The court holds that the former owner and operator of a refinery may not bring cost recovery or contribution actions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) against the subsequent and current owners. The court first holds that the former owner is a pe...
The court holds that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' denial of a property owner's permit application to dredge and fill wetlands on his property in the Florida keys was not a taking. The court first holds that the U.S. Supreme Court did not hold in Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, 505 U.S....
The court affirms in part and reverses in part a district court decision that determined and allocated Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) liability at a landfill. The landfill's owner brought a CERCLA contribution suit against the corporation that leased t...
The court holds that the U.S. Forest Service's modification of the terms and conditions of grazing permits for the Gila and Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests did not deprive permit holders of procedural due process under the Fifth Amendment. The court first holds that the permit holders have not de...
The court vacates a district court's allocation of contribution costs a coating company must pay for cleanup costs incurred by another potentially responsible party (PRP) at the Fisher-Calo site in Indiana. Although the coating company sent nine percent and the PRP sent approximately 71 percent of t...
The court dismisses a turnpike authority's contribution claims against three chromium ore processors under the Comprehensive Environmental Recovery, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the New Jersey Spill Act for the contamination of several sites along the New Jersey Turnpike. The turnpik...
The court upholds a district court decision finding that an intermunicipal agreement between a town and several villages concerning the disposal of solid waste does not violate the dormant U.S. Commerce Clause. The agreement required each village to deliver all waste generated within its jurisdictio...
The court holds that a state law preempted a county ordinance that placed a six-month moratorium on the construction of all sludge storage facilities, and, consequently, a wastewater firm could build a sludge storage facility in the county under an approved state sludge utilization permit. The court...
The court holds that a state land use board erred when it failed to affirm a county's preliminary approval of a residential subdivision in an area containing wetlands and designated as a wildlife habitat. The board rejected the county's argument that the wetlands at issue were not subject to the cou...
The court holds that a mine company cannot argue that a partial taking occurred when a county adopted a land use plan that designated a tract of the company's land as a river corridor where no mining could occur. The court first holds that the record is unclear as to what burden of proof the trial c...