A California appellate court held that a property owner may not intervene in an insurance coverage dispute between an insurance company and the former property owner from which the current owner seeks contribution. The current owner argued that it has a legitimate interest in making coverage argumen...

The Fourth Circuit held that the Natural Gas Act (NGA) preempts a county bill prohibiting the siting of any liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal within 1,000 feet from the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. The bill is an amendment to the state's critical management plan (CMP) because it imposes a ...

The Ninth Circuit held that federal law preempts Washington State's Cleanup Priority Act, a statute enacted through the passage of a voter initiative. The Act was intended to "prevent the addition of new radioactive and hazardous waste" at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation site until cleanup of existi...

The Supreme Court of California reversed a lower court decision in favor of conservation groups challenging the state forestry department's approval of three timber harvest plans that allow logging on private land in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The department's selection of geographic areas for ass...

A California appellate court upheld the dismissal of a homeowners association's claim against the California Coastal Commission for requiring it to pay an in-lieu mitigation fee as a condition of a permit to build a seawall. The seawall would cause passive erosion that would eventually eliminate an ...

A Minnesota appellate court upheld a state environmental agency decision denying a mining company's request to eliminate the "control-city" standard from its air quality permit. The standard required the company to keep the asbestos fiber count in the air at its Silver Bay facility to the level ordi...

A California appellate court affirmed a lower court's grant of summary judgment in favor of a city sued for certifying environmental impact reports (EIRs) and approving development projects on over 6,800 acres of undeveloped land in violation of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The c...

The First Circuit certified to the Massachusetts Supreme Court questions concerning the allocation of liability in a dispute over the extent of insurance coverage owed for a gas company's strict liability for environmental cleanup costs at a former manufactured gas plant. At trial, the jury awarded ...

A Louisiana appellate court held that state law allows the state's environmental agency to be held liable for personal injury and property damages when a permittee has contaminated its neighbors' property and the agency knew about the toxic contamination but failed to properly regulate the permittee...

An Ohio appellate court upheld the dismissal of a property owner's state contribution claim against a mega-store for costs incurred cleaning up mercury and lead contamination at a recycling facility. The owner failed to prepare and submit a "no further action letter" necessary to pursue contribution...