The Eleventh Circuit upheld the dismissal of dairy farmers' False Claims Act (FCA) against a Georgia county for misrepresenting its compliance with state and local environmental laws in order to obtain federal government loans for wastewater treatment facilities providing sewage sludge as fertilizer...

A California appellate court reversed a lower court decision denying a petition for writ of mandate challenging a city's approval of a home improvement center construction project. A citizens group argued that the realignment of a nearby road should have been considered as part of the same project u...

The Federal Circuit affirmed the lower court’s judgment that no taking occurred on a Pennsylvania family farm where a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency consent decree required appellant-farmer to reestablish wetlands on a portion of the farm. The farm is an integrated whole despite the exis...

The First Circuit denied appellants' motion seeking to reverse a July 2005 order of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granting conditional approval for a liquefied natural gas terminal and FERC's denial of appellants' motion to reopen the record. Where an agency's decision is condition...

The Sixth Circuit reversed and remanded summary judgment for defendants on plaintiffs' claims of intentional trespass, permanent private nuisance, and strict liability based on alleged soil and groundwater contamination of their real property from defendant's nearby uranium enrichment facility. Cont...

A California appellate court denied an appeal of a post-judgment award of attorney fees to plaintiff as the successful party in a proceeding under the California Environmental Quality Act challenging a proposed housing development due to its environmental impacts on wildlife and traffic. Plaintiff i...

A North Carolina appeals court denied respondent agency’s appeal of a lower court's reversal of the agency's assessment of a civil penalty for petitioner's failure to meet certain requirements related to leaking underground storage tanks (USTs). Petitioner inherited the property from his father wh...

A California appeals court affirmed a lower court’s denial of environmental group’s petition for writ of mandate challenging defendant county’s revision and recertification of an environmental impact report (EIR) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The water serv...

The Third Circuit affirmed a lower court’s grant of the government’s motion for summary judgment denying appellant’s claim that its environmental cleanup costs qualify for beneficial tax treatment under §1341 of the Internal Revenue Code. A taxpayer’s cleanup expenses do...

On certification from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the New York Court of Appeals held that an open space restriction imposed by a subdivision plat under New York Town Law §276 and filed in the Office of the county clerk pursuant to Real Property Law §334 is enforceable...