The D.C. Circuit dismissed teenagers' lawsuit against the federal government for failing to cap greenhouse gas emissions. Invoking the federal question statute, 28 U.S.C. §1331, as the basis for subject matter jurisdiction, the minors alleged that the federal defendants are trustees of essential na...

The U.S. Supreme Court held that CERCLA §309 does not preempt a state's statute of repose. The case arose after property owners filed suit against a manufacturing company for alleged groundwater contamination stemming from chemicals stored on property the company sold 24 years ago. The company argu...

The Second Circuit upheld a lower court decision dismissing a developer's CERCLA indemnity claim for remediation costs it incurred as the owner of a building contaminated by toxic dust from the September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center. The developer filed suit against the owners and less...

The Federal Circuit held that the U.S. government must reimburse four oil companies for CERCLA costs they incurred cleaning up contamination stemming from the production of high-octane aviation gas (avgas) during World War II. The oil companies entered into contracts with the government that promise...

The Seventh Circuit affirmed a lower court decision dismissing a CERCLA citizen suit challenging remediation work at three landfills in Indiana. The remediation work was divided into three stages. The lower court held that it lacked jurisdiction over the citizens' claims challenging the second and t...

A district court held that Minnesota's New Generation Energy Act, which establishes energy and environmental standards related to carbon dioxide emissions, constitutes impermissible extraterritorial legislation and is a per se violation of the dormant Commerce Clause. The statute's plain language ap...

A district court granted in part and denied in part motions to dismiss a corporation's CERCLA suit against an electronics company for costs incurred cleaning up lead contamination at a New York Superfund site. The electronics company, which had operated a steel plant and foundry on the site, claimed...

A New Jersey appellate court held that the state's Department of Environmental Protection violated the New Jersey APA when it withdrew from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) program. In 2011, the state posted a notice on the Department's website that is was withdrawing from the RGGI prog...