The court affirms a district court holding that a current owner of contaminated property could not seek Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) §113 contribution against a previous owner of the property unless the current owner had incurred or at least faced l...
The court holds that the Clean Air Act (CAA) §209(a) preempts Massachusetts' zero emissions vehicles (ZEV) regulations for automobile manufacturers. In 1993, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted California's ZEV program a CAA §209(b) waiver. Massachusetts then copied the program....
The court holds that it lacks personal jurisdiction over a foreign pesticide manufacturer to review a shipping company's claim that the manufacturer's misidentification of a pesticide's harmful nature caused the company to incur excess costs in responding to a spill of that pesticide in Florida wate...
A New Jersey appellate court held that the state environmental agency properly ordered a theme park to decommission a well used for drinking water after it twice tested positive for E. coli. The well in question tested positive in October 2010, and again in September 2011. The theme park requested t...
A district court held that gas companies will have to face monetary compensation claims under the the New Jersey Spill Act for releases at five sites. The case concerns releases of Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) at five gas stations in the state of New Jersey. The New Jersey Department of Enviro...
A district court held that St. Louis home owners' nuisance claims against a pharmaceutical company alleging migration of radioactive materials to their property were preempted by the Price-Anderson Act (PAA). The home owners claimed that their property had been damaged by soil, dust, and air contami...
The Sixth Circuit held that the Michigan statute of limitations does not bar a nuisance and negligence suit brought by residents against a petroleum company. The residents brought a class action suit against the petroleum company for ongoing discharges and contamination. The lower court dismissed th...
The Ninth Circuit held that RCRA's "anti-duplication" provision does not preclude its application to stormwater discharges where EPA has not regulated them under the CWA. Concerned citizens brought a citizen suit against a utility company under RCRA, claiming it allowed harmful chemicals used to tre...
A district court held that owners of Volkswagen-branded franchise dealerships could move forward with their suit against an auto parts manufacturer over its alleged role in the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal. The dealers contended that the manufacturer conspired with Volkswagen to help create a...
The court reverses a district court holding that collateral estoppel barred an environmental group's citizen suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failure to take corrective or enforcement action regarding a recognized illegal point source. In 1995, the group alleged that a...