The Fifth Circuit overturned a $3 million jury award for a nuisance claim against a petroleum company in which a family claimed natural gas extraction caused contamination of their property. The family alleged that the petroleum company's spills, releases, emissions, and discharges of air pollution ...

A district court refused to remand to state court a case where a plaintiff alleged that exposure to two petroleum companies' benzene-containing products caused him to develop cancer, finding that a party was fraudulently joined to prevent removal. The plaintiff originally sued the petroleum companie...

The Washington Supreme Court held that the state's Ocean Resources Management Act (ORMA) applies to two bulk liquid storage companies' oil terminal expansions on the shores of Gray Harbor. The two companies applied to expand their bulk liquid storage terminals to allow for the receipt, storage, and ...

A district court, on motions for summary judgment, dismissed a lawsuit against EPA filed by a group of beekeepers, farmers, and organizations concerned about the effect of pesticide-treated seeds on bees and other pollinators. The plaintiffs argued that the practice of coating seeds with neonicotino...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision that the Hawaii Pesticides Law impliedly preempts a county ordinance that seeks to regulate pesticides and genetically engineered plants. The ordinance would have required commercial farmers to maintain “buffer zones” between crops to which pesti...