Jersey City v. Consolidated Rail Corp.
The D.C. Circuit held that a city has standing to challenge a railroad company's sale of a historic elevated railroad embankment to developers. The city argued that the sale was void because the company failed to obtain approval from the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to abandon the property...
Western Watersheds Project v. United States Fish & Wildlife Service
A district court upheld the FWS' "warranted-but-precluded" finding for the sage-grouse under the ESA. An environmental group challenged the “precluded” portion of the “warranted-but-precluded” decision, focusing on a key finding by the Director of the FWS that the threats to the sage-grouse ...
Defenders of Wildlife v. Salazar
A district court granted an environmental group's motion for reconsideration and overturned its previous decision upholding the DOI's "Counterpart ESA §7 Consultation Regulations" for National Fire Plan (NFP) projects. The government's rationale for proposing the rule in the first instance was ...
Barton v. Meddock
A district court remanded to state court landowners' claims for damages caused by defendants' alleged disposal of hazardous materials on their property. The landowners originally filed the suit in state court, but the defendants removed the case to federal court, arguing that the case involves a...
Emergency Services Billing Corp. v. Allstate Insurance Co.
The Seventh Circuit held that automobile owners should not be held liable under CERCLA for costs incurred responding to automobile accidents. The case was brought by the billing agent of a fire department that sought response costs from individuals who were involved in motor vehicle accidents an...
Citizens for Smart Growth v. Department of Transportation
The Eleventh Circuit held that the Federal Highway Administration (FHwA) did not violate NEPA or §4 of the DOT Act in its planning and development of a bridge project in Florida. A citizens group argued that the FHwA improperly relied on a state agency's Feasibility Study and Corridor Report wh...