Oil Spill by the Oil Rig "Deepwater Horizon"
A district court dismissed an environmental group's EPCRA lawsuit against BP for failing to report the release of hazardous substances following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, holding no such duty existed. EPCRA derives its reporting requirements from CERCLA, which excludes petroleum, including "c...
Peoples Gas Light & Coke Co. v. Beazer East, Inc.
The Seventh Circuit held that a utility may not seek contribution against a corporation for remediation costs the utility incurred at a former coke plant that was operated by the corporation's predecessor more than 90 years ago. In 1920, the utility and the corporation's predecessor entered into a c...
State ex rel. Youngstown v. Mahoning County Board of Elections
The Ohio Supreme Court held that a local election board exceeded its statutory authority when it refused to certify a city's proposed ballot measure that would, among other things, ban hydraulic fracturing within city limits and create a civil cause of action for damages to be brought in the name of...
Smith v. ConocoPhilips Pipe Line Co.
The Eighth Circuit reversed a lower court decision certifying as a class a group of homeowners alleging nuisance claims against an oil company that owns a nearby contaminated site. A pipeline leak was discovered under the site in the 1960s, and while the leak was repaired, the contamination was neve...