A district court dismissed a development company's CERCLA contribution claim against a large corporation for costs the company incurred investigating and remediating environmental contamination on property caused by the corporation's legal predecessor. The company failed to state a claim for con...

The Third Circuit affirmed a lower court decision refusing to certify residents' class action for medical monitoring and property damage in a suit against chemical companies for allegedly dumping a carcinogen at an industrial complex near their homes. The residents failed to show the cohesivenes...

The Ninth Circuit remanded the FAA's decision not to prepare an EIS in conjunction with its approval of an airport runway construction project. Relying chiefly on two cases involving airport improvements—neither of which involved a new runway—the FAA argued that an EA need not account for the gr...

The Federal Circuit, in a breach of contract case involving the U.S. government's failure to dispose of spent nuclear fuels (SNF) produced at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, held that certain indirect overhead costs incurred by an electric utility can be included in the utility's damages ...

A district court held that an energy company did not violate the CAA when it failed to obtain a new source review (NSR) permit prior to renovating electric utility steam generating units at its Monroe, Michigan, power plant. The government argued that a permit was required because the renovations co...

The Seventh Circuit upheld a $100,000 penalty assessment against three power plant developers for PSD permit violations at a proposed coal-fired power plant site. The court previously held that the developers' PSD permit expired because they failed to begin construction within the permit's 18-month ...

A California appellate court affirmed a lower court decision dismissing homeowners' inverse condemnation claim against a county for damages they sustained following storm-induced floods in 2003 and 2004. The homeowners alleged that during both storms, a county roadway concentrated and exacerbated th...

The D.C. Circuit denied a mining company's petition for review challenging two FERC orders certifying and authorizing the construction of a natural gas pipeline above the mining company's longwall underground coal mine. Longwall mining causes the surface above to subside in a planned, controlled...

A district court, in a $113 billion lawsuit against an oil company concerning environmental pollution in the Amazon, granted the oil company's motion to depose Ecuadorian villagers' attorney concerning possible fraud and misconduct. One party to a litigation should not easily be permitted to tak...

A district court preliminarily enjoined the California transportation agency's proposal to widen a highway that runs through old-growth redwood trees in Richardson Grove State Park. Environmental groups challenged the project under NEPA, the Department of Transportation Act, the Wild and Scenic Rive...