The Ninth Circuit, in an unpublished opinion, reversed and remanded a lower court decision dismissing an animal rights group's lawsuit concerning foie gras produced from the livers of force-fed poultry. The group had petitioned USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to ban such foie gras. ...
The Supreme Court of California held that the state fish and wildlife agency violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the California Fish and Game Code when it approved a large development project in northwest Los Angeles County. The agency prepared an environmental impact report...
The D.C. Circuit dismissed a truck association's lawsuit against EPA challenging California's tractor-trailer emission rules. The association argued that the state regulations impermissibly discriminate against out-of-state tractor trailers in violation of the dormant Commerce Clause. The associatio...
In an unpublished opinion, a New Jersey appellate court held that the New Jersey Spill Compensation and Control Act (Spill Act) does not contain a "triggering notice" in order for liability to attach. Rather, a party seeking contribution must prove a nexus or "reasonable link between the discharge, ...
A district court remanded to state court personal injury and property damage claims brought by hundreds of individuals against an oil company in connection with their alleged exposure to contamination from oil field pipe. The case was originally filed in state court in 2002. It was then removed to f...
A district court held that the developers of the proposed Pebble copper and gold mine in Alaska who filed a Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) claim against EPA following the Agency's initiation of CWA §404(c) proceedings may not seek discovery from non-parties that appeared before EPA in connec...
A Washington court held that the public trust doctrine applies to the protection of the atmosphere, including limits on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but denied minors' petitions for stricter GHG regulations because the state agency has already commenced rulemaking. The court held that the state h...
A district court denied oil and gas companies' motions to dismiss claims that their use and handling of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) has contaminated, or threatens to contaminate, groundwater in Puerto Rico. The companies argued that Puerto Rico's island-wide claims for relief should be dismis...
The Federal Claims Court held that the U.S. government may not engage in discovery about oil companies' insurance policies in an underlying case concerning cleanup costs stemming from the production of high-octane aviation gas (avgas) during World War II. The Federal Circuit previously held that the...
The Sixth Circuit held that the CAA does not preempt property owners' state common law tort claims against a nearby power plant for allowing ash, dust, and coal combustion by-products to blow onto their properties. The owners brought RCRA and CAA claims against the power plant in addition to their s...