Environmental Law

Read Conflict of Laws updates, alerts, news, and analysis from leading lawyers and law firms:

News & Analysis as of May 21, 2013

Will New Marijuana Laws Go Up In Smoke?
Bill on Bankruptcy: Who's to Blame for the Hostess Liquidation?
Weekly Brief: Google Antitrust Suit?; Legal Weed; Law Firm Mega-Merger Mania
Appeal Trial Court - What To Do When a Party Loses or is Unhappy with a Decision Made by the Trial Court - Kathi Sandweiss discuss
The Apellate Process Explained - Kathi Sandweiss discusses the appeals process and what it can and can't do for your situation.
Northern Mariana Islands Retirement Fund Files For Bankruptcy

Federal Court Holds Local Law Preempted By ESA Settlement

by Ben Rubin | Nossaman LLP on 4/18/2013

The Palila (Loxioides bailleui) is a small bird native to Hawaii that was listed as endangered in 1967. In 1998, the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii, pursuant to a stipulation submitted by the parties, issued...more

Western Pa.'s Take On Carbon Dioxide Liability Claims

by J. Wylie Donald | McCarter & English, LLP on 12/20/2012

Originally published in Law360 on December 17, 2012. Left open by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in American Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut, 131 S. Ct. 2527 (2011), was the question of whether state law nuisance...more

The Case For a Broad Pre-Emption Rule for CERCLA Contribution

by Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 10/9/2012

Although some of the proposed tax plans and budgets being discussed in this election year suggest that the same dollar can be counted and spent multiple times, a growing number of courts have held that CERCLA response costs...more

Last Federal Climate Change Case Dismissed by Ninth Circuit

by Matt Bingham | Lewis and Roca LLP on 9/28/2012

Last Friday, the Ninth Circuit dismissed the last climate change lawsuit still pending in the federal courts to the best of my knowledge. Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Corp. was a lawsuit by a small Alaskan village...more

Ninth Circuit Displaces Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Climate Change Liability Case

by McCarter & English: Climate Change &... on 9/24/2012

In litigation concerning liability for the emission of greenhouse gases, the federal common law of nuisance is displaced by the Clean Air Act. This is not news. It was established by the Supreme Court over a year ago in...more

Clean Water Act Orders Subject to Pre-Enforcement Review

by Morgan Lewis on 3/22/2012

Supreme Court decision determines that the Clean Water Act's statutory scheme does not preclude judicial review of EPA's jurisdiction in enforcement cases. In a much-anticipated decision, Sackett v. EPA, 566 U.S. ______...more

Supreme Court Issues Decision in: American Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut - Clean Air Act Displaces Federal Common Law Claims...

by King & Spalding on 6/21/2011

Today, the Supreme Court issued a decision rejecting an attempt to hold private companies liable in tort for greenhouse gas emissions alleged to contribute to global climate change. In an 8-0 decision, the Court held that...more