Category: Environmental Litigation
No Second Guessing EPA: CERCLA Citizen Suit Cannot Interfere With Ongoing Cleanup
This week, the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) does not give a federal district court jurisdiction to adjudicate claims for past noncompliance with an order issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The decision, Pakootas v. Teck Cominco Metals, Ltd., affirms that CERCLA’s citizen suit provision...
Another Rule Bites The Dust: The Ninth Circuit Abandons the “Federal Defendant” Rule in NEPA Cases
Thanks to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, gone are the days when private parties and state and local governments were prohibited from intervening on the liability or merit stage of claims brought under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (“NEPA”). CEQA GavelNEPA, much like it’s California equivalent...
Logging Road Stormwater Runoff Subject to the Clean Water Act
In a long-anticipated decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that stormwater – largely rainwater – that runs off of logging roads into streams and rivers must be permitted under the Clean Water Act (CWA). This decision (Northwest Environmental Defense Center v. Brown) will have far-ranging impacts that...
Owners at the Time That Cleanup Costs are Incurred are “Current” Owners Under CERCLA, Court Says
In another recent decision on the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. §9601 et seq. , the Ninth Circuit clarified that the “current” owner is the owner at the time that cleanup costs are incurred for purposes of imposing liability under the act. Enacted thirty years ago, CERCLA...
Pressure Testing — Court Temporarily Halts Offshore Oil Exploration in Alaska
The events relating to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continue metaphorically to parallel the relationship between the courts and environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) with regard to deep water oil drilling off the north coast of Alaska. Shortly after BP installed a temporary...
Keeping PACE – California Sues Fannie Mae
California yesterday commenced a lawsuit seeking to prevent the Federal Housing Finance Agency and its arms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from interfering with California’s implementation of the PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) program for financing the greening of existing structures. The lawsuit is intended to prevent implementation of...
Property Rights: Carved in Stone or Written in Sand?
Property owners rely on the protection afforded by the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution to shield them against the government improperly interfering with their property rights. The Takings Clause requires “just compensation” to be given to the property owner if the government takes...
Greenberg Glusker’s Robert Chapman Named Finalist for the Public Justice 2010 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award for $105 Million Trial Victory Against Exxon Mobil
Landmark NYC Verdict Hailed as Socially Significant for Corporate Environmental Accountability Greenberg Glusker today announced that Firm Partner Robert S. Chapman is a finalist for the 2010 Public Justice Trial Lawyer of the Year Award for his successful representation of New York City in a trial against Exxon Mobil Corporation. The City charged...
It’s Not Over Yet – Parties Can Join in Litigation to Oppose EPA Settlements, Court Says
The Ninth Circuit recently joined the Eighth and Tenth Circuits in finding that non-settling parties can intervene in litigation to oppose settlements between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other settling responsible parties under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act or CERCLA. This decision is significant because...
Top Kill
Shortly after the preceding blog entry was posted, President Barack Obama announced that he was suspending exploration of two locations off the coast of Alaska and suspending for six months the issuance of new permits to drill deepwater wells. He also noted that current laws and practices do not ensure “adequate environmental...
Are Current Judicial “Blowout Preventers” Sufficient?
As a BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico continues to prove, at the rate of thousands of barrels of oil per day, that modern technology is no fail-safe against disastrous environmental mishaps, it provides a metaphor for a risk of malfunction in the legal system on which...
Greenberg Glusker Environmental Litigation Team Wins Court Affirmation of Culver City Moratorium on New Oil Well Drilling By PXP
Rights of Old Oil Do Not Trump Needs of New Residents; Related CEQA Lawsuit Against LA County Set for April 5th Trial Greenberg Glusker today announced that the Los Angeles Superior Court has upheld the right of its client, the City of Culver City, California, to regulate expansion and...
California Supreme Court Rules that Air District Must Use Existing Conditions as the Baseline for Environmental Review
On March 15, the California Supreme Court in Communities for a Better Environment v. South Coast Air Quality Management District ruled that the South Coast Air Quality Management District violated the California Environmental Quality Act or CEQA when it failed to prepare an environmental impact report before approving a...
Greenberg Glusker’s Robert Chapman Secures $105M Damage Award in Exxon Groundwater Contamination Trial
Acclaimed Veteran Litigator Obtains Victory in Major Public Water Supply Environmental Claim Greenberg Glusker announced that Firm Partner Robert S. Chapman served as one of two lead trial counsel on the New York City trial team that obtained a $104.7 million compensatory damage award against Exxon Mobil Corporation. The...
Litigation Update – Fifth and Second Circuits Reverse Dismissal of Private Party Climate Change Lawsuits
Twice in recent months, federal appeals courts have opened the door to climate change damage claims by private parties against companies that contribute to global warming. On October 16, 2009, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Comer, et al. v. Murphy Oil USA, et al. held that residents...
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