Constitutional Law › Environmental Law › Civil Remedies

Canada’s Supreme Court Requires Aboriginal Groups to Follow Statutory Process

On May 9, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Behn v. Moulton Contracting Ltd., 2013 SCC 26, affirming that Aboriginal groups seeking to challenge the validity of permits or authorizations granted to...more

First District Holds CEQA Remedies Provision Allows Park District’s Eminent Domain Action To Proceed Pending Preparation of...

In Golden Gate Land Holdings LLC v. East Bay Regional Park District (4/12/13 1st Dist., Div. 5) _____ Cal.App.4th _____, 2013 WL 1491547, the First District Court of Appeal explored the scope and proper application of CEQA’s...more

Federal Court Holds Local Law Preempted By ESA Settlement

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

What is the "relevant parcel" in a regulatory takings case?

In Lost Tree Village Corporation v. United States, the Federal Circuit addressed this question head on, concluding, to the surprise of no one, that the answer will largely depend upon the unique facts in each case. ...more

Ninth Circuit Dismisses Challenge to Injunction in Delta Smelt Case

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has granted a motion by appellees to dismiss an appeal pursued by the Natural Resources Defense Council and other organizations from an interim order enjoining one...more

Mississippi Federal Court Sacks Climate Change Lawsuit for a Second Time

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi once again dismissed claims that the oil and coal industries are liable for property damaged by Hurricane Katrina, finding both that the plaintiffs failed to...more

RCRA Citizen Suits Are Still Constitutional

2012 is shaping up to be the Year of the Commerce Clause. Not only is the Commerce Clause at the center of the Supreme Court ‘s impending review of the Affordable Care Act later this spring; it is also at the heart of a...more

Marzulla Law Legal Report - July 29, 2011

In This Issue: - Federal Government Admits To Liability In Land Takings: The Otay And Bassett Cases Sometimes the evidence of a taking is so overwhelming that even the federal government has to concede liability....more

President Aquino as Cotabato Water Hyacinth Remover

It was equally dismaying to listen to Cotabato City and Maguindanao Province local officials this week saying they were dismayed at Pnoy not bringing any solution or vision to the water hyacinth or water lily problem that...more

Marzulla Law Legal Report - March 24, 2011

In This Issue: - Victory For Landowners In Klamath Water Basin Takings Case - Staff Spotlight: Melissa Vedder - About Our Law Firm Exerpt from "Victory For Landowners In Klamath Water Basin Takings Case" The Fifth...more

Constitutional and SEQRA challenge to local law restricting landlords fails as court holds law valid

Fourth Department decision holds local law valid

A landlord association challenged by a hybrid Article 78 and Declaratory Judgment action a Village of Brockport, New York local law, LL8-2008, which requires landlords to register their properties with the code enforcement...more

Supreme Court To Decide Fate Of Global Warming Litigation In American Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut

On December 6, 2010, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in American Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut, a federal nuisance case on appeal from the Second Circuit. Plaintiffs -- eight states, the City of New York and three...more

Comment: Connecticut v. American Electric Power Co.

This comment discusses Connecticut v. American Electric Power Co. (“AEP”), in which the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit announced that the federal common law of nuisance could potentially provide the basis...more

Native Americans Entitled to $239,620 in Fees By Confering a Public Benefit

An environmental group and a band of Native Americans successfully challenged various aspects of a solid waste facility landfill project in San Diego County. The Fourth Appellate District held that the claimants were entitled...more

Pay Now, Challenge Later: D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds Constitutionality of EPA Unilateral Administrative Orders in...

An important decision has upheld the government’s power to order private parties to take expensive cleanup actions with little ability to challenge the order until after completing the work. On June 29, 2010, the U.S. Court...more

Global Warming Litigation and the Ghost of Mrs. Palsgraf

Any private entity with significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions could be identified in the next climate change lawsuit. Filed in 2004 by a coalition of states and land trusts, Connecticut v. American Electric Power was the...more

Environmental Alert: The Second Circuit Reinstates Global Warming Federal Nuisance Claims against Utilities: Connecticