The Fifth Circuit reverses a lower court's summary judgment for defendants in an action contesting the legality of a NEPA impact statement for a federal highway project. The court of appeals finds that there are genuine issues of fact concerning whether or not plaintiffs were properly notified of a ...

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reverses a district court ruling and holds that a five-year municipal housing and zoning plan which restricts housing development in the form of projects of five or more units to a total of 500 units per year is a valid exercise of the police power. The landowners ...

The court holds that an environmental group that sued to enjoin a proposed outer continental shelf oil and gas lease sale off Georges Bank is entitled to attorney fees under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) even though the district court ...

The court adopts in its entirety the magistrate's report recommending that the three-year statute of limitations and the 60-day notice requirement in §112 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act not apply to plaintiffs' private cost recovery action under §107, ...

The court holds that a neighborhood surrounding the site of a retirement home built in 1919 in Mississippi is eligible for inclusion on the National Register and thus falls under the protection of §106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) even though it had not been officially declared ...

The court holds that the Secretary of Transportation's approval of construction of the Presidential Parkway through historic properties in Georgia was based on consideration of relevant factors and was neither arbitrary and capricious nor an abuse of discretion, and plaintiffs are not prevailing par...

The appellate court rules that the lower court erred in granting a preliminary injunction preventing the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) from proceeding with solicitation of bids and construction of a proposed vertical liftstyle bridge over the Red River in Rapides Pari...

The court rules that appellants may not proceed under a trespass theory in their action for damages caused by noise from a nearby steel plant. It holds that noise alone, without damage to property, is not sufficient to support a trespass claim. The court notes that the trial court had previously den...

The court holds that suits brought by residents of Jefferson County, Missouri, charging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with negligence for failure to warm them of a dioxin contaminated landfill or to remove the contaminated soil are barred by the discretionary function exception to the Fe...

The court rules that a district court has jurisdiction under §304 of the Clean Air Act to hear a suit seeking to force the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate a state implementation plan (SIP) provision to replace a state provision disapproved by EPA, even though that disapproval is...