The Ninth Circuit held that a property owner who purchased the site at a tax sale is not entitled to CERCLA's third-party defense to liability for cleanup costs. The purchaser had a "contractual relationship" with the prior owner by virtue of the tax sale. Given the breadth of CERCLA's definition of...

The D.C. Circuit held that a mining company must exhaust its administrative remedies before it can challenge potential claims filed against it under the Black Lung Benefits Act (BLBA). The BLBA grants coal miners the right to monthly benefits payments from a former employer in the event they suffer ...

A Minnesota appeals court upheld a lower court decision allowing protestors who face felony charges for shutting down a petroleum pipeline to assert the "necessity" defense. The protestors claimed their actions were necessary to prevent environmental harm caused by the use of fossil fuels, particula...

A Texas court, ruling on a petition for pre-suit discovery, held that it would have jurisdiction over a major oil corporation's potential lawsuit against several California cities that have filed suit against it relating to climate change. The company's potential claims would allege, among other thi...

The court dismissed industry groups' petition to dismiss an environmental group's challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Clean Water Act (CWA) discharge regulations for pulp and paper mills. The industry groups also challenged EPA's regulations, but they argued that the cour...

A Wisconsin appellate court held that an insurer had no duty to defend a manufacturing company for various environmental cleanup costs. The insurer issued the company multiple excess insurance policies, all of which provide a duty to defend only if an occurrence is covered under the excess insurance...

The Federal Circuit held that the U.S. government is not liable for flood damages that property owners in the New Orleans area incurred following Hurricane Katrina. The property owners filed suit under the Tucker Act, alleging that the government's construction and operation of the Mississippi River...

A Colorado court, on motions for summary judgment, held that state and federal law preempt portions of a city ordinance concerning the regulation of oil and gas development within its boundaries. The provisions for minimum setbacks prohibit what state regulations would allow. As such, they are preem...

A district court dismissed environmental groups' NEPA and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) claims against BLM in connection with its approval of oil and gas drilling on public and tribal lands near Cacho Cultural National Historical Park. The court agreed that the groups have standing to pu...

The court holds that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) does not preempt a plastic company's state-law damage claim against a pesticide manufacturer for intentional interference with a prospective economic advantage. The company produces a nylon polymer bag intended to b...