The court holds that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) and its implementing regulations do not preempt Arkansas regulations governing captive-reared mallard ducks. Captive-bred ducks do not fall within the MBTA's scope of federal permitting requirements, and nothing in the MBTA prohibits a state ...

The court partially reverses the dismissal of an Alien Tort Claims Act action brought by residents of Papua New Guinea against a mining corporation claiming numerous violations of international law and racial discrimination. None of the residents' claims presents nonjusticiable political questions, ...

The court denies Nevada's petition for review of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) final environmental impact statement (EIS) for a nuclear waste underground repository and a portion of its record of decision governing the transportation of nuclear waste from production sources to Yucca Mounta...

The court vacates a lower court decision finding that the United States is not liable to a mining company for the alleged permanent physical taking of its leasehold interest in a 158-acre tract of land in Michigan. The takings claim arose after a landfill north of the company's plant was placed on t...

The court holds that a municipality's appropriation of private property based on its determination that it was in an area that may deteriorate in the future is unconstitutional. In Kelo v. City of New London, 125 S. Ct. 2655, 35 ELR 20134 (2005), the U.S. Supreme Court held that economic factors may...

The court upholds a lower court decision invalidating a U.S. Forest Service regulation governing the review of decisions implementing forest plans, but remands the court's judgment with respect to the remaining challenged regulations on ripeness grounds. Only one of the regulations, 36 C.F.R. §215....

The court vacates and remands a six-level sentencing enhancement imposed against the operator of a foreign vessel for failing to keep an accurate "oil record book" in violation of §1908(a) of the Act to Prevent Pollution From Ships, part of legislation implementing MARPOL 73/78. The operator ma...

The court affirms the dismissal of animal defense organizations' action challenging the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM’s) strategy to achieve an appropriate management level for national wild horse and burro populations on public lands under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. The c...

The court upholds the dismissal of military veterans' claims that they were denied meaningful access to administrative proceedings before the Department of Veterans Affairs to pursue compensation for their alleged exposure to dangerous levels of atomic radiation while members of the U.S. armed force...

A California appellate court upholds the dismissal of property owners' claims against a reclamation district for property damage caused by breached levees. The owners' takings claims fail because under California law, the defective maintenance of flood control or water retention systems does not pro...