The court holds that a pesticide manufacturing partnership is liable for response costs in a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) §113 contribution action brought by the corporation that purchased the partnership's assets. The court first holds that the val...
The court upholds a district court decision dismissing school districts and parents' action against the Washington state treasurer and superintendent of education to stop the state from reducing the school districts' state-mandated aid by the amount of federal forest funds it receives. Under 16 U.S....
The court holds that under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the former owners of a contaminated site in Georgia are liable for the disposal of hazardous waste at the site. A potentially responsible party (PRP) shipped containers of hazardous waste t...
The court grants summary judgment to a company on the state-law counterclaims brought by the past owners of a contaminated site where the company disposed of hazardous wastes. The contaminated site had been operated as a metal plating business and was owned at various times by an individual, a famil...
A California appellate court held that the California Coastal Commission has appellate jurisdiction over a coastal development subdivision project. A county's approval of a "principal permitted use" development within a coastal zone is not appealable to the Commission. But when the development proje...
Maryland's highest court held that an environmental group has standing to challenge the state environmental agency's issuance of a nontidal wetlands permit for a development project. The permit allows a town to construct a road extension and stream crossing in order to provide primary access into th...
An Illinois appellate court held that an insurer has a duty to defend a manufacturing company in an underlying lawsuit filed against it by nearby homeowners for personal injury and property damage stemming from emissions generated as part of the company's normal business operations. The insurer ...
A California appellate court reversed and remanded a lower court decision denying water districts' motion to amend a 1961 judgment that imposed a "physical solution" on the West Coast groundwater basin. The districts wanted to store water in underground dewatered storage spaces of the basin that...
The Supreme Court of Ohio held that the territory of Lake Erie held in trust by the state of Ohio extends to the natural shoreline, which is the line at which the water usually stands when free from disturbing causes. Case law from 1878 and 1916, as well as the Fleming Act, enacted by the Ohio G...
The Supreme Court of South Carolina held that the South Carolina Solid Waste Policy and Management Act (SWPMA) does not preempt a county ordinance requiring solid waste generated within the county to be deposited at a county or county-approved landfill. A hauling company and a landfill that oper...