The Tenth Circuit ruled that an Oklahoma citizen has no claim against an oil company on allegations that his cancer was caused by decades of breathing benzene fumes from its oil refinery near his home. In 2011, the man was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. In 2016, he brought suit against the oil com...

A Pennsylvania court affirmed a lower court decision dismissing residents' and an environmental group's lawsuit challenging the construction of a natural gas pipeline through a suburban township. The plaintiffs argued that a local zoning ordinance prohibits the construction of hazardous gas and liqu...

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...