A district court granted New York City's motion to remand to state court a climate deception lawsuit brought against fossil fuel companies. The city initially sued the companies in state court, arguing they violated the city's consumer protection law by misleading consumers about the impact of their...
A district court granted EPA's motion to dismiss for lack of redressability a climate liability lawsuit brought by a group of minors in California. The plaintiffs argued EPA violated their constitutional rights by intentionally allowing dangerous levels of pollution to enter the atmosphere from sour...
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court ruling in favor of the Bureau of Reclamation and FWS in a challenge to the agencies' renewal of water supply contracts in California. Environmental groups argued that FWS conducted an inadequate consultation on the effects of the renewals on delta smelt an...
The Fifth Circuit dismissed for lack of standing four states' challenge to the Securities and Exchange Commission's final rule requiring funds to disclose their votes on environmental, social, and governance matters. Texas, Louisiana, Utah, and West Virginia argued they had suffered injury as invest...
For more than half a century, the Chesapeake Bay and many of its tributaries have suffered from poor water quality. Compelled by an executive order and litigation, in 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the Chesapeake Bay total maximum daily load (Bay TMDL) to reduce pollution discharges and thereby restore Bay water quality; unfortunately, the Bay TMDL will fail to meet its 2025 objective.
More severe storms and rising sea levels pose a threat to U.S. coastal communities, including millions of homes and businesses. Insured damages to coastal property are steadily increasing, insurance premiums are increasing, and private insurance companies have stopped serving some coastal states. Taken together, the consequences of declining availability and increasing costs constitute a coastal property insurance crisis.
A district court granted summary judgment for a fisheries biologist in a challenge to the Army Corps of Engineers' flood control operations at a California dam. The biologist argued the operations, which released water from the dam into the Russian River, violated §9 of the ESA by unlawfully "takin...
A district court denied the Biden Administration's motion to stay an ongoing climate change lawsuit brought by 21 young people. The U.S. government argued the suit must be stayed because there was a substantial likelihood the Ninth Circuit would grant its petition for mandamus. The court found the g...
A district court granted in part and denied in part summary judgment for a conservation group in a challenge to NMFS' management of the Pacific sardine under the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) and NEPA. The group argued NMFS' plan to rebuild the sardine population after it was declared overfished in 201...
The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part a district court's preliminary injunction limiting wolf trapping and snaring in certain parts of Montana to January 1, 2024, through February 15, 2024. Nonprofit groups argued Montana's laws authorizing recreational wolf and coyote trapping and ...