Peter M Racher

Practice Areas

Business

COVID-19 Resources and Information

Environmental

Insurance Coverage

Litigation

Real Estate

Career

Peter Racher is a passionate advocate for individuals, families and businesses of all sizes. He handles the prosecution and defense of toxic torts, class actions, and other challenging cases. Peter’s clients have recovered millions of dollars in damages arising from environmental contamination of farmland and homes and from toxic exposures. He successfully defended an attempt to enjoin the U.S. Army from transporting and destroying deadly VX nerve agent, which had been stockpiled in Indiana for decades. The Hoosier Environmental Council named Peter an “Environmental Litigator of the Year” for his role in one of the first cases construing Indiana’s Underground Storage Tank statute. Peter and colleagues have achieved multiple recoveries against insurers who violate obligations to cover environmental liability claims. He prosecutes and defends class actions and routinely advises clients in avoiding or minimizing environmental liability exposures and in recovering cleanup costs.

Peter loves working on cases where law, science and public policy intersect. He has team-taught environmental law classes at the IU McKinney School of Law. Peter is a past chair of the Environmental Law Section of the Indiana State Bar Association. Peter has served as a volunteer attorney for the ABA’s Death Penalty Representation Project.

Professional Memberships

Member, American Bar Association, Section on Natural Resources, Energy, and Environmental Law

Fellow, Indiana State Bar Association

Member, Indiana State Bar Association, Environmental Law Section (Chair 1998- 1999)

Distinguished Fellow, Indianapolis Bar Association

Member, Indianapolis Bar Association, Environmental Law Section

Associate Member, American Association for Justice

Publications

2023 | Co-Presenter: Emotional Distress and Other Psychological Damages, Panel with Linda Havel and Nick Bognanno, ICLEF

2018 | Publication: How to Prepare for an Unavailable Expert Witness, Indiana Lawyer, August 2018

2017 | Presenter: Expert Witnesses: Using Indiana Court Rules to Your Advantage Seminar; Admission Hurdles for Expert Testimony

2016 | Speaking Engagement: Speaker, Preparing for the Unthinkable: Assisting the Client in Planning for Disaster, When Disasters Strike: What Should You Do for Your Client?, ICLEF Seminar

2009 | Publication: Author and Speaker, “Downpours Deluges & Floods: Litigation After the Cataclysm,” Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum Seminar, Indianapolis, Indiana

2002 | Publication: Author and Speaker, “Legal Ethics,” American Agricultural Law Association Convention, Indianapolis, Indiana

2002 | Publication: Author and Speaker, “Recent Developments in Environmental Law in Indiana,” part of Cutting Edge Complex Environmental and Real Estate Development Issues in Indiana, sponsored by Lorman Education Services

2001 | Publication: Author and Speaker, “Complying With Environmental and Special Use Regulations,” Part of Land Use Law Seminar sponsored by National Business Institute

Personal

Community Affiliations

Chair, 2023 IRT Celebrity Radio Show Committee

Chair, 2022 IRT Silent Auction Committee

Board of Directors, Indiana Repertory Theatre

Former Member and Secretary, Board of Directors, Central Indiana Land Trust

Experience

Lindsey v. DeGroot, 898 N.E.2d 1251 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009)

Sierra Club v. Gates, Cause No. 2:07-cv-0101-LJM-WGH, 2008 WL 4368531, slip op. (S.D. Ind. September 22, 2008)

Sierra Club v. Gates, 499 F. Supp. 2d 1101 (S.D. Ind. 2007)

Barnett v. Alcoa, Inc., Cause No. 3:06-cv-184-RLY-WGH, 2007 WL 1183823, slip op. (S.D. Ind. April 18, 2007)

Ind. Dep’t of Envtl. Mgmt. v. DeGroot, Cause No. 35D01-0704-MI-00013, slip op. (Huntington County Superior Court April 19, 2007)

Metaldyne Co., LLC v. Intermet Corp., Cause No. 33D01-0607-PL-0015, slip op. (Henry County Superior Court July 31, 2006)

Pflum v. Visteon Sys. LLC, Cause No. Case No.: 1:04-CV-00170-DFH-VSS (S.D. Ind. Oct. 21, 2005) (settled)

Am. States Ins. Co. v. Kiger, 662 N.E.2d 945 (Ind. 1996)

Hubbard v. Fid. Fed. Bank, 91 F.3d 75 (9th Cir. 1996)

Shell Oil Co. v. Meyer, 705 N.E.2d 962 (Ind. 1998)

Languages Spoken

English

Expert in these Jurisdictions

State of Indiana, 1986

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, 1986

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, 1993

United States Supreme Court, 2016

Education

Awards