The Ninth Circuit reversed a district court decision that allocated 100% liability under CERCLA to a government contractor seeking contribution from the U.S. government. For 60 years the contractor operated a manufacturing facility where it manufactured aircrafts primarily for the U.S. government. F...

The Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) safety regulations do not apply to contractors, subcontractors or service providers. The case concerned a fatal explosion during "hot work" on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that killed three workers ...

The Tenth Circuit dismissed a challenge to a DOI rule governing hydraulic fracturing on federal and tribal lands, overturning a lower court ruling. In 2015, BLM finalized a fracking regulation that imposed new well construction, testing requirements, and chemical disclosure requirements, and increas...

The Ninth Circuit held that a trial court did not err in not allowing evidence of the defendant's diminished mental capacity in a case involving a criminal conviction under RCRA. The defendant was sentenced to 46 months in prison for storing more than 3,000 containers of paint and paint-related mate...

A district court ruled that a manufacturing company will not be required to conduct further investigation of contamination that is already subject to a remediation agreement. In 2010, a consent agreement between the manufacturing company and a golf course owner obligated the company to perform remed...

A district court ruled that passive migration of benzene from a former steel mill to an adjoining shipyard does not make the owners liable for a "disposal" under CERCLA. The plaintiff's shipyard contained a "graving dock," which is used for the "repair or scrapping of ships under dry conditions." Th...