The court holds that in a contract dispute over the responsibility for pollution cleanup beneath a gas station, withholding assertion of a nonfrivolous claim in reliance on an agreement waiving a statute-of-limitations defense constitutes sufficient consideration under Nevada law. The current owner ...

The court holds that under New York law, an insurer has no duty to defend a manufacturing company for environmental claims arising from gradual pollution under two insurance policies issued in 1973 and 1976. The gradual pollution clauses contained an exclusion for property damage resulting from poll...

The court grants a partial rehearing to clarify its views on the required burden of proof in environmental pollution cases, which remains proof by a preponderance of the evidence. An oil company that sought rehearing argued that language in the court's previous opinion stated that damage to an aquif...

The court dismisses on ripeness grounds U.S. and Native American tribes' request to clarify the nature and scope of tribal water rights in Oregon’s Klamath Basin and to assess the water rights standard set forth in a state administrative adjudication. Prior litigation in this dispute establishe...

The court upholds the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS') determination that listing the northern goshawk in the western United States as a threatened or endangered species was not warranted under the Endangered Species Act. The FWS' decision was amply supported by evidence in the record. Based ...

The court upholds the dismissal of a property owner's inverse condemnation action against the state of Rhode Island for acquiring a portion of his property in 1975 by adverse possession. Because the owner failed to seek compensation through the state court, he forfeited his federal claim. Adequate s...

The court affirms a district court decision that New York Air Pollution Mitigation Law §66-k is preempted by the Clean Air Act (CAA) Title IV cap-and-trade system and violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Section 66-k requires the assessment of an air pollution mitigation offs...

The court refuses to reinstate a contempt order against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) penalizing the agency $500,000 a day if it did not comply with a separate order requiring the Corps to lower water flow levels in the Missouri River. The judicial panel on multidistrict litigation tr...

The court holds that §21 of Article XVII to the South Dakota Constitution, which prohibits corporations or syndicates from acquiring or obtaining an interest in land used for farming and from otherwise engaging in farming in South Dakota, violates the dormant U.S. Commerce Clause of the U.S. Co...

The court holds that the no surprises rule, which provides regulatory assurances to holders of incidental take permits (ITPs) issued under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that they will not be required to commit funds or resources beyond those contemplated at the time the permit was issued to mitig...