The court affirms a lower court decision holding an individual liable as an operator of a landfill under the Illinois Environmental Protection Act (IEPA). The court first holds that a review of the record as a whole shows that the individual was a landfill operator. Thus, the instant case is not lik...

The court vacates a district court decision granting summary judgment in favor of an oil company claiming that a Hawaii statute proscribing the maximum rent that oil companies can collect from dealers who lease company-owned service stations is an unconstitutional regulatory taking. The court first ...

The court holds that under Virginia law, an insurer has a duty to defend operators of a dry cleaning business from a suit seeking to hold the operators liable for soil and groundwater contamination. The insurer issued a comprehensive general liability policy to the operators for the period of 1991 t...

The court affirms in part and reverses in part various rulings made by a district court resolving the claims and counterclaims of a lessee and three lessors of several oil and gas leases in Huerfano County, Colorado. The lessors' general claim was that the lessee breached the lease agreements by und...

The court upholds the validity of an Ohio state regulation that requires owners and operators of underground storage tanks (USTs) who wish to receive compensation from the state's UST fund to submit an eligibility application to the state UST compensation board within one year of the date that an ac...

The court holds that an insurer had no duty to defend a cement manufacturer in a suit brought by property owners and individuals alleging damages caused by the manufacturer's emissions. The manufacturer's insurance policy includes an absolute pollution exclusion clause that provides that the policy ...

The court dismisses a property owner's complaint alleging that a New York City watershed memorandum of agreement (MOA) and its regulations violated the U.S. Constitution, the state constitution, and state statutory and common law. The court first holds that the owner's claims that the MOA and its re...

The court holds that a sanitation company that successfully challenged a city's waste hauler ordinance under the dormant Commerce Clause should be awarded $29,720.20 in attorney fees and expenses. The company sought $42,285.75 in attorney fees and $2,091.41 in expenses. Although the company argued t...

The court upholds a jury verdict awarding punitive damages to three individuals who suffered injuries after the employee of a pest control company sprayed toxic pesticides in the individuals' workplace while they were working. Under New Mexico law, punitive damages may be imposed on an employer for ...

The court reverses a district court dismissal of a property owner's takings claim against a county as unripe. The owner alleged that the county impermissibly listed her driveway as a county road and would not delist it because a neighbor used it to access a road and get mail. The district court held...