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Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. FAG Bearings Corp.

The court holds that the doctrine of issue preclusion bars a manufacturing company from relitigating whether an insurer has a duty to defend or indemnify the company in various class actions and administrative proceedings arising from environmental contamination at one of the company's plants. The i...

United States v. Braren

The court dismisses on ripeness grounds U.S. and Native American tribes' request to clarify the nature and scope of tribal water rights in Oregon’s Klamath Basin and to assess the water rights standard set forth in a state administrative adjudication. Prior litigation in this dispute establishe...

JMS Dev. Co. v. Bulk Petroleum Corp.

The court holds that it lacks jurisdiction over a gas station operator's appeal of a district court order requiring it to deposit money into an escrow account to pay for anticipated cleanup costs of neighboring contaminated property. The operator's liability for the cleanup has not been reduced to a...

Pascoag Reservoir & Dam, Ltd. Liab. Corp. v. Rhode Island

The court upholds the dismissal of a property owner's inverse condemnation action against the state of Rhode Island for acquiring a portion of his property in 1975 by adverse possession. Because the owner failed to seek compensation through the state court, he forfeited his federal claim. Adequate s...

Clean Air Mkts. Group v. Pataki

The court affirms a district court decision that New York Air Pollution Mitigation Law §66-k is preempted by the Clean Air Act (CAA) Title IV cap-and-trade system and violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Section 66-k requires the assessment of an air pollution mitigation offs...

In re Operation of the Mo. River Sys. Litig.

The court refuses to reinstate a contempt order against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) penalizing the agency $500,000 a day if it did not comply with a separate order requiring the Corps to lower water flow levels in the Missouri River. The judicial panel on multidistrict litigation tr...

Norfolk S. Corp. v. Chevron, U.S.A., Inc.

The court dismisses a railroad's state-law and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) claims against two petroleum companies that operated pipeline terminals on the railroad's property. Claim preclusion barred the railroad from bringing suit against one of the...

South Dakota Farm Bureau, Inc. v. Hazeltine

The court holds that §21 of Article XVII to the South Dakota Constitution, which prohibits corporations or syndicates from acquiring or obtaining an interest in land used for farming and from otherwise engaging in farming in South Dakota, violates the dormant U.S. Commerce Clause of the U.S. Co...

Bell v. Bonneville Power Admin.

The court denies a utility reform group's petition challenging power sale contract amendments between the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and several direct service industries. In response to an energy crisis, the BPA developed a load reduction program that provided for consumer conservation, ...

Citizens for Better Forestry v. Department of Agric.

The court reverses a district court decision that environmental groups failed to establish both standing and ripeness in their National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Endangered Species Act (ESA) challenges to a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rule defining the new national forest managem...