A district court adopted a magistrate judge's recommendations and denied motions to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a group of young people against the U.S. government for failing to protect them from climate change. The plaintiffs alleged that the government has known for decades that carbon dioxide (...

The Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court decision enjoining two wildfire reduction projects in the Gallatin National Forest—the Bozeman Municipal Watershed Project and the East Boulder Project—because FWS and the U.S. Forest Service failed to adequately assess impacts on lynx critical habitat in v...

The Ninth Circuit upheld NMFS' decision to list a distinct population segment (DPS) of the Pacific bearded seal under the ESA based on future impacts of climate change. Using climate projections, NMFS determined that even though the species is not presently endangered, the loss of sea ice over shall...

The Tenth Circuit upheld a lower court decision denying environmental group's request to preliminarily enjoin the drilling of certain oil and gas wells in the Mancos Shale formation of the San Juan Basin in New Mexico. The groups filed a lawsuit under NEPA challenging 260 drilling permits in the Man...

The D.C. Circuit dismissed Connecticut's and a citizen group's lawsuit against FERC in which they alleged that the agency failed to ensure that the 2014 wholesale electricity capacity rates in New England were just and reasonable. Due to insufficient competition, the 2014 "forward-capacity market" a...

A New York court ordered an oil company and its financial consultant to turn over documents in response to a subpoena issued by the New York Attorney General in connection with his investigation of the company's alleged misrepresentations about the impact of climate change on the company's business....

A district court held that a Native American tribe may file its own complaint as an intervenor in another tribe's challenge to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permits for the Dakota Access pipeline. The court agreed with the petitioning tribe that it is not necessary at this stage to proceed on only a ...

A district court held that EPA, in connection with its enforcement and implementation of the CAA, failed to adequately evaluate potential job losses, particularly with respect to the coal industry, in violation of CAA §321(a). Section 321(a) requires EPA to “conduct continuing evaluations of pote...

The Federal Claims Court held that DOE owes an energy company nearly $34.5 million in damages for failing to perform its contractual obligations to remove spent nuclear fuel from a nuclear power plant in New York. The court granted all of the company's claims except for the Part 171 NRC fees, the re...

The Federal Claims Court held that DOE owes an energy company $13.8 million in damages for failing to perform its contractual obligations to remove spent nuclear fuel from a nuclear power plant in Covert, Michigan. The court found in favor of the the company with respect to its claims for costs rela...