The court upholds a trial court's decision to admit expert testimony on the issue of causation in a case involving the destruction of oyster beds that allegedly resulted from an oil spill off the Oregon coast. The testimony presented by the oyster bed owners' expert was properly admitted under Rule ...
The court holds that farmers' National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) action challenging a proposed federal and state plan for managing the California San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Bay-Delta) water resources is ripe for judicial review before any site-specific action is taken. The...
The court reverses a district court dismissal of a property owner's claims of retaliation and denial of equal protection and due process against a county that imposed conditions, delays, and fees in connection with the owner's application for a polo field and residential building permit. The distric...
The Eighth Circuit reversed a lower court's strict liability judgment and accompanying punitive damages award against a company in connection with the environmental contamination of a site it once owned. Minnesota's strict liability rule for actions brought by subsequent property owners requires an ...
The Tenth Circuit affirmed a district court decision that Utah's statutes regulating the storage and transportation of spent nuclear fuel are preempted by federal law. Contrary to the state's arguments, the plaintiffs who challenge the statutes—a consortium of utility companies and a Native Americ...
The Eighth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision that federal law preempts conflicting state pipeline regulations and, thus, governs the upgrade of a natural gas pipeline in Iowa. Iowa Code Chapter 479A and its implementing provisions, which provide for various pipeline reporting and inspection re...
The Fourth Circuit reversed a district court decision dismissing a landowner's petition for attorney fees, which he sought after successfully challenging a condemnation action against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The district court erred in determining that the landowner failed to establish fin...
The Tenth Circuit upheld the dismissal of an individual's qui tam action under the False Claims Act (FCA) against a company for allegedly presenting false valuations of royalties owed for carbon dioxide production. Although the individual's complaint is based on a publicly disclosed transaction, the...
The D.C. Circuit upheld the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC's) refusal to undertake rulemaking tightening the restrictions governing the nonthermal effects of radiofrequency radiation. The FCC's decision not to initiate an inquiry neither violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)...
New York's highest court holds that a municipality does not commit an unconstitutional taking when it conditions site plan approval on landowners' acceptance of a development restriction consistent with the municipality's preexisting conservation policy. The restriction would not appreciably diminis...