The D.C. Circuit dismissed as moot the U.S. Department of the Interior's appeal of a district court order that remanded for further rulemaking and temporarily suspended the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) "no surprises rule." The government arg...

The court vacated a lower court order denying environmental groups' motion for attorneys fees in an underlying case challenging a surface mining operation permit. In that case, the groups sought, and eventually obtained, a writ of mandamus setting aside the permit. Pursuant to California Code of Civ...

The court held that a district court erred in dismissing environmental groups' suit challenging the issuance of a permit to construct a power plant near Yellowstone National Park for lack of standing. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality issued the permit after the U.S. Department of the ...

The court holds that the Tucker Act's statute of limitations does not bar a development company's claim that U.S. Marine Corps munitions-handling operations at Blount Island, Florida, resulted in a temporary taking of the company's property without just compensation. The statute of limitations began...

The court holds that a phosphate mining company lacks standing to challenge a competitor's phosphate mining project under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The company had no environmental interests at stake. Rather, it challenged the project because it might become an alternative suppli...

A court dismisses a building owner's request for a declaratory judgment entitling it to indemnification for any damages or penalties it may be obligated to pay arising from asbestos violations that occurred during asbestos abatement work at its property. The owner claimed that the abatement company'...

A court dismisses a company's claims against the prior owners of its property for failing to remove drums, titanium grindings, and other metals from the site pursuant to a purchase agreement. The company also argued that the prior owners violated a state court order, issued in conjunction with a set...

The court dismisses a petition challenging a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule allowing the director of an approved state landfill to grant variances from EPA criteria for sanitary landfills. The environmental group challenging the rule lacks associational standing because none of its ...

A court reverses a lower court decision denying animal activists' motion to strike state employees' workplace violence protective orders under the state's anti-SLAPP statute. Following a nighttime protest at one of the employees' homes, a trial court issued temporary restraining orders against the a...

A court partially grants the U.S. motion to collaterally estop defendants from denying their liability as owners and operators of the Armour Road Superfund site in North Kansas City, Missouri. Except for one of the defendants, prior actions against the defendants were final, or sufficiently final, t...