WHEN Justice, a new nonprofit, is providing targeted funding to support public-interest litigation against corporate polluters. The organization builds on a successful case involving lead contamination in Lake Tahoe. It officially launched in April 2026.
Roland Peralta founded WHEN Justice after donating $100,000 to support scientific testing in a lawsuit filed in 2021 by the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance against AT&T. The funds enabled sampling that linked over 100,000 pounds of lead from abandoned cables to contamination in Lake Tahoe. AT&T settled the case within nine weeks and removed the cables within months.
The nonprofit was launched on Earth Day in April 2026. It focuses on covering costs such as expert analysis and sampling that smaller groups often cannot afford when suing large companies. Jacqueline Biner, chief executive and legal officer, noted that litigation expenses can determine outcomes more than case merits.
WHEN Justice is also fundraising for a current lawsuit alleging toxic leaching from a closed hazardous waste site into San Pablo Bay. Peralta and Biner plan a crowdfunding platform to let the public direct donations to specific cases over the next several years.
