In his more than 35 years of practice, Craig Pendergrast has learned about the interests and operations of a broad range of businesses while helping his clients work through their associated risks, problems and disputes.
He is a litigator with broad experience in a range of real estate, environmental, and business disputes. He works closely with his clients to understand their situations and goals and work towards their resolution in a cost-effective and highly responsive manner. Craig tries cases to judgment when necessary, but is also skilled in the use of other tools such as summary judgment, mediation, and arbitration when appropriate.
In the environmental field, he is a counselor who understands the complex world of environmental regulation, risk, and liability. He helps clients work through risks and problems associated with contaminated properties and structure deals in a way that allocates risks and expenses appropriately. He litigates environmental disputes to reach outcomes favorable to his clients and consistent with just results. His environmental experience includes matters involving transactional, advisory, insurance, regulatory, remediation, superfund, cost recovery, permitting, compliance, enforcement, brownfields, waste, water, wetlands and air issues.
In the real estate field, Craig has been appointed by the nation’s largest title insurance companies to address the most complex and important issues facing them and their insureds. He has litigated matters involving boundary line disputes, easement issues, eminent domain, secured lending issues, land use issues, lake and stream rights, storm water runoff, erosion and sedimentation, construction claims, trespass, and nuisance issues.
Prior to joining Continuum, Craig practiced with some of the largest law firms in the nation and Georgia, representing both Fortune 500 companies and smaller ones.
He is married with two adult children and a life-long resident of Atlanta. In his spare time, you will likely find him outdoors, often in the mountains.
Practice Highlights
- Handled the aftermath of two of the largest mortgage fraud schemes in Georgia history, working to resolve and mitigate their multi-million dollar consequences
- Represented national residential developer in Clean Water Act enforcement action regarding erosion and sedimentation compliance of 71 subdivision developments across multiple states
- Defended class actions brought against national secured lender
- Prosecuted class action arising from back-door taxation of 50,000+ commercial and multi-family property owners through so-called common good solid waste fees
- Represented multi-state 56-member municipal, agricultural, industrial, and environmental stakeholder group in connection with its development of a consensus-based sustainable water management plan for the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river basins.
- Represented urban university in connection with environmental issues and brownfield development of multiple properties
- Defended erosion and sedimentation claims against regional grading contractor arising from design and construction of 300 acre public water supply reservoir
- Prosecuted erosion and sedimentation claims arising from redevelopment of 1200 acre resort property in the Western North Carolina mountains
Education
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A., Phi Beta Kappa, 1980
- University of Georgia School of Law, J.D., Cum Laude, 1984
Bar Admissions
- Georgia
Court Admissions
- Georgia Superior and State Courts
- Georgia Court of Appeals
- Georgia Supreme Court
- United States District Courts (Georgia, All Districts)
- Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals
- United States Supreme Court
- United States Claims Court
Rankings and Recognition
- Chambers USA - Environment
- Martindale Hubbell AV-Preeminent
- Georgia Trend Legal Elite
- Best Lawyers in America
Professional and Community Involvement
- Trust for Public Land, Georgia Advisory Council
- Georgia Conservancy, Board and Executive Committee
- Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership
- Little Five Points Community Improvement District, Board (Chair)
- Peachtree Hills Civic Association, President
- Keep Atlanta Beautiful, Board
- Groundwork Atlanta, Board
- Metropolitan North Georgia Water Management District, Technical Committee
- Georgia Association of Water Professionals
- Georgia Solar Energy Association
- Trinity Presbyterian Church, Session
Speaking & Writing
Frequent speaker and author on environmental and real estate law subjects