A California appellate court upheld the dismissal of a citizen group's California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) claim against a city for approving three tract maps within a specific subdivision without requiring the applicant to comply with the subdivision plan's conditions for approval and mitig...

The Supreme Court of Washington upheld the governor's approval of a wind energy project that had been rejected by the county in which the wind turbines will be placed. The Washington Energy Facilities Site Locations Act authorizes the state to permit the construction and operation of wind turbines f...

The Fourth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision denying a motion to dismiss environmental groups' National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) claim against the director of the South Carolina Department of Transportation concerning the construction of a bridge. The director argued that the claims aga...

The Indiana Supreme Court held that an agreed order for environmental cleanup between a manufacturing company and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) is an agency action governed by the Indiana Administrative Orders and Procedures Act, not a contract that will support a claim f...

A California appellate court held that the owner of a contaminated site may not intervene in an action between the prior owner and its insurer over coverage for the contamination. California law generally prohibits third parties from suing an insurer when they are not in contractual privity, and the...

The First Circuit denied a petition for review of the Federal Aviation Agency's (FAA's) decision to reroute aircraft approaching and departing Logan Airport in Boston. Peer-reviewed noise studies showed that the impact on noise levels would not be significant. Accordingly, the FAA did not err in fin...

A California appellate court held that a lower court properly applied the responsible corporate officer doctrine to hold the corporate officers of an entity that owned an underground storage tank personally liable for violations of the state's tank laws governing the underground storage of hazardous...

A California appellate court held that the state's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) did not abuse its discretion in listing di-isodecyl phthalate (DIDP) as a chemical known to cause reproductive toxicity under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, commonly known ...

A California appellate court held that the resident of an apartment complex that failed to limit secondhand smoke in outdoor common areas sufficiently pled a cause of action for public nuisance. The complex, by failing to act, created a condition that was harmful to health or obstructed the free use...

A California appellate court affirmed in part and reversed in part a lower court's grant of summary judgment in favor of an automobile manufacturer that was sued for breach of warranty and deceptive advertising with regard to a hybrid vehicle's fuel efficiency. An individual who purchased the manufa...