The Hawaii Supreme Court held that the “right to a clean and healthful environment” as set forth in the Hawaii Constitution gives citizens the right to be heard and protect their environmental interests in cases before the state Public Utilities Commission. A Hawaiian electric company sought the...

A district court held that the California Public Utilities Commission's tariff program for small renewables, known as the Renewable Market Adjusting Tariff (Re-MAT), violates the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA). A solar company challenged the Re-MAT program, arguing that the t...

The U.S. Supreme Court holds that in determining whether §702c of the Flood Control Act grants the federal government immunity from Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) claims, courts should consider the character of the waters that cause the relevant damage and the purposes behind their release rather t...

The court upholds a jury verdict finding a manufacturer of asbestos-containing sealing devices liable to an individual for injuries sustained due to asbestos exposure in the workplace.
The court first holds that there was sufficient evidence to support an inference that the individual's work with t...

The court holds that the sole shareholder of a distributing company is jointly liable with the company for 50% of plaintiff's response costs incurred at a polluted site near Columbus, Ohio. The court first holds that each element of the three-prong test for piercing the corporate veil under Ohio law...

A district court held that the state of Texas cannot challenge the listing of the golden-cheeked warbler as endangered under the ESA. The state brought a lawsuit against FWS alleging that the agency unlawfully dismissed a petition to delist the golden-cheeked warbler. The petition provided evidence ...

The California Supreme Court held that the charges a California city must pay to a local water district for groundwater conservation activities do not require voter or property owner approval. By statute, charges for pumping groundwater for nonagricultural uses generally must be at least three times...

The Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court's dismissal of a tribe's NEPA challenge to a DOI guidance that did not consider its interest when allocating the water rights of the Colorado River. The tribe contended that it was unlawfully excluded from DOI 2001 and 2008 guidances that outlined how water is ...

A district court held that an insurance company cannot back out of an insurance policy because a policyholder entered into a voluntary environmental cleanup agreement. The policyholder agreed to sell its land and allowed the buyer to do an environmental assessment. When contamination was discovered,...

A California appellate court reversed a lower court's judgment that directed a state water resources agency to file a report of waste discharges in violation of the state water quality law. An environmental organization alleged that the agency failed to institute measures to mitigate the flow of con...