The court holds that the issue of whether a six-year statute of limitations for actions brought by the United States applies to Minerals Management Service (MMS) administrative orders to pay oil and gas royalties is moot. The MMS issued an order on May 17, 1994, finding that an oil company's predece...

The court holds that the owners of royalty interests in federal oil and gas leases are not entitled to royalty payments from their lessee. During ongoing title disputes over mineral patent rights between the federal government and several private parties, the lessee acquired both federal and private...

The court issues a mandatoryinjunction against an oil company for extensive contamination of a river and surrounding land, but due to lack of evidence refuses to enjoin three other companies. The court first declines to invoke the doctrine of primary jurisdiction. The doctrine does not mandate blind...

The court affirms the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) decision to redesignate the Cleveland-Akron-Lorain, Ohio, area as a Clean Air Act (CAA) attainment area for ozone. The court first holds that an organization of manufacturers and local governments from the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley,...

The court holds that a corporation's insurance policy covered costs related to the 1979 discovery of contamination resulting from a 1974 perchloroethylene (PERC) spill. The court first notes that under Rhode Island law "property damage" and "occurrence" are inextricably intertwined. There can be no ...

The court holds that an insurance company does not owe a duty to defend and indemnify policyholders in an action arising out of the policyholders' maintenance of a solid waste dump on property subsequently sold to a developer. The court first holds that the policyholders have preserved only the owne...

The court holds that a Minnesota statute requiring public entities to comply with county waste management plans does not violate the federal Commerce Clause. The court first holds that the appellant waste contractors' association does not have standing to challenge one of the waste disposal statutes...

The court holds that a city's refusal to allow a waste transport company to dispose of solid waste from a military base in the city's landfill did not violate the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause. The court first holds that the city's policy does not have a discriminatory effect on interstate com...

The court holds that the Court of Federal Claims has jurisdiction over a drilling company's takings and contract claims against the United States arising from the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM's) refusal to issue drilling permits for federal lands covered by the company's mining leases. The court...

The court holds that a district court erroneously dismissed foreign plaintiffs' environmental and personal injury claims against a U.S. oil company on the grounds of forum non conveniens, comity, and failure to join an indispensable party. The claims alleged that members of the indigenous tribes suf...