A district court granted in part and denied in part motions to dismiss a property owner's CERCLA, RCRA, and state law claims against former owners and operators of nearby properties. One defendant argued that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the RCRA claim because the notice let...

A California appellate court reversed a lower court decision certifying residents' class action lawsuit against the state wildlife agency in connection with efforts to eradicate an invasive species of fish, the northern pike, from a lake and its tributaries. The residents argued that the agency's ef...

An Ohio appellate court held that a city is not immune from residents' negligence lawsuit against it concerning pollution allegedly caused by a city landfill. The city argued that it was immune from suit because the operation of the landfill was a governmental function rather than a proprietary ...

A district court held that NOAA Fisheries' 2008/2010 biological opinion (BiOp) for the Federal Columbia River Power System is arbitrary and capricious under the ESA. In the BiOp it issued to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, NOAA Fisheries concluded that the op...

A district court upheld the constitutionality of an appropriations rider that reinstated an FWS rule that removed ESA protections for the Northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf in all areas outside of Wyoming. The court previously held that the rule violated the ESA because it protected a listed species ...

The Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a dry cleaner's CERCLA and tort law claims against the manufacturer of dry cleaning equipment. The dry cleaner failed to present evidence giving rise to a genuine dispute as to any material fact with respect to its CERCLA claim. A person may be subject t...

The Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a shopping center owner's citizen suit action under RCRA against manufacturers of dry cleaning equipment. The owner argued that the manufacturers contributed to the release of hazardous waste into the environment by virtue of their machinery, which was a...

A district court granted a city's motion to dismiss a company's third-party complaint against it for reimbursement of cleanup costs the U.S. government incurred responding to hazardous substances at an industrial site formerly owned by the company. The government filed suit against the company under...

A Washington appellate court affirmed a lower court decision holding the state transportation agency liable to two utilities for contribution costs incurred at the Thea Foss Waterway, a Superfund site, under the state's Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA). The agency argued that the lower court erred in...

The D.C. Circuit held that a single sighting of a protected species is insufficient to render a property "occupied" for purposes of designating critical habitat under the ESA. In 2007, the FWS designated 143 acres of plaintiffs' property as critical habitat for the San Diego fairy shrimp under the E...