The court holds that although a state department of transportation is technically liable under the Washington Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) for the disposal of a tank car at a Superfund site, the department need not pay remedial action costs to a group of utilities that cleaned up the site. The de...

The court holds that under Delaware law, a tort claimant that was fraudulently induced to release another from liability may rescind the release or may file a separate suit for fraud. A Florida nursery entered a settlement agreement that released a Delaware corporation from future liability. Subsequ...

The court holds that the doctrine of res judicata does not bar nuclear utilities' claims that they were improperly charged by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for decontamination and decommissioning costs in its contracts for enriched uranium during the time period after the Energy Policy Act ena...

The court dismisses as unripe a developer's civil rights action against a city, a state environmental protection agency, agency employees, and a citizen group that allegedly opposed the developer's construction of a residential subdivision within the city's watershed. The court first holds that the ...

The court holds that a Native American council and an environmental group lack standing under the Federal Power Act (FPA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to challenge a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) order authorizing a Canadian power generator to sell power in the Unit...

The court affirms a district court decision requiring the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to provide water drainage services for agricultural areas receiving water through the Central Valley Project in California. The court first holds that the plain language of the San Luis Act, which authori...

The court holds that an insurer has a duty to indemnify an asbestos tile manufacturer for underlying asbestos-related personal injury claims that were triggered during the one-year commercial general liability policy period. The district court concluded that because none of the personal injury compl...

The court upholds a district court decision to preliminarily enjoin Nebraska from continuing with an administrative proceeding related to the denial of a license for a disposal facility for low-level nuclear waste generated within the member states of the Central Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Was...

The court grants a limestone quarry owner's motion to amend its takings complaint against the United States in order to reflect additional damages incurred as a result of the taking. The United States, which deposited hazardous waste at the quarry pursuant to a Superfund removal action, conceded lia...

The court holds that the Eleventh Amendment does not bar the U.S. third-party claim against the state of Alaska for equitable apportionment of damages alleged in a Federal Tort Claims Act action brought by a Native American tribe against the United States for damages caused by leaking fuel. The Unit...