The court holds that under New York law, an insurer has no duty to defend a manufacturing company for environmental claims arising from gradual pollution under two insurance policies issued in 1973 and 1976. The gradual pollution clauses contained an exclusion for property damage resulting from poll...

The court holds that a Native American tribe lacked standing to challenge the transfer of land from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the state of South Dakota. The tribe argued that the title transfer will eviscerate the Secretary of the Army’s ability to enforce federal cultural protection...

The court holds that the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), in requiring the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate national primary drinking water regulations, is a valid exercise of power under the U.S. Commerce Clause. Petitioners argued that the SDWA exceeds the federal government...

The court vacates a preliminary injunction forbidding local, state, and federal government officials from taking further action to widen a municipal street in Goshen, Indiana. No formal proposal had yet been made under the National Environmental Policy Act, therefore, it is impossible to determine w...

The court grants a partial rehearing to clarify its views on the required burden of proof in environmental pollution cases, which remains proof by a preponderance of the evidence. An oil company that sought rehearing argued that language in the court's previous opinion stated that damage to an aquif...

The court affirms a district court dismissal of an environmental group's National Environmental Policy Act, National Historic Preservation Act, and Department of Transportation Act challenge to the extension of a rail system because the group lacked standing. To establish standing under the Administ...

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...

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...

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...

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...