The Eighth Circuit reversed a lower court's strict liability judgment and accompanying punitive damages award against a company in connection with the environmental contamination of a site it once owned. Minnesota's strict liability rule for actions brought by subsequent property owners requires an ...
The Tenth Circuit affirmed a district court decision that Utah's statutes regulating the storage and transportation of spent nuclear fuel are preempted by federal law. Contrary to the state's arguments, the plaintiffs who challenge the statutes—a consortium of utility companies and a Native Americ...
New York's highest court holds that a municipality does not commit an unconstitutional taking when it conditions site plan approval on landowners' acceptance of a development restriction consistent with the municipality's preexisting conservation policy. The restriction would not appreciably diminis...
A California appellate court affirmed a trial court decision dismissing a petition challenging a city's issuance of a negative environmental declaration under the California Environmental Quality Act and grant of a conditional use permit to a developer to construct an apartment building in an indust...
The Seventh Circuit held that the adequacy of a "no further remediation" letter issued by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is an issue for the state agency to decide. Under a contract between the former owner and subsequent owner of land, the former owner would be released from all claim...
The court holds that a county ordinance requiring federal and state agencies to consult and coordinate with the county board of commissioners on land use decisions and to comply with the county's interim land use plan, which purports to control acquisition of private lands by federal agencies and pr...
The court holds that several provisions of the South Carolina Infectious Waste Management Act addressing the costs and hauling of particular wastes violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The court first holds that the owner of a medical, municipal solid, and commercial nonhazardous wa...
The court holds that North Carolina's inverse condemnation statute preempts state commom-law claims of nuisance, trespass, and negligence, but does not preempt a statutory claim of strict liability asserted under the North Carolina Oil Pollution and Hazardous Substances Act when methane gas escaping...
The court reverses and remands a district court decision that New Jersey's solid waste flow control regulations, which require each state district to designate a particular facility to process and dispose of all solid waste generated within the district, do not violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S...
The court holds that it cannot declare as a matter of law that a Minnesota statute prohibiting the sale of petroleum-based cleaning products does not violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The court first holds that the statute's language clearly and unambiguously prohibits all Minnes...