The court holds that a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service warrant and subsequent search violated homeowners' Fourth Amendment constitutional rights against unreasonable searches and seizures when two cable television networks accompanied the search. The court first holds that collateral estoppel does no...

The court denies an insurer's motion to stay the proceedings and grants partial summary judgment to the insured corporation in an indemnification suit for personal injury damages resulting from the inhalation of sludge fumes. The court first denies the corporation's motion to dismiss the insurer's a...

The court holds that Endangered Species Act (ESA) §9(a)(1)'s application to a fly that exists only in California is within Congress' Commerce Clause power. The court first holds that the application of ESA §9 to the fly can be viewed as a proper exercise of Congress' Commerce Clause power over act...

The court holds that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Office of Inspector General must disclose portions of its internal investigations manual and other law enforcement documents pursuant to a public interest group's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The court first holds ...

The court holds that a real estate developer, who alleges that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' denial of a permit to build a levee effected a taking in violation of the Fifth Amendment, failed to file suit within the statute-of-limitations period. The court first holds that under the circumstances...

The court holds that the issue of whether a six-year statute of limitations for actions brought by the United States applies to Minerals Management Service (MMS) administrative orders to pay oil and gas royalties is moot. The MMS issued an order on May 17, 1994, finding that an oil company's predece...

The court holds that a general liability insurance policy's pollution exclusion clause does not bar coverage for losses resulting from the addition of a foreign substance to crude oil travelling through a pipeline. An oil company that settled a claim made by a refinery due to an explosion caused by ...

The court holds that the owners of royalty interests in federal oil and gas leases are not entitled to royalty payments from their lessee. During ongoing title disputes over mineral patent rights between the federal government and several private parties, the lessee acquired both federal and private...

The court holds that a railroad company lessor is barred from recovering economic losses and property damages associated with hazardous waste contamination on its leased site. The court first holds that the lessor's claim for economic losses and property damages under the Minnesota Environmental Res...

The court affirms a jury verdict in favor of defendants, a gas station and an environmental consulting group, in a suit alleging property damage from a trespassing and leaking underground gasoline storage tank the consultants failed to discover. The consulting group was hired to perform an environme...