The court holds that a district court properly apportioned approximately $300,000 in costs in a contribution action under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), with two-thirds of the liability to be borne by the corporate lessee of the contaminated site ...
The court rules that defendants are liable only to those plaintiffs that suffered direct physical impacts from the 1989 oil spill in Prince William Sound. The court first holds that the oil spill is a maritime tort subject to admiralty jurisdiction. The spill meets both the locality and maritime nex...
The court holds that a real estate developer's strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP suit) challenging a local property tax exemption for a nonprofit nature conservancy's administrative center constitutes retaliatory and frivolous conduct, and the developer must compensate the conser...
The court holds that a company in the business of coil coating must pay a $2,093,750 civil penalty for violations of pretreatment standards under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA). The court first holds that FWPCA §309(a)(3) does not prevent the government from bringing a civil action...
The court holds that an insurer must defend and indemnify a county under comprehensive general liability insurance policies for claims arising from pollution leaching from two county landfills. The court first holds that the insurer must provide primary coverage to the county. The court previously h...
The court affirms the conviction of a former public utilities director of Enid, Oklahoma, for 18 felony counts of falsely reporting a material fact to a government agency, under 18 U.S.C. §1001, and two misdemeanor counts of discharging pollutants into the waters of the United States in violation o...
In a citizen suit under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), the court holds that a municipality is potentially liable for violating the FWPCA by improperly discharging effluents from its wastewater system into a lake, and plaintiffs may proceed with their nuisance claims. Moss coverage ...
The court affirms the conviction of a bulk liquid chemical transfer and storage company for hazardous waste storage violations of the Resource Conversation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and reinstates the jury verdict convicting the company of pollutant discharge and reporting violations of the Federal Wa...
The court holds that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) failed to adequately explain how it used arsenic in determining the toxicity score that was used in placing a facility on the National Priorities List (NPL), pursuant to §105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, an...
The court holds that the jury instructions accurately stated the law and that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in declining to grant a mistrial to a violator of the Clean Air Act (CAA) criminal provisions regulating release of asbestos, and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensat...