth
herein; and
WHEREAS, the City desires to retain the services of the above-listed law firms as legal
representation to investigate this issue on behalf of the City and, as appropriate, file suit against
manufacturers and distributors of PFAS-containing products and to pursue claims for funds that
may be available to the City in settlements paid by those manufacturers and distributors;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Commission of the City of Longwood,
Florida, that:
SECTION 1. Authorization to Execute Retainer Agreement. The City Manager is hereby
authorized to execute and enter into the attached Retainer Agreement with the law firms of
Bryson Harris Sucio & DeMay, PLLC, Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, LLC, and Napoli
Resolution 26-1711
Page 1
Shkolnik, PLLC, for representation of the city in national litigation and settlements arising from
contamination from products containing PFAS.
SECTION 2. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, word or
provision of this Resolution is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of
competent jurisdiction, whether for substantive, procedural, or any other reason, such
portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision, and such holding shall
not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Resolution.
SECTION 3. Conflicts. In the event of a conflict or conflicts between this Resolution and
any other resolution or provision of law, this Resolution controls to the extent of the conflict, as
allowable under the law.
SECTION 4. Effective date. This Resolution shall become effective immediately.
PASSED AND RESOLVED this 19th day of January, 2026, by the City Commission of the City
of Longwood, Florida.
CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LONGWOOD,
FLORID
A 141101j
Mayor Brian D. Sr-r---
ATTEST:
Liane Cartagena, City Clerk
Reviewed for legal sufficiency by:
Daniel W. Langley, City Attorney
Resolution 26-1711
Page 2
ATTORNEY-CLIENT RETAINER AGREEMENT ("AGREEMENT")
City of Longwood, Florida ("Client" or "You") hereby agrees to separately retain Bryson
Harris Suciu & DeMay, PLLC ("Bryson"), Mi lb erg Co leman Bryson Phillips Grossman, LLC
("Milberg''), and Napo li Shkolnik, PLLC ("NS") to provide legal services to Client on the terms
and conditions set forth below. Milberg , Bryson, and NS are collectively referred to as "C o-
Counsel" or "We ." This Agreement shall be made effective upon the date of execution.
1. Condition
This Agreement will not take effect, and We will have no obligation to provide legal
services, until You return a signed copy of this Agreement to Co-Counsel.
2. Key Deliverables
Co-Counsel will provide legal representation in identifying and pursing Your potential
claims for injuries and/or property damages arising out of the contamination of water supplies,
wastewater treatment facilities , so lid waste faci liti es, fire training facilities, and/or airports by
emerging hazardous contaminants including , but not limited to , per-and polyfluoroalkyl and
related substances (PF AS). This representation includes any litigation or settlement claim made
in connection the Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFF) Products Liability Litigation MDL No.
2873 pending in the United States District Court, District of South Carolina, as well as any actions
brought against individual PF AS dischargers under the Comprehensive Environmental Response ,
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) or any other applicable state or federal statutory or
common law. The representation described in this paragraph is collectively referred to herein as
the "Cas es."
We have identified the key deliverables that we will provide to you in connection with the
Cases:
a) Represent Your interests in pursuing a claim in the Cases and recovering the
maximum amount of compensation You may be entitled to under the controlling law.
b) Represent Your interests in the liti gation and pursuit of claim recovery, with Co-
Counsel 's respective responsi biliti es defined in the following subsections.
In consideration for these services, Client agrees to pay the contingency fee set forth in
Section 5 .A.
3. Additional Services
Your matter is complicated and it is difficult to predict how your claim eligibility and potential
recovery may unfold. The Key Deliverables above do not include assisting You, by way of
example , in any administrative or regulatory agency proceedings outside of the defined Cases. We
are not agreeing to represent You in any other matter other than as set out in this agreement; any
additional representation must be agreed to in writing.
