The North Dakota Supreme Court upheld an administrative law judge's (ALJ's) award of benefits in the death of an oil-tank worker. According to the medical examiner's report, the worker died from hydrocarbon poisoning due to the inhalation of petroleum vapors from oil storage tanks. His employer argu...
A district court, in a 120-page decision, dismissed claims that the U.S. Navy negligently exposed a child to thallium dust during its cleanup of a contaminated landfill site. The child's family, which lived next to the site, alleged that wind-blown dust migrated to their yard and home and caused her...
A district court denied an oil company's motion to amend the findings, alter the judgment, or order a new trial in the Deepwater Horizon case in which the court found the company grossly negligent in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The company argued that it repeatedly objected to expert witness ...
The D.C. Circuit denied a petition for review seeking vacatur of an OSHA rule, the Hazard Communication Standard, as it applies to combustible dust. The Hazard Communication Standard requires employers to develop a program for classifying the dangers of workplace chemicals and conveying those danger...
A district court issued its findings of fact and conclusions of law regarding phase one of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill trial, holding various companies liable for the spill. In the 150+-page opinion, the court determined that BP Exploration & Production, Inc., is subject to enhanced civil pe...
The Second Circuit reversed a lower court decision that FDA was required to hold hearings to determine whether to withdraw approval for the use of penicillin and tetracyclines in animal feed. Looking at the text of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the context, the regulations, and the backg...
A district court denied a motion to dismiss an oil company's lawsuit against a gas station operator and gasoline transporter in which it seeks contribution for groundwater contamination under the New Jersey Joint Tortfeasors Contribution Law, the New Jersey Comparative Negligence Act, and the New Je...
A district court held that a natural resource damages (NRD) settlement agreement between New Jersey and an oil company for methyl tertiary butyl ether groundwater contamination bars the state from seeking product liability claims against the company. The agreement settled all claims for NRD at sites...
The Fifth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision dismissing a lawsuit filed by 11 Louisiana parishes in which they sought penalties under the Louisiana Wildlife Protection Statute for the pollution-related loss of aquatic life and wildlife following the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the ...
A district court dismissed as time-barred Puerto Rico's lawsuit against two gasoline suppliers for groundwater contamination. The commonwealth had sufficient knowledge of both the alleged injury and the identity of the alleged tortfeasors in 2007 when it filed its initial complaint against gasoline ...