The court rescinds a contract under which a metal refining company sold a contaminated site in Queens, New York, to the U.S. Postal Service. Applying New York law, the court first holds that breach of contract can be grounds for rescission. The company breached its contract with the Postal Service b...

The court denies a private-property owner injunctive relief on its claim that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EPA employees violated the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution when an EPA emergency response team entered onto the property without a warrant and removed water and ...

The court holds that property owners' negligence, nuisance, and trespass claims against a battery crushing and lead processing plant in their neighborhood are time barred. The court first holds that their negligence claim is barred by Pennsylvania's statute of limitations, because their praecipe for...

The Court holds that a landowner's takings claim against a regional planning agency is ripe for adjudication. The agency determined that the landowner may not develop her property but is entitled to transferable development rights (TDRs). The Court first notes that its discussion is confined to whet...

The court holds that the owner of a salt mine is not liable to the owners of the surface estate for damage that the mine suffered during a collapse and innundation, but may be liable for damages caused by subsidence of the surface estate. The court previously held that the surface owners had a rever...

The court holds that a town may recover under the New Jersey Sanitary Landfill Facility Closure and Contingency Fund Act costs it incurred cleaning up contamination from a closed landfill on property that it bought before passage of the Act. The court holds that the town is not an "owner" of the lan...

The court holds that landowners presented a prima facie case of trespass and nuisance against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for exceeding the scope of a wetlands easement over their property when FWS constructed a series of dikes that caused flooding. The court first holds that there was ...

The court holds that a Minnesota waste management statute that requires public entities to comply with county waste management plans does not violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution by barring the importation of waste processing services. Minnesota statute §115A.46 requires public enti...

The court holds that a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) defendant is not entitled to access to materials from an earlier grand jury proceeding conducted by the judge presiding over the CERCLA trial. The court first holds that defendant does not need the ...

The court holds that a former petrochemical plant employee failed to prove that the plant terminated him in retaliation for his disclosure of an environmental violation to his supervisor and, therefore, is not entitled to compensation under Louisiana's environmental whistleblower statute. The court ...