The court holds that a pollution exclusion clause in a comprehensive general liability (CGL) policy unambiguously excludes coverage of injuries arising from an accidental ammonia spill in an office building as well as injuries due to the aerial spraying of a chemical insecticide. The court first hol...

The court issues a mandatoryinjunction against an oil company for extensive contamination of a river and surrounding land, but due to lack of evidence refuses to enjoin three other companies. The court first declines to invoke the doctrine of primary jurisdiction. The doctrine does not mandate blind...

The court vacates a bankruptcy court decision that a bankrupt gasoline station satisfied its cleanup obligations and was due payment under a settlement agreement that provided for the lessor's buyout of the gasoline station's lease. The agreement stated that 75 percent of the payment would be releas...

The court holds that a lower court erroneously limited its taking analysis to only one of four contiguous lots owned by developers who were denied a permit to fill wetlands on their property. The court first holds that, at the least, all four of the developer's parcels of property should be consider...

The Court holds that the Crow Tribe and the United States, as the tribe's trustee, may not recover state and county coal-extraction taxes imposed on and paid by the tribe's mineral lessee. The Court first notes that, as a general rule, a nontaxpayer may not sue for a refund of taxes paid by another....

The court holds that the Swinomish Tribe's usual and accustomed fishing places do not include any waters within Puget Sound salmon management and catch reporting area 10, and a prior decision's description of the Lummi Tribe's usual and accustomed fishing places is ambiguous. The Muckleshoot Tribe s...

The court holds that a delay in the issuance of a development permit partly owing to the mistaken assertion of jurisdiction by a state agency does not constitute a temporary taking. The state agency originally denied a landowner's application for building permits due in part to the agency's erroneou...

The court affirms the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) decision to redesignate the Cleveland-Akron-Lorain, Ohio, area as a Clean Air Act (CAA) attainment area for ozone. The court first holds that an organization of manufacturers and local governments from the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley,...

The court denies a petition for an order compelling the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to cease unreasonable delay in rulemaking on hexavalent chromium. The court first holds that under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act), 29 U.S.C. §655(f), it has jurisdiction to...

The court holds that a corporation's insurance policy covered costs related to the 1979 discovery of contamination resulting from a 1974 perchloroethylene (PERC) spill. The court first notes that under Rhode Island law "property damage" and "occurrence" are inextricably intertwined. There can be no ...