Robert M. Stonestreet

Area of Emphasis
Robert Stonestreet focuses his practice on land, energy, and environmental law. He has a wide array of regulatory and courtroom experience, including representation of clients in matters involving lease and land disputes, environmental permitting, enforcement actions, serious personal injury/wrongful death, land contamination, toxic exposure, and complex commercial disputes.

During his nearly 20 years in practice, Mr. Stonestreet has tried multiple cases to verdict before state and federal courts and administrative agencies. In October 2022, he served as trial counsel in a sub-surface trespass case in which a jury awarded over $70,000,000 in favor of his client for damage to mineral reserves. Mr. Stonestreet has played prominent roles in multiple appellate proceedings, which include: West Virginia Land Resources, Inc. v. American Bituminous Power Partners, LP, 2023 W.Va. LEXIS 267, 2023 WL 3991964 (June 14, 2023); SWN Production Company, LLC v. Conley, 243 W. Va. 696, 850 S.E.2d 695 (2020); Triad Hunter, LLC v. Eagle Natrium, LLC, 132 N.E.3d 1272 (Ohio 7th Dist. Ct. App. 2019); Central West Virginia Energy Co. v. Mountain State Carbon, LLC, 636 F.3d 101 (4th Cir. 2011); and Affiliated Construction Trades Foundation v. West Virginia Department of Transportation, 227 W. Va. 653, 713 S.E.2d 809 (2011).

Background
Mr. Stonestreet graduated from Marshall University, summa cum laude, in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in History. He received his law degree in 2003 from West Virginia University College of Law. While attending law school, Mr. Stonestreet served as Executive Manuscript Editor of the West Virginia Law Review and graduated in the top five percent of his class.

Outside of the law, Mr. Stonestreet is an avid distance runner and outdoor recreation enthusiast. He has completed multiple road marathons and various types of long-distance trail races.

Memberships and Affiliations
Mr. Stonestreet contributes to a number of industry associations. He is a member of the Gas & Oil Association of West Virginia’s Environment Committee, the West Virginia Coal Association Environmental and Technical Committee, the Defense Research Institute (DRI), and the Energy & Mineral Law Foundation. Mr. Stonestreet currently serves as the vice chair of the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia’s Energy Committee. He is also the past president of the Air & Waste Management Association, West Virginia Chapter, and past chair of the Water Subcommittee of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s Environment Committee.

Mr. Stonestreet actively participates in community activities. He is the current president of the Marshall University Quarterback Club of Charleston, and a director on the Board of the Marshall University Big Green Scholarship Foundation. Mr. Stonestreet is a long-standing appointed member of the Putnam County Board of Zoning Appeals, which is a quasi-judicial administrative hearing board. He also a director and Vice President of the Meeks Mountain Trail Alliance, which is a non-profit organization developing 26 miles of public hiking and biking trails in coordination with a local landowner and city government.

Mr. Stonestreet is ranked among West Virginia’s top energy & natural resources and environmental lawyers in Chambers and Partners’ Chambers USA Guide. He has been listed in The Best Lawyers of America© in the Environmental Law Section since 2013; Commercial Litigation Section since 2018; and Energy Law Section since 2020 by BL Rankings. Mr. Stonestreet was also named the Best Lawyers® 2022 Environmental Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Charleston, W.Va. He was selected to the 2010-2012 West Virginia Rising Stars and 2013-2020 West Virginia Super Lawyers lists (Thomson Reuters).

Mr. Stonestreet is admitted to practice in West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, the United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia and the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio, and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Sixth, and Ninth Circuits.