The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that the legislature’s diversion of oil and gas royalties from public lands to the general fund for non-conservation purposes violated the state constitution. In 1955, the legislature created an oil and gas lease fund, and required all rents and royalties from o...

The Second Circuit, in a summary order, affirmed a lower court decision that an insurance company has no duty to defend a plumbing company in an underlying state suit related to chemical contamination at Love Canal near Niagara Falls, New York. The allegations in the state action fall within the ins...

A district court dismissed a multidistrict Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) lawsuit filed against the U.S. government by service members and their families. The plaintiffs alleged that the government failed to monitor and warn them about the presence of toxic substances in the water supply while they ...

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, held that dismissal of a suit under the False Claims Act (FCA) is not mandatory when a relator violates a seal requirement. The case involved insurance claims that resulted from the natural disaster, Hurricane Katrina. Respondents, former insurance cl...

A district court dismissed a class action lawsuit against an automobile company for allegedly misleading consumers into purchasing certain diesel vehicles by misrepresenting their environmental impact. The class of consumers alleged that the company's advertisements and public statements represented...

A district court held that a manufacturing company is entitled to $1.7 million in litigation costs from its insurer in an underlying 2003 lawsuit concerning hazardous waste contamination at one of the company's properties stemming from the 1950s. The insurer alleged that the property damage occurred...

A district court, on motions for summary judgment, dismissed a lawsuit against EPA filed by a group of beekeepers, farmers, and organizations concerned about the effect of pesticide-treated seeds on bees and other pollinators. The plaintiffs argued that the practice of coating seeds with neonicotino...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision that the Hawaii Pesticides Law impliedly preempts a county ordinance that seeks to regulate pesticides and genetically engineered plants. The ordinance would have required commercial farmers to maintain “buffer zones” between crops to which pesti...

A district court, in an underlying suit concerning indemnificaton for environmental cleanup, held that a corporation's counterclaims against a bus company for fraud and negligent misrepresentation are barred by Arizona's economic loss doctrine. In 1986, the corporation sold various properties to the...

The Second Circuit upheld the federal government's 2008 decision to take approximately 13,000 acres of land in central New York into trust on behalf of the Oneida Indian Nation of New York. The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 authorizes the federal government to take land into trust on behalf of I...