The court holds that under Pennsylvania law, the "sudden and accidental" exception to a pollution exclusion in a comprehensive general liability (CGL) insurance policy does not cover an on-going discharge of landfill pollutants that eventually find their way into the surrounding environment. The hol...

The court holds that South Carolina regulations and a permit condition prohibiting a landfill from receiving nonhazardous waste generated outside a seven-county region unconstitutionally burden interstate commerce. The regulations required any applicant for a permit to construct a nonhazardous solid...

The court holds that pollution exclusion clauses in three comprehensive general liability insurance policies do not relieve insurers of their duty to defend a pesticide company and its president in a suit by the state of New York under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liab...

The court holds that an insurer is not liable under a tenant's comprehensive general liability policies for the property owner's cleanup costs resulting from a diesel fuel leak from an underground fuel tank that the tenants installed on the leased property. After obtaining a judgment from the tenant...

The court upholds the U.S. Postal Service's (Postal Service's) determination that an environmental impact statement (EIS) is not required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for a project involving the Postal Service's sale of its leasehold interest in an old post office site, the con...

The court holds that a state referendum that nullified a statute approving the construction and operation of a municipal solid waste facility did not violate the Equal Protection Clause, Commerce Clause, or Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution because the facility never had a valid permit. A ...

The court affirms a district court injunction against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's use of a scientific report prepared in violation of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) that supported the listing of the Alabama sturgeon as an endangered species. The court first holds that injunctive ...

The court holds that under Wisconsin law, an insurer has a duty to defend its insured under the "wrongful entry" clause of a commercial policy against negligent trespass claims for damage to groundwells caused by a release of chemicals in a fire. The commercial policy defined its personal injury cov...

The court holds that under Minnesota law, an insured wood treatment company's deliberate disposal of pentachlorophenol (penta) sludge on the ground is not an "occurrence" within the meaning of primary comprehensive general liability or umbrella excess liability policies. Also, the court holds that t...

The court holds that the buyer of assets of three business entities that had leased underground oil storage tanks from a property owner may be held liable for the property owner's hazardous waste cleanup costs as a successor to one of the three predecessor corporations. The court first holds that st...