The Tenth Circuit held that the Federal Mineral Leasing Act (FMLA) does not provide political subdivisions of a state an implied cause of action to challenge the state's allocation of federal mineral royalties received under the Act. FMLA §191 directs the federal government to return 50% of fed...

The court grants in part and denies in part a Fed. R. Civ. P. rule 12(f) motion to strike certain affirmative defenses of a third-party defendant brought by a responsible party who was held liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The court fir...

The court holds that a state's solid waste disposal program that requires the identification of additional capacity for out-of-state waste before a plan is approved does not violate the U.S. Commerce Clause. The court first holds that the program does not facially discriminate against interstate com...

The Court holds that a landfill constructed on land ceded from the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota by an 1894 Act that diminished the boundaries of the reservation is not subject to federal environmental regulation. The Court first holds that the 1894 Act—a negotiated agreement providing...

The court holds that a U.S. Forest Service proposal for a logging project and road extension in the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), but not the National Forest Management Act (NFMA). The court first holds that neither the district cour...

The court holds that future Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) contribution actions by settling private defendants against private nonsettlors at a New York Superfund site will be governed by the Uniform Comparative Fault Act (UCFA) and CERCLA §113(f)(1),...

The court holds several corporations liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for response costs associated with a New York landfill. The court first holds that by introducing competent proof that three of the defendant target corporations dispo...

The court holds that Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) §107 cost recovery actions are not available to potentially responsible parties (PRPs) and that divisibility of harm is not a defense to §113 contribution claims. The court first holds that CERCLA d...

The court affirms a district court's denial of a waste hauling company's motion to enjoin a town from enforcing a local ordinance that provides for a municipal takeover of solid waste collection. The court first holds that the waste hauler is not likely to succeed on the merits of its claim that the...

The U.S. Supreme Court holds that a parent corporation that actively participated in, and exercised control over, the operations of a subsidiary may not be held liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) as an operator of a polluting facility owne...