The court holds that the Federal Rules of Evidence, and not the common-law "general acceptance" test, provide the standard for admitting expert scientific testimony in a federal trial. The petitioners, two children with serious birth defects and their parents, sued the respondent alleging that the b...

The court holds that a county ordinance imposing strict regulations on persons and corporations that import out-of-county waste for disposal in the county is subject to strict scrutiny under the Commerce Clause. Following the Supreme Court's holding in Ft. Gratiot Sanitary Landfill, Inc. v. Michigan...

The court holds unconstitutional the requirement in §609(a) of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Appropriations Act of 1990 that the executive branch initiate discussions with foreign nations to develop treaties to protect sea turtles, and holds that the Co...

The court holds that state statutory provisions authorizing regulations that impose a surcharge on disposal of out-of-state solid waste are unconstitutional and severable, but that the surcharge does not violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The court first holds that the surcharge r...

The court holds that the United States is not liable under the Federal Tort Claims Act for response costs incurred by an insurance company following a determination by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that the company was responsible under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensati...

The court holds that the attachment to landowners' development permits of conditions that require landowners to dedicate portions of their property for public use is not a taking of property that violates the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. A city granted the landowners' application for re...

The Seventh Circuit upholds a district court's grant of summary judgment to the defendant prior owner of a petroleum carrying pipeline on plaintiffs landowners' claim for nuisance damages from a 1944 leak of unleaded gasoline. In 1986, while trying to sell the land, the landowners discovered petrole...

The court holds that a tank truck company is not entitled to summary judgment on claims against its insurers for indemnification of costs resulting from a government action against it under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) with respect to soil and gr...

Applying Michigan law to an insurance dispute, the court adopts the doctrines of known-risk and loss-in-progress, and denies coverage because the insured's environmental director knew or reasonably should have known of a substantial probability of a loss caused by groundwater contamination at the si...

The court holds that an insurer has no duty under its comprehensive general liability insurance (CGL) policies to defend or indemnify a toy manufacturer subject to state administrative enforcement proceedings to remedy groundwater contamination resulting from the insured's release of trichloroethyle...