The court, applying Pennsylvania law, holds that an insured cannot recover the costs of a state-mandated cleanup of hazardous waste under general liability insurance policies. The court first holds that Pennsylvania rather than New Jersey law applies. Pennsylvania was the place of contracting and pe...

The court holds that under Colorado law, the pollution exclusion clause in a comprehensive general liability insurance policy bars coverage for environmental response costs sought by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in connection with a wood product company's discharge of waste materia...

The court holds that the Department of Energy's (DOE's) storage of additional nuclear waste at an existing storage facility does not constitute construction or modification subject to permitting under Idaho's clean air regulations. Idaho's regulations under the Clean Air Act do not require DOE to ob...

The Court holds that an Alabama act that imposes a disposal fee on hazardous wastes generated outside the state, but not on hazardous wastes from sources within Alabama, violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The operator of a commercial hazardous waste landfill in Alabama, which is ...

The court holds that a vendor of property contaminated by petroleum products fraudulently misrepresented the property's contamination to the purchaser, and the vendor is 100 percent liable for cleanup costs. The court first holds that the vendor failed to make a timely objection to the jury instruct...

The court, in a case of first impression under Utah law, holds that the "sudden and accidental" phrase in a comprehensive general liability policy pollution exclusion clause means abrupt or quick and unexpected or unintentional. An insurer denied indemnification to a natural gas company for continuo...

The court holds that landowners' complaint, which alleges that they were required to hire experts to test, evaluate, and develop a cleanup plan for pollution on their property caused by an oil company, states a claim for mitigation damages, not an impermissible claim for litigation damages. The cour...

The court upholds a district court ruling that Louisiana statutes banning the import of hazardous waste from foreign countries violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The court holds that it must affirm the district court's decision in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's 1992 decision in...

The court rules that Indiana waste transportation and disposal laws that impose restrictions on fleet dedication, backhauling, vehicle registration, bonding, and fees to discourage disposal of out-of-state solid waste violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Indiana enacted these restri...

The court holds that a California county, as a public entity and holder of the power of eminent domain, did not act in good faith when it entered private property to build improvements and thus must fully compensate the landowners for its own improvements. The court first concludes that the inapplic...