EXECUTION VERSION
City of Longwood, Florida
Attorney-Client Retainer Agreement
4. Client Dutie s
You agree to be completely truthful and candid with us, to cooperate, to keep us informed
of all developments , and to keep us advised of your address and telephone number. You agree to
be available upon reasonable notice to discuss matters , to attend meetings , testify, assist with
depositions , and participate in court conferences and hearings. You agree to help review
documents and to provide factual or technical expertise. You will maintain and not delete, discard
or destroy any documents (including text messages , instant messages , messages sent by way of
messaging apps, and emails) relating to the Cases, and will put procedures in place to make sure
all such documents remain preserved. You authorize Co-Counsel to advertise their respective roles
in the Cases subject to all applicable professional rules of conduct.
5. Co-Counsel Fees
A. Contingency Fee
Co-Counsel shall be entitled to a contingency fee of 25% of the claim recovery
("Contingency Fee"). In the event of a claim recovery , We shall further be entitled to our costs
and expenses advanced in the representation (as set forth in paragraph 6 below), in addition to the
25% Contingency Fee. You shall not be obligated to pay these costs unless there is a claim
recovery. Any common benefit or MDL related fees shall be deducted from the contingency fee;
i.e., in no event shall Client be responsible for payment of attorneys' fees greater than 25% of the
recovery.
Co-Counsel shall divide any Contingency Fee as follows: Milberg shall receive 40%,
Bryson shall receive 40%, and NS shall receive 20%. In addition to the Contingency Fee, Co-
Counsel shall be entitled to recover any costs and expenses advanced by Co-Counsel from any
award or payment made to You arising from the representation as permitted by law.
Any amendment to this Contingency Fee arrangement shall be required to be made in
writing with consent of the undersigned parties. Co-Counsel are assuming joint responsibility for
Your representation.
You acknowledge the 25% Contingency Fee plus costs arrangement accounts for the
amount of time and expertise required in this representation, the risk, costs and expenses incurred
by Co-Counsel in the event there is no claim recovery, as well as the likely duration of time before
any claim recovery will occur, if ever. You acknowledge Co-Counsel is accepting a very high
degree of risk that no claim recovery will be made , but Co-Counsel will nonetheless invest
significant time and costs in the matter. You further acknowledge the fee share arrangement
between Co-Counsel , and that Co-Counsel are entitled to recover their costs and expenses
advanced in the representation as permitted by law.
6. Costs
In addition to fees for legal services , there are certain costs and expenses that you may be
obligated to pay in connection with the Key Deliverables. These include, but may not be limited
to , costs for court filing fees , sheriff fees , court reporter fees, deposition costs , expert fees for
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City of Longwood, Florida
Attorney-Client Retainer Agreement
expert depositions and court appearances , trial and deposition exhibits , photocopy ing, postage and
express mail charges , travel , airfare , mileage charges , any other reasonable fees or costs which Co-
Counsel may be required to advance in the course of providing the Key Deliverables. Expenses
incurred in connection with the Key Deliverables shall not be required to be repaid if there is no
recovery. Expenses and costs related to Additional Services shall be paid as incurred, but no
expenses or costs shall be incurred without prior client approval. Co-Counsel agree that they shall
confer with each other in writing and secure written client approval before proceeding to incur any
costs exceeding $1 ,000.00 (one thousand dollars).
7. Statute of Limitations
You understand that any lawsuit must be commenced within a certain limited time period,
(that may vary, depending upon the defendant) starting from the "discovery of the injury" or of
"the date when through the exercise of reasonable diligence such injury should have been
discovered ... whichever is earlier". You further understand that the Statute of Limitations period
for any case must be investigated, and that this Agreement is made subject to that investigation as
well as an investigation of the entire case.
8. Discharge and Withdrawal
You can terminate Co -Counsel's representation of You at any time, either individually or
collectively. For the avoidance of doubt , in the event You terminate Co-Counsel 's representation
of You and do not pursue the Cases with other counsel or on your own, terminated Co-Counsel
shall be entitled to recover its costs.
Co-Counsel may respectively withdraw at any time with your consent or for good cause.
