The court approves a district court award of damages to an individual who was diagnosed with reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS) after inhaling cement fumes. The court first holds that the expert testimony offered by the individual was sufficient for a reasonable jury to find that the indiv...

The court affirms in part and reverses in part a district court decision that found the U.S. government and oil companies liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for dumping acid sludge from the production of aviation gas during World War II an...

The court holds that a logging company's takings claims against the United States, based on the temporary prohibition of logging due to an injunction entered by an Oregon court, were properly dismissed for failure to state a claim. The injunction prohibited the company from logging its property with...

The court holds that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) complied with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in connection with its transfer of surplus plutonium from Colorado to South Carolina. DOE argued that the governor of South Carolina, who filed suit against DOE, lacked standing becaus...

The court reverses a district court judgment holding that an insurer was not required to defend a manufacturer for contamination at two sites because the manufacturer had not provided timely notice of occurrence, but affirms the district court's judgment in all other respects. After four environment...

The court denies a corporation's Rule 11 motion to recover attorneys fees and costs from a gas company that the corporation sought contribution from under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The gas company manufactured gas on a site until 1973 when it...

The court holds that insurers are not obligated to defend or indemnify a manufacturing company for the costs of environmental remediation efforts undertaken at three of its manufacturing and waste disposal sites or for the costs of defending underlying environmental claims. The court first holds tha...

The court holds that California's Proposition 4, which bans the use of certain traps and poisons to capture or kill wildlife in the state, is preempted by the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the National Wildlife Refuge Systems Improvement Act (NWRSIA). An environmental group brought suit against t...

The court overturns two individuals' conspiracy convictions for mail fraud, but upholds their conspiracy convictions for unlawfully injecting wastewater into disposal wells and attempting to cover up their crimes. The individuals were charged with entering into a conspiracy with five objects: (1) im...

The court reverses a district court decision holding that a Washington county tax imposed against a Native American tribe after it transferred forest land to the United States to hold in trust for the tribe was a permissible taxation of land under the Indian General Allotment Act of 1887. Under Wash...