A district court held that William Perry Pendley was unlawfully serving as the acting director of BLM. The governor of Montana and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation argued that Pendley was unlawfully serving as the acting director in violation of the Appointments Clause, t...

The Ninth Circuit vacated dismissal of a Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) lawsuit brought against the U.S. government concerning pollution from an abandoned military facility in Alaska. A resident argued that her property was contaminated by hazardous chemicals negligently released from the facility, ...

The Second Circuit vacated a final rule published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that reversed the agency's 2016 civil penalty increase for noncompliance with Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. States and environmental groups argued NHTSA erroneously conc...

The Tenth Circuit affirmed dismissal of a challenge brought by an environmental group concerning conservation of the lesser prairie chicken. The group had argued that FWS unreasonably delayed submitting to Congress a 2003 policy concerning conservation efforts when making listing decisions under the...

The Seventh Circuit reversed the denial of transmission companies' motion to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the Wisconsin Public Service Commission's approval of a $500 million electricity transmission line in southwestern Wisconsin. Environmental groups challenged the approval on constitutional...

The Fourth Circuit dismissed a petition to vacate or set aside the FAA's modification to a series of flight routes that caused residents of historic areas of a county in Maryland to endure "insufferable levels of noise." The county argued that the FAA failed to comply with environmental statutes and...

A district court denied a motion to enforce its previous order vacating DOI's repeal of the Valuation Rule and reinstating prior regulations governing payment of royalties on oil, gas, and coal extracted pursuant to leases on federal and Indian lands. Conservation groups argued that the Office of Na...

A district court denied the U.S. government summary judgment in a lawsuit concerning California's cap-and-trade agreement with Quebec. The government argued the agreement was conflict preempted by the foreign affairs doctrine because it created an obstacle to the effectuation of the Global Climate P...

The Third Circuit reinstated a lawsuit concerning noxious odors emanating from a landfill in Pennsylvania. A proposed class of residents living within a 2.5-mile radius of the landfill brought public and private nuisance claims, arguing the odors and other air contaminants interfered with the use an...

A district court granted in part and denied in part cross-motions for summary judgment in a lawsuit seeking FOIA disclosure of records concerning Yellowstone National Park's policy on the size of its bison population. A nonprofit group argued that the National Park Service (NPS) unlawfully withheld ...