Good cause includes your breach of this Agreement, your failure to cooperate with or follow Co-
Counsel's advice on a material matter, any fact or circumstance that would render Co-Counsel's
continuing representation unlawful or unethical, or any developments which render the pursuit of
this case economically unfeasible. Co-Counsel individually reserves the right, and You consent,
to each firm 's respective withdrawal at any time if the anticipated evidence does not materialize,
or if the allegations in the complaint turn out to be incorrect or not supported by the evidence.
After Co-Counsel's services conclude , We will deliver your file to You, along with any funds or
property of yours in Co-Counsel's respective possession.
9. Disclaimer of Guarantee and Negotiability
Nothing in this Agreement and nothing in Co-Counsel's past, present or future respective
statements to You are a promise or guarantee about the outcome of your matter. We make no such
promises or guarantees, and no statement of Co-Counsel can be construed as offering the same.
Our comments about the outcome of your matter are expressions of opinion only. You
acknowledge that You have been advised that the attorneys' fee provided in this Agreement is
negotiable between Co-Counsel and You .
10 . Effective Date, Severability and Subsequent Written Modifications
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City of Longwood , Florida
Attorney-Client Retainer Agreement
This Agreement contains the entire agreement of the parties. No other agreement,
statement, or promise made on or before the effective date of this Agreement will be binding on
the parties. If any provision of this Agreement is held who lly or partly unenforceable for any
reason, the remainder of that provision and the entire agreement will be severable and remain in
effect. This Agreement may be modified by subsequent agreement of the parties only by an
instrument in writing signed by each of them. The person signing below for You has full authority
and consent to do so and can full y bind You to the terms of this Agreement without further approval
by any other person, board, or entity.
11. Document Retention Policy; Privacy of Information
Our document filing system is primarily digital and so Co-Counsel may not keep copies of
paper documents that have been scanned. After the conclusion of the Matter all documents
retained by Co-Counsel will be transferred to the person responsible for administering our records
retention program. For various reasons , including the minimization of unnecessary storage
expenses, We reserve the right to destroy or otherwise dispose of any such documents or other
materials retained by us within a reasonable time after the termination of the engagement. At the
conclusion of the Matter, you must notify us within 30 days if you want copies of any documents.
Respective Co-Counsel legal files relating to the Cases and any documents not returned to the
client will be retained in accordance with the app licable rules of professional conduct or other
regulation or requirements. At the end of the retention period, files will be destroyed in a manner
protecting client confidentiality, barring further written instruction from You.
Attorneys , like other professionals who advise clients on personal financial and tax matters ,
are now required by federal law to inform their clients of their policies regarding privacy of client
information. In addition to these federal laws , attorneys have been and continue to be bound by
professional standards of confidentiality under state law and our ethics standards. In the course of
providing our clients with advice and representation in diverse areas of practice, we receive
significant personal information from our clients and their other advisors . Information we receive
about You is held in confidence, and is not released to people outside the firm , except as agreed to
by You, or as appropriate under applicable laws, rules , and regulations.
12 . Governing Law
The laws of the State of Florida shall govern this Agreement.
13. Co-Counsel Status
You acknowledge that Co-Counsel are neither partners nor joint venturers nor otherwise
affiliated with one another, and that neither Co-Counsel firm guarantees any obligation of the other
the firm and that Co-Counsel does not assume joint or several liability for the actions or omissions
of the other firm .
* * * *
[SIGNATURE PAGE FOLLOWS]
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City of Longwood, Florida
Attorney -Client Retainer Agreement
YOU HA VE READ AND AGREE TO THE FOREGOING FOUR PAGES , FULLY
UNDERSTAND ITS TERMS AND CONDITIONS , AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE
TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
Date :~"''"'~ l 9 , 2026
Date: ____ ,2026
Date: ____ ,2026
Date: _____ ,202 6
WOOD , FLORIDA
MILBERG COLEMAN BRYSON PHILLIPS
GROSSMAN, LLC
By :
Its:
BRYSON HARRIS SUCIU & DEMAY,
PLLC
By:
Its:
NAPOLI SHKOLNIK, PLLC
By:
Its:
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