A California appellate court affirmed the dismissal of residents' claims against two groups of water purveyors—one regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC), and the other a group of public entity water suppliers—seeking damages for alleged contamination to their drinking wat...

North Carolina's appellate court reversed and remanded a jury's award of $500,000 in compensatory and punitive damages to the owner of a well whose water was contaminated with gasoline due to leaking underground storage tanks at a nearby gasoline station. The trial court failed to instruct the jury ...

The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of appellee title insurance company finding that the undisclosed existence of an abandoned septic tank was not a defect in title within the meaning of appellant’s title insurance policy. Title insurance p...

A California appellate court denied a challenge by a group of trade associations to a trial court’s ruling that upheld the listing of two coho salmon populations as endangered and threatened under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) (Fish & Game Code §§2050 et seq.). Under CESA, spe...

The Ninth Circuit held that a company's federal license allowing it to transport up to 12 passengers in "coastwise trade" off the coast of Maui as part of its parasailing business does not preempt Hawaii law prohibiting parasailing during limited portions of the year to protect mating humpback whale...

The D.C. Circuit granted in part environmental groups' petition for review of a final rule promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate "hot spot" analyses undertaken as part of the State Implementation Plan for National Ambient Air Quality Standards transportation proje...

The Fourth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a mining corporation's lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Maryland Surface Dewatering Act. The Act imposes remedial measures on a licensed miner if a well within its "zone of influence" fails due to declining ground water or if damage was caus...

A California appellate court affirmed a lower court decision holding unripe a construction company's takings claim against the California Coastal Commission for denying its application of a coastal development permit. The court rejected the company's argument that there is no economically productive...

A district court dismissed claims that the workplace safety exposure levels—or threshold limit values—for silica, copper, n-propyl bromide, and diesel particulate matter are adopted by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) and enforced by the U.S. Department of La...

The California Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision finding that the programmatic environmental impact statement (EIS) and environmental impact report (EIR) for the CALFED Program—a long-term comprehensive plan designed by a consortium of 18 state and federal agencies (CALFED) to restore ...