The court holds that cemetery owners' takings claims arising from their failure to obtain a Clean Water Act (CWA) §404 permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are not ripe for review. In 1983, the property owners applied for a CWA §404 permit to dredge and fill 50 acres of the property, which...
The court certifies to the Florida Supreme Court the question of whether an insured is entitled under state law to an award of attorney fees incurred in enforcing a settlement agreement against an insurer. A steel company sought to recover remediation costs at an allegedly polluted site from its ins...
The court holds that a state land use board decision precludes property owners from obtaining federal court relief of their takings claim under the U.S. Constitution. The landowners were prevented from building on their land due to an Oregon State law permitting dwellings to be built in forest use z...
The court assumes jurisdiction over a state contract dispute between a county waste authority and an in-state waste facility operator to protect and effectuate an injunction that the court has jurisdiction over. In a related case, the Third Circuit held that New Jersey's flow-control laws governing ...
The court holds that the trustees of a manufacturer's estate are liable for the trichloroethylene (TCE) contamination under state nuisance and environmental laws. A district court issued interlocutory orders finding the trustees liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, an...
The court holds that a city and county have standing to challenge the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) for implementing a water rights acquisition plan in Nevada before preparing a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS). The court first holds that the National Environmental Policy A...
The court holds that an interstate radioactive waste commission can sue a member state for violating the good-faith provisions of a radioactive waste compact. The court first holds that the Eleventh Amendment does not bar the commission's suit against the state. Congress has the plenary power to att...
The court vacates a lower court's award of attorney fees to a group of residents who challenged a state environmental agency's issuance of a solid waste facility permit to a solid waste company to construct and operate a landfill facility. In the underlying case, a lower court originally issued an o...
The court holds that the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) is not proscribed from taking into trust for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe of Connecticut land that the tribe purchased from outside an area defined by a settlement agreement between the tribe, the state, and the federal government. In 1...
Earlier this year in KFC Western, Inc. v. Meghrig, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that private parties may obtain restitution of the costs of cleaning up contaminated property under §7002(a)(1)(B) of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The Ninth Circuit's ruling in KFC Western opened the way for private parties to use the RCRA citizen suit provision to recover their costs of investigating, studying, and cleaning up contaminated property from responsible parties.