Powder River Basin Resource Council v. Wyoming Oil & Gas Conservation Commission
A district court held that individual ingredients of hydraulic fracturing formulas are trade secrets and do not need to be publicly disclosed. The Wyoming Public Records Act does not define trade secrets, but the Wyoming oil and gas commission's policy for evaluating trade secrets is reasonable and ...
Ed Niemi Oil Co. v. Exxon Mobil Corp.
A district court held that genuine issues of material fact preclude a grant of summary judgment in a petroleum distributor's contribution claim against an oil company for costs incurred cleaning up hazardous substance contamination at a gas station and bulk petroleum storage plant formerly leased by...
Asarco LLC v. NL Industries, Inc.
A district court stayed a bankrupt mining company's contribution claims against various defendants for response costs and natural resource damages incurred in connection with the Tri-States Mining District until the amount of total liabilities are determined. The Tri-States area, where lead and zinc...
Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. United States Food & Drug Administration
The Second Circuit held that an environmental group has standing to bring an action to compel FDA to finalize its regulation of triclosan, but not triclocarban, both of which are used in over-the-counter antiseptic antimicrobial soap. As to triclosan, standing may be based on exposure to a potential...
Chubb Custom Insurance Co. v. Space Systems/Loral, Inc.
The Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of an insurance company's subrogation suit for recovery of insurance payments made to its insured for environmental response costs the insured incurred cleaning up pollutants released on its property. The company claimed that the defendants should be held joint...
Deepwater Horizon
The Fifth Circuit held that Transocean's primary and excess-liability insurers must cover BP's pollution-related liabilities deriving from April 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Under Texas law, the umbrella insurance policy—not the indemnity provisions of Transocean's and BP's contract—con...