A district court denies property owners' motions to sanction the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for violating discovery orders in the owners' toxic-tort suit against DOE contractors that operate the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons production facility. The court also denies, for the most part, the contr...

The court holds that most of the final environmental impact statement (EIS) for a proposed highway realignment through Hatton Canyon near Carmel-by-the-Sea in California satisfies the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The court then address...

A Minnesota appellate court upheld an EIS for a steel plant against claims that it failed to address the impact of greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, and power generation. The environmental group's claims that the state environmental agency failed to consider the impacts of greenhouse gas emi...

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 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...