The court grants a lessee's motion to dismiss a property owners' claims for costs incurred during the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) environmental cleanup of the owners' property, but also grants the owners' motion for leave to amend the complaint to include a claim for recovery of w...

The court reverses the Court of Federal Claims' holding that the Flood Control Act partially repealed the Tucker Act by implication, thereby immunizing the United States from breach-of-contract claims for damages arising from or related to flood control projects. In 1961, the United States and the s...

The court upholds the dismissal of a native corporation's claims that a 1995 Amendment to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), which clarified that regional corporations do not have to share the proceeds from sales of net operating loss (NOL) deductions, resulted in a taking, a breach of...

The D.C. Circuit held that the Park Service did not violate NEPA when it authorized recreational hunts of elk in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park. The Grand Teton and the National Elk Refuge (Refuge) are home to the “Jackson herd,” one of the largest concentrations of elk in North America. ...

A district court held that a water pollution case against carpet manufacturers belonged in state court as complete diversity did not exist, rejecting the carpet manufacturers' claim of fraudulent joinder. A sewer board (Board) brought suit against various manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and ...

A district court held that polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) being regulated under TSCA does not bar a Wisconsin couple from bringing a citizen suit under RCRA against a neighboring property owner for releasing PCBs during the demolition of a building on its property. The couple alleged that the demo...

The Fourth Circuit denied a coal company's petition to review an ALJ decision that found that a widow was entitled to survivorship benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act. The coal miner in question worked in coal mines for 34 years, was a regular smoker, and retired in 1993. He developed serious...

The court reverses a district court decision dismissing the United States from a Limitation of Shipowners' Liability Act (Limitation Act) proceeding initiated by a tow boat company and a barge company in order to limit their liability for damages caused to a U.S. government lock on the Ouachita Rive...

The court affirms a district court grant of summary judgment to an Oregon plywood manufacturer that environmental groups sued under the Clean Water Act (CWA) for failure to renew its national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit. The state enforces the NPDES permit program, part of ...

The court holds that Congress repealed by implication the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Department of Transportation Act insofar as they were being used by environmental groups to challenge a highway project in Pennsylvania. The court first holds that an appropriati...