The Second Circuit affirmed a lower court decision finding oil companies liable for contaminating New York City wells with methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and awarding a $104.69 million judgment in favor of the city. A jury had found the companies liable under New York tort law for contaminating ...
The Second Circuit affirmed a lower court's grant of summary judgment in favor of a chemical manufacturing company sued by several individuals seeking to recover from injuries allegedly caused by their exposure to soil and drinking water polluted by hazardous wastes produced at a pesticide plant in ...
Maryland's highest court denied requests to reconsider two of its prior rulings in which it reversed a lower court's decision awarding residents punitive damages for emotional distress and medical monitoring. Below, the residents claimed that an oil company was responsible for contaminating their gr...
Maryland's highest court denied requests to reconsider two of its prior rulings in which it reversed a lower court's decision awarding residents punitive damages for emotional distress and medical monitoring. Below, the residents claimed that an oil company was responsible for contaminating their gr...
The Sixth Circuit vacated a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule exempting from the Clean Water Act's (CWA's) national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permitting requirements pesticides applied in accordance with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. The ...
The Eighth Circuit held that pollution exclusion clauses preclude an insurance company's duty to defend a lead producer in an underlying lawsuit alleging damages stemming from the release of hazardous wastes or toxic substances, but they do not preclude coverage in a lawsuit alleging that the lead p...
The Eighth Circuit held that under Missouri law, an insurance company has no duty to defend a lead producer in an underlying lawsuit alleging environmental property damage resulting from the lead producer's mine and mill operations. The policy contained an absolute pollution exclusion clause, and he...
The D.C. Circuit dismissed as unripe a trade association's lawsuit challenging portions of a Federal Rail Administration (FRA) rule that requires qualifying rail carriers to submit an implementation plan to install a "positive train control" (PTC) system no later than December 31, 2015, on certain t...
A district court upheld the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS') decision to list styrene in its Twelfth Report on Carcinogens, which identifies agents, substances, mixtures, and exposure circumstances that are known or reasonably anticipated to cause cancer in humans. The report pro...
A district court dismissed with leave to amend environmental groups' lawsuit against EPA alleging that it violated the ESA by failing to undertake required consultations regarding the effects of 382 registered pesticides on endangered and threatened species. The groups seek a broad remedy—an injun...