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Northwest Forest Resource Council v. Pilchuck Audubon Soc'y

The court affirms a district court determination that §2001(k)(1) of the 1995 Rescissions Act is constitutional and does not violate separation of powers by permitting Congress to resurrect timber sales that federal courts have enjoined. The district court also correctly held that "offered" sales, ...

Jones v. Texaco, Inc.

The court holds that the owners of a contaminated site may not recover damages for negligence, gross negligence, or strict liability from an oil company that previously owned the site and used it to dispose of oil-field waste. The court first holds that Texas' two-year statute of limitations for pro...

In re Exxon Valdez

The court holds that native Alaskans may not bring a public nuisance action to recover damages for noneconomic "cultural" injuries they incurred as a result of the 1989 grounding of the Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound. Plaintiff-appellant class of native Alaskans failed to prove any special inj...

Koppers Co. v. Aetna Casualty & Sur. Co.

The court affirms a district court decision that under Pennsylvania law a manufacturer is entitled to indemnification from its excess liability insurers for property damage resulting from environmental contamination at its manufacturing and disposal sites. The court first holds that the district cou...

International Ass'n of Indep. Tanker Owners v. Lowry

The court holds that Washington oil spill prevention laws are not preempted by federal statute, do not violate the Commerce Clause or Foreign Affairs Clause of the U.S. Constitution, and are not improper extraterritorial restrictions. The court first holds that the language, structure, and legislati...

National Ass'n of Home Builders v. Babbitt

The court holds that the Endangered Species Act's (ESA's) prohibition on the "take" of endangered species is not unconstitutional as applied to purely local activities that affect a fly that exists only in California. The court first holds that the record clearly shows that wildlife in general, and ...

Audubon Soc'y v. U.S. Forest Serv.

The court holds that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requires the U.S. Forest Service to release to an environmental group management territory maps identifying Mexican spotted owl nest sites. The Forest Service may not withhold the maps under FOIA exemption 2, which permits withholding of inf...

U.S. Postal Serv. v. Phelps Dodge Ref. Corp.

The court rescinds a contract under which a metal refining company sold a contaminated site in Queens, New York, to the U.S. Postal Service. Applying New York law, the court first holds that breach of contract can be grounds for rescission. The company breached its contract with the Postal Service b...

Los Angeles, City of v. Department of Agric.

The court holds that an electric utility company lacks standing under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to challenge a U.S. Forest Service environmental impact statement approving a competing company's construction of a crude oil pipeline. The court first holds that the evidence clearly s...

Maricopa Audubon Soc'y v. U.S. Forest Serv.

The court holds that exemption 2 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) does not exempt the U.S. Forest Service from disclosing documents revealing the locations of northern goshawk nest sites. The government has failed to demonstrate how the nest sites related "solely," or even predominantly, "to...