Minnesota's high court upheld an appellate court ruling in favor of a county's zoning ordinance that bans all industrial-mineral mining, including silica-sand mining. A silica-sand mining company argued the ordinance violated the dormant Commerce Clause by discriminating against its business. The hi...

A district court denied summary judgment to the U.S. government in a lawsuit concerning California's cap-and-trade agreement with Quebec. The government argued the agreement violated the Treaty Clause of the U.S. Constitution because it was binding and "confederat[ed] the laws of the two jurisdictio...

A district court held that a railroad company was not required to obtain a local permit to repair its tracks in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. The company argued that the ICC Termination Act preempted the permitting and preclearance process established by a county where the gorge is ...

A district court denied horse advocacy and environmental groups' motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit concerning BLM's proposal to remove wild horses from public lands in southeastern Nevada. The groups challenged BLM's 2008 land use plan that determined the area would not be managed for wild ho...

The Court of Federal Claims held that the U.S. government was not liable for the flooding of homes near two dams managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Houston during Hurricane Harvey. Property owners downstream of the dams argued that the government flooded their lands by opening the dams' ...

The Court of Federal Claims held the U.S. government liable for the flooding of homes and businesses near two dams managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Houston during Hurricane Harvey. Property owners argued that the government improperly used their land to retain floodwaters during the hu...

The Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for NPS in a lawsuit concerning acceptable activities on land acquired by Wisconsin through the Federal Land to Parks Program for recreational use. An environmental group argued that NPS' approval of three activities at the park—dog training, off-road ...

The D.C. Circuit affirmed a district court decision that upheld President Barack Obama's 2016 proclamation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off the New England coast. Commercial fishing associations argued the monument exceeded the president's authority under the Antiq...

A district court denied environmental groups' motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit concerning the Forest Service's plan for harvesting timber on 2,500 acres in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest. The groups argued that the Service exceeded its statutory authority under the Healthy Forest R...