The court holds that a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service warrant and subsequent search violated homeowners' Fourth Amendment constitutional rights against unreasonable searches and seizures when two cable television networks accompanied the search. The court first holds that collateral estoppel does no...

The court holds that Endangered Species Act (ESA) §9(a)(1)'s application to a fly that exists only in California is within Congress' Commerce Clause power. The court first holds that the application of ESA §9 to the fly can be viewed as a proper exercise of Congress' Commerce Clause power over act...

The court holds that a real estate developer, who alleges that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' denial of a permit to build a levee effected a taking in violation of the Fifth Amendment, failed to file suit within the statute-of-limitations period. The court first holds that under the circumstances...

The court holds that a general liability insurance policy's pollution exclusion clause does not bar coverage for losses resulting from the addition of a foreign substance to crude oil travelling through a pipeline. An oil company that settled a claim made by a refinery due to an explosion caused by ...

The court holds that a railroad company lessor is barred from recovering economic losses and property damages associated with hazardous waste contamination on its leased site. The court first holds that the lessor's claim for economic losses and property damages under the Minnesota Environmental Res...

The court holds that the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM's) failure to prevent livestock from trespassing on public lands over which a rancher held grazing permits does not constitute a Fifth Amendment taking or a breach of contract. The case arose out of BLM's failure to fully enforce an injunctio...

The court holds that the pollution exclusion clauses contained in two insurance policies preclude coverage for a large trichloroethylene (TCE) spill at a heating and air conditioning equipment manufacturer's plant. The spill occurred after TCE in a degreasing tank overflowed and spilled into a drain...

The court holds that the U.S. Forest Service failed to meet National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements for public disclosure of information and failed to take a hard look at the effects of proposed timber sales from the Miners Creek and West Camas Creek drainages in the Targhee National F...

The court holds that a pollution exclusion clause in a comprehensive general liability (CGL) policy unambiguously excludes coverage of injuries arising from an accidental ammonia spill in an office building as well as injuries due to the aerial spraying of a chemical insecticide. The court first hol...

The court issues a mandatoryinjunction against an oil company for extensive contamination of a river and surrounding land, but due to lack of evidence refuses to enjoin three other companies. The court first declines to invoke the doctrine of primary jurisdiction. The doctrine does not mandate blind...