The court holds that an oil company must turn over to the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) documents that pertain to the arm's-length sales of oil it purchased from its subsidiary in non-arm's-length transactions. The subsidiary primarily produces oil from land within 32 federal leases, and the...

The court holds that the Bonneville Power Administration's (BPA) decision to enter or extend power contracts with several direct service industries (DSIs) was not arbitrary and capricious as alleged by a coalition of consumers, public power associations, and environmental groups. The court first add...

The court holds that various Native American bands retain their right to hunt, fish, and gather in the Minnesota portion of territory they ceded in an 1837 treaty. The bands, however, may only exercise their usufructuary rights on public lands and private lands open to public hunting, fishing, and g...

The court holds that a district court improperly excluded a medical expert's testimony on causation in a case brought by a family seeking damages for cognitive injuries due to an exterminator's alleged excessive and improper application of pesticides. The court first holds that the plaintiffs needed...

The court holds that owned property and pollution exclusion clauses in comprehensive general liability policies do not preclude an insurance company's duty to defend a metals operation in an environmental contamination suit. The court first holds that because the complaint alleges groundwater contam...

The court holds that a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation that creates a 12-month grace period exempting transportation projects in nonattainment and maintenance areas from Clean Air Act (CAA) §176(c) is contrary to the plain meaning of the CAA. The court first holds that an envi...

The court affirms in part and reverses in part a district court decision on trespass, nuisance, strict liability, and negligence claims brought by property owners in Mississippi against a tire factory for the alleged release of carbon black and petroleum naptha. The court first holds that the simila...

The court holds that the U.S. Forest Service's management of national forests in Texas violates the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) and its regulations. As a result of these violations, the court enjoins the Forest Service from engaging in timber harvesting under any method until such time tha...

Applying Wisconsin law, the court holds that the environmental investigation costs incurred by a utility company at two sites it previously owned are not damages under the company's comprehensive general liability (CGL) policies. Wisconsin courts interpret the word "damages" in CGL clauses narrowly ...

The court holds that a nonsettling potentially responsible party (PRP) must pay a portion of past and future remediation costs incurred by settling PRPs at the Sullivan's Ledge site in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Relying on the jury's findings, the court first holds that the nonsettling party must p...