The court holds that Texas' doctrine of sovereign immunity does not render the city of Dallas immune from a suit by the heirs of a landowner who bequested land to the city for use as a park. Under the bequest to the city, if the land was not used as a public park or if the park name was changed, the...

The court affirms a district court's dismissal of individuals' substantive due process claims challenging the constitutionality of the Montana Stream Access Law. This law allows the use of all surface waters that are capable of recreational use without regard to ownership of the land underlying the ...

The court holds that the Double Jeopardy Clause does not bar an individual's federal criminal prosecution for violating the Clean Air Act (CAA) asbestos-removal regulations even though he was previously assessed a civil penalty for the same conduct by a county health district. The individual entered...

The court affirms a district court certification of a class of homeowners to determine a factory's liability, but not damages, for allegedly contaminating the homeowners' soil and groundwater. Class action treatment is appropriate and permitted by Fed. R. Civ. P. 23 when there are genuinely common i...

The court reverses a district court decision vacating a $25,000 fine against two individuals that violated the Clean Water Act (CWA) by trenching, grading, and filling wetlands without a permit. After having been found guilty of violating the CWA and being ordered by a district court to allow access...

The court affirms a lower court decision holding a landowners' takings claim against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) ripe, but reverses the lower court's decision that the taking was permanent. The Corps' denial of the landowners' fill permit application was a final decision rendering t...

The court holds that application of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to a commercial housing development that threatened the continued existence of the arroyo southwestern toad, an endangered species, was a constitutional exercise of federal authority under the U.S. Commerce Clause. The court previo...

The court holds that under Texas law, property owners can recover for trespass based on contamination by emission of airborne particulates. The only showing necessary is entry over land by some "thing." In addition, evidence in this case showed actual contamination of the property by the emissions. ...

The court holds that the doctrine of res judicata bars claims stemming from a commercial landfill operator's efforts to win approval for a proposed landfill expansion. After a state court found that county commissioners violated the operator's substantive due process and equal protection rights but ...

The court upholds a district court's approval of a consent decree involving water contamination in the Virgin Islands. The district court's approval of the decree was fair, reasonable, and in the public interest, and it did not err by approving the consent decree without holding a full evidentiary h...