A district court held that evidence of an oil company's conduct presented at a trial concerning methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) groundwater contamination in New York is insufficient as a matter of law to establish the degree of maliciousness, recklessness, or wanton conduct to support an award of...

West Virginia's highest court held that the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Act does not preempt homeowners' formaldehyde-based negligence claims against their home's manufacturer. The owners, who began experiencing various health problems after living in the home for six years, ...

The court holds that the U.S. government is not liable as an operator under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for hazardous waste cleanup costs at an abandoned mine site. The court first holds that CERCLA clearly exposes the federal government to suit...

The court holds that the discretionary function exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) bars landowners' claims that the military's disposal of wastewater at the Walker Air Force Base near Roswell. New Mexico, contaminated their residential wells with trichloroethylene (TCE). The court first...

The court holds that a potentially responsible party (PRP) must pay 1 percent of the past and future response costs incurred during the cleanup of a contaminated site in Salt Lake City, Utah, by a committee of PRPs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERC...

The court holds that a defendant-operator company and a defendant-transporter company are liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for costs incurred in cleaning up the MIG/De Wane Superfund site in Illinois, and orders them each to pay over $2 ...

The Court holds that the issue of liability in a developer's regulatory takings claim against a city was properly submitted to a jury. After the city imposed more rigorous demands each time it denied five proposals to develop a 37.6-acre oceanfront parcel in Monterey, California, the developer filed...

The court holds that the amount a bankrupt casino paid to the casino's previous owner for environmental remediation does not offset a debt owed the previous owner. The casino was to make monthly payments to the previous owner under the terms of a promissory note. It suspended payment, however, after...

The court holds that a pesticide manufacturing partnership is liable for response costs in a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) §113 contribution action brought by the corporation that purchased the partnership's assets. The court first holds that the val...

The court certifies to the Florida Supreme Court the question of whether an insured is entitled under state law to an award of attorney fees incurred in enforcing a settlement agreement against an insurer. A steel company sought to recover remediation costs at an allegedly polluted site from its ins...