A district court dismissed an oil refiner's CERCLA action against a recycling company for costs it incurred responding to PCB contamination allegedly resulting from used oil that was delivered from the company's facility to the refinery. The claim fails because there has been no release or thre...

The Texas Supreme Court held that landowners have an ownership interest in the water beneath their property that cannot be taken for public use without adequate compensation under the Texas Constitution. The Texas courts have long held that landowners have ownership in oil and gas beneath their ...

The First Circuit affirmed a lower court decision holding a manufacturing company liable under CERCLA for response costs EPA incurred at the Fletcher's Paint Works and Storage Facility Superfund site in Milford, New Hampshire. The lower court properly ruled that the company was liable as a...

The U.S. Supreme Court reversed a state court decision that Montana may charge rent from an electric company that owns dams on the Missouri, Madison, and Clark Fork rivers. The Montana Supreme Court held that title to the riverbeds passed to Montana when it became a state in 1889 and awarded alm...

The Seventh Circuit held that automobile owners should not be held liable under CERCLA for costs incurred responding to automobile accidents. The case was brought by the billing agent of a fire department that sought response costs from individuals who were involved in motor vehicle accidents an...

A district court dismissed a property owner's CERCLA claim for costs incurred responding to PCB contamination allegedly caused by an oil recycling company. The owner alleged that the company spilled PCBs on the site. But the $800,000 in costs purportedly incurred are not related to the alleged r...

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A district court dismissed a property owner's contribution action against a railroad company for failure to state a claim. The property owner failed to allege any facts that explain why the company is liable for a portion of the site cleanup. It failed to explain how the company came to be invol...

The Second Circuit held that a lower court should have granted a chemical manufacturer's request for declaratory judgment against adjoining property owners under CERCLA for future costs it will incur cleaning up industrial pollution. The manufacturer sued the two adjoining property owners for c...

A district court held that the state of Washington is not liable as an arranger under CERCLA for hazardous waste contamination stemming from mining operations on state lands. The state entered into mining contracts with a Canadian mining company that allowed the company to excavate and remove metal-...