The court reverses a district court's denial on timeliness grounds of environmental groups' motion to intervene in a suit between the United States and a county regarding the status of a U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service) road. In 1999, the Forest Service sued a citizen group to prevent it from re...

The court holds that the federal government failed to show how limiting permits for eagle feathers only to members of federally recognized tribes is the least restrictive means of advancing the government's interests in preserving eagle populations and protecting Native American culture. An individu...

The court affirms a district court decision that a county's denial of a company's permit application to operate a landfill on its property was not a taking under state law and did not violate the U.S. Commerce Clause or the Sherman Antitrust Act. The court first holds that the company did not meet t...

The court abstains from hearing a breach of contract claim between a bankrupt company and a county resource recovery agency. The company and the agency entered into a solid waste disposal agreement, which included a bond requirement that if the bond fell below investment rating, the company had 30 d...

The court affirms a district court decision allocating liability among past and present owners for contamination at an oil refinery site. The refinery was built in 1929 by a gasoline company. In 1984 it was spun off to a wholly owned subsidiary of the company that agreed to assume all responsibility...

The court reverses and remands a district court decision dismissing a Native American tribe's claim that the Southern Everglades Restoration Alliance (SERA) had violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and that its actions, including advice to federal agencies, were void. The SERA was a gr...

The court reverses and remands a district court decision holding that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction to review an environmental group's claims that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) violated the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) ...

The court affirms a district court holding that a city did not breach a contract with a developer by failing to obtain the wetlands permits necessary for the development of an apartment complex and shopping center. The court first holds that nothing in the contract obligated the city to obtain the w...

The court holds that insurance companies may have a duty to indemnify a chemical company that was sued by municipalities for groundwater contamination. The insurance companies provided the chemical company with comprehensive general liability coverage from 1956 through 1976 under a series of six pol...

The court holds that two U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service) timber sales in the Boise National Forest in Idaho violated the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Environmental groups brought suit against the Forest Service seeking to enjoin the sal...