A district court held that a railroad company's negligence claim against a tank installer is barred by Texas' repose statute. The case arose after a tank located on a chemical company's property ruptured and released chemicals onto neighboring railroad property. The state's repose statute bars the r...

The Court held that the "substantially advances" formula, announced in Agins v. City of Tiburon, 447 U.S. 255, 10 ELR 20361 (1980), is not an appropriate test for determining whether a government regulation effects a Fifth Amendment taking. The "substantially advances" formula prescribes an inquiry ...

A California appellate court affirmed a $495,850 judgment awarded to a developer in an eminent domain action concerning two parcels of land, each containing a manufactured home. The manufactured homes were "improvements pertaining to the realty" under the state's eminent domain law and as such were ...

The D.C. Circuit dismissed as moot the U.S. Department of the Interior's appeal of a district court order that remanded for further rulemaking and temporarily suspended the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) "no surprises rule." The government arg...

The Seventh Circuit upheld the dismissal of a nonprofit's untimely appeal of certain U.S. Forest Service projects. The nonprofit relied on the Forest Service's statement as to the due date for the filings, but the statement was wrong and the Forest Service therefore refused to hear them. Neither the...

The Court overruled Alaska's exceptions to a Special Master's report recommending that summary judgment be granted in favor of the United States in a dispute concerning title to two areas of submerged lands. The first area underlies waters in the Alexander Archipelago that are more than three nautic...

The court held that an importer of King crab may not assert the "innocent owner defense" in forfeiture proceedings. Under the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act, 18 U.S.C. §983, the innocent owner defense cannot be asserted when the property to be forfeited is "contraband or other property that ...

The court held that an equipment and chemical supplier who gave advice to a dry cleaning service regarding waste disposal is not subject to "arranger liability" under the Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA). In addition to the "totality of the circumstances," the court focused on the degree of con...

The court affirmed the dismissal of individuals' challenge to a Montana ballot initiative that regulates the licensing of alternative livestock ranches. The court is precluded from redeciding the individuals' takings claims because a final judgment was previously entered against them in a parallel s...

The court upheld the dismissal of a farmer's claims that a seed company's soybean purchase agreements violated the Plant Variety Protection Act's (PVPA) misbranding provision. The farmer wanted to use the seed purchased by the company for future crops. The company then told them that any attempt to ...