A Colorado court upheld a city's decision to create a local electric utility. An electric company argued that the city council exceeded its authority when it created the utility. But the company missed the 28-day deadline for challenging quasi-judicial decisions. When the city declared that the cond...

The Supreme Court of Oklahoma held that a woman injured in a 2011 earthquake may go forward with her suit against two energy companies for allegedly causing the quake due to hydraulic fracturing operations. A lower court dismissed the case, concluding that the Oklahoma Corporation Commission has exc...

A district court held that a PRP established the divisibility defense and, therefore, is not jointly and severally liable for cleanup costs at the Lower Fox River Superfund site in Wisconsin. On remand from the Seventh Circuit, the district court was ordered to reconsider the PRP's divisibility defe...

The D.C. Circuit ordered EPA to submit a timeline for when it will issue its financial assurance rules under CERCLA to ensure that industries that handle hazardous substances have the financial means to clean up any releases. It has been nearly 30 years since Congress charged EPA with issuing such r...

The First Circuit reversed a lower court decision dismissing a lawsuit concerning a proposed offshore wind power generation facility in Nantucket Sound. Opponents of the facility—a town, an advocacy group, and several individuals and businesses in the area—sought to nullify the state's approval ...

A North Carolina court issued a preliminary injunction barring the state Mining and Energy Commission from accepting or processing any hydraulic fracturing applications until the state Supreme Court issues its opinion in a similar case concerning the constitutionality of the Commission's appointment...

A district court held that a corporation subject to an EPA unilateral administrative order (UAO) in connection with the Columbia Nitrogen Superfund site in Charleston, South Carolina, may seek contribution under CERCLA §113 and not §107. Defendant companies argued that the corporation was preclude...

The Supreme Court of Texas held that courts may consider all relevant circumstantial evidence when granting or denying an expedited motion to dismiss suits that could stifle a defendant's communication on matters of public concern under the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA). The case arose aft...