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Webb v. Dallas, Tex., City of

The court holds that Texas' doctrine of sovereign immunity does not render the city of Dallas immune from a suit by the heirs of a landowner who bequested land to the city for use as a park. Under the bequest to the city, if the land was not used as a public park or if the park name was changed, the...

Madison v. Graham

The court affirms a district court's dismissal of individuals' substantive due process claims challenging the constitutionality of the Montana Stream Access Law. This law allows the use of all surface waters that are capable of recreational use without regard to ownership of the land underlying the ...

Rancho Viejo, Ltd. Liab. Corp. v. Norton

The court holds that application of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to a commercial housing development that threatened the continued existence of the arroyo southwestern toad, an endangered species, was a constitutional exercise of federal authority under the U.S. Commerce Clause. The court previo...

Stevenson v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co.

The court holds that under Texas law, property owners can recover for trespass based on contamination by emission of airborne particulates. The only showing necessary is entry over land by some "thing." In addition, evidence in this case showed actual contamination of the property by the emissions. ...

Abraham v. Rockwell Int'l Corp.

The court holds that a defense contractor that operated the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant in Colorado could recover under its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) legal fees and other costs it incurred in a successful defense against environmental criminal charges brought against it...

Plum Creek Timber Co. v. Trout Unlimited

The court rejects a timber company's Declaratory Judgment Act claim against two private environmental groups, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The environmental groups filed a notice of intent to sue the FWS and the NMFS under the Endangered...

Plummer v. Fruitland, City of

The court holds that a lower court erred in upholding a local ordinance that provided an exclusive garbage collection and hauling franchise to a sanitation company. A competing company filed suit against the city after one of its employees was arrested for violating the ordinance. The court first ho...

Jopson v. Feather River Air Quality Management Dist.

The court holds that a local air quality management district is immune from a rancher's negligence claim against it for miscalculating the amount of marketable pollution credits the ranch earned for reducing agricultural burning. The district mistakenly issued the ranch 470 tons of credits more than...

Dalrymple Gravel & Contracting Co. v. Erwin, Town of

The court affirms, but on different grounds, a lower court decision invalidating a local ordinance prohibiting new mining activities in a town. The lower court erred in invalidating the local law based on the town's failure to comply with the state law's notice requirements. Because the local mining...