A court upholds a city zoning ordinance prohibiting the development of a "big box" retail store within its jurisdiction. The city made a legitimate policy choice when it decided to organize development using neighborhood shopping centers dispersed throughout the city, the ordinance was reasonably re...

The court upholds a California state mining board regulation that requires the Director of the Department of Conservation to concur in any lead agency determination that a mine operator has fulfilled the terms of his reclamation plan and that the financial assurance instruments securing his obligati...

The court upholds the dismissal of state misdemeanor trespass and littering claims against a federal officer and contractor involved in the federal reintroduction of wolves in Wyoming. The officer and contractor were charged with the misdemeanors after they unknowingly entered private property in th...

A court holds that an environmental group may proceed with its petition for writ of mandate in which it seeks to overturn the state forestry department's approval of three timber harvesting plans. The forestry department failed to follow the state's forest practice rules for reviewing the plans' cho...

A court holds that certain documents relating to the Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR) are not exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The CAMR regulates mercury emissions from power plants nationwide. During the rulemaking process, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (E...

The court reverses a lower court summary judgment decision upholding the state department of toxic substance control's determination that virtually all corporations with 50 or more employees in the state must pay a hazardous materials charge. This determination amounts to a regulation under the stat...

The court upholds summary judgment in favor of an insurance company over policyholders' claims against it for rejecting a settlement offer in an underlying suit concerning lead poisoning to a young child. The policyholders argued that the rejection constituted bad faith because it exposed them to th...

A court grants in part and denies in part motions to dismiss land purchasers' Comprehensive, Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), negligence, fraud, and state-law claims against an environmental consulting firm and the prior owners. The prior owners sold the land without...

A court holds that a timber company's procurement of a general permit for stormwater discharges stemming from its logging activities in Bear Creek, California, does not render an environmental group's Clean Water Act action against the company moot. The timber company failed to meet its burden to pr...

A court holds that a county did not effect a physical or regulatory taking when it imposed conditions on a landowner's permit to activate a well on its property. The conditional use permit limited the landowner from extracting no more than 12,000 acre/feet per year of water from the aquifer underlyi...