Atlanta partner on Gibson Guitar environmental issues
Atlanta partner William Droze was quoted in a November 2011 InsideCounsel article about the Department of Justice accusing Gibson Guitar of environmental violations involving exotic hardwoods that will be a controversial test case for the Lacey Act.
The case against Gibson was initially just a forfeiture action, but got worse when it was confirmed that the DOJ’s Environmental Crimes Section (ECS) was mounting a criminal investigation against the company, which could mean significant fines and even jail time for executives.
“Part of the difficulty with Lacey Act compliance is that a product obviously begins as a piece of wood somewhere, but it could be fabricated into any number of variations as it moves along the supply chain,” Droze stated. “The government seems to be taking the position that each step along the way has to be documented or there’s a risk of forfeiture. The burden is on the owner to document that it was sourced within the law.”