A district court held that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is liable to five homeowners and business under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) for damages they incurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The Corps' negligent failure to properly maintain and operate the Mississippi River Gulf Out...
A district court approved a bankruptcy reorganization plan requiring a mining company to pay $1.79 billion to fund past and future environmental cleanup and restoration costs incurred by federal and state agencies at more than 80 sites in 19 states. The court approved the plan submitted by the gover...
The Ninth Circuit held that environmental groups were not prevailing parties in their action against BLM in which they sought a preliminary injunction against a timber sale and, thus, are not entitled to attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act. BLM withdrew its challenged decision to con...
A district court held that an insurance company has a duty to defend the former owners and operators of a nuclear waste facility in EPA's CERCLA action against them for remediation costs associated with the site. The policy contained an endorsement that excluded coverage for environmental cleanup co...
The Third Circuit affirmed a lower court order dismissing oil and gas exploration companies' bankruptcy petition for lack of good faith. The companies failed to show that their Chapter 11 bankruptcy petitions served valid bankruptcy purposes because the bankruptcies did not maximize the estates. Mor...
A California appellate court reversed a lower court’s dismissal of an action on the grounds that the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) improperly granted an exemption from the California Forest Practice Act (FPA) to a property owner to convert his timberland to an orchard...
A district court granted the United States’ motion for summary judgment to find that certain timber harvesting provisions of a forest management plan did not violate the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) and the Tongass Timber Reform Act (TTRA). Plaintiffs—several Alaskan ...
A Colorado appellate court reversed a lower court decision to hold that the Colorado Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) prevented the state from increasing the coal removal tax rate without prior voter approval. The tax rate is determined by a statutory formula, whereby a base rate is periodically adju...
A Colorado appellate court reversed a lower court decision to hold that the Colorado Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) prevented the state from increasing the coal removal tax rate without prior voter approval. The tax rate is determined by a statutory formula, whereby a base rate is periodically adju...
The West Virginia Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part a series of jury verdicts, orders and rulings in a class action where the owner of a zinc smelter facility was found liable to class members for approximately $382 million in damages related to off-site arsenic, cadmium, and lead ...