A California appellate court reversed and remanded a trial court's denial of a petition challenging a city's approval of a long-range community plan. The court previously held that petitioners' California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), zoning, and public trust claims lacked merit, but on appeal t...

A New York appellate court affirmed a lower court decision dismissing claims filed by the owner of a vehicle scrap yard against the state environmental agency for ordering it to cease operations. Substantial evidence supports the determination that the owner violated the New York State Navigation La...

The Supreme Court of California reversed a lower court's grant of summary judgment in favor of an importer that sells athletic shoes made from kangaroo leather. The case arose after an animal rights group filed suit against the importer for violating California Penal Code §653o, which prohibits...

A district court remanded to state court a New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection lawsuit against a manufacturing company in which it seeks reimbursement of cleanup and removal costs and damages incurred at the Woodland Dump site. The agency filed suit under the New Jersey Spill Act and N...

The Federal Claims Court held that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) must pay two nuclear utilities over $77 million in damages for failing to commence performance of its contract to accept, transport, and dispose of the utilities' spent nuclear fuel. Under the contract, DOE was to start accepting...

A Wisconsin appellate court held that a lower court erred in dismissing insurers from a property owner's breach of contract claim against the former owner of the property for environmental contamination. As part of the sales contract between the former and current owners, the former owner warranted ...

The Michigan Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part a lower court ruling that environmental groups have standing to bring a claim against a bottled water company under the Michigan Environmental Protection Act (MEPA) for allegedly damaging certain streams, lakes, and wetlands. Case law ...

A California appellate court reversed a lower court's grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurance company in a case involving several personal injury actions arising from the operation of an oil and gas production facility next to Beverly Hills High School. The complaints allege that hazardou...

A California appellate court upheld a city's approval of changes in a plan for a large real estate development project in downtown Los Angeles. Rival developers argued that the modified project is so different as to constitute a new project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). They...

The Sixth Circuit reversed and remanded a lower court decision denying Tennessee's motion to clarify its obligations under a 1985 consent decree regarding its plans to improve a stream. The state wanted to transform 1.5 miles of the stream into a 2.4-mile "meandering channel" to mimic the natural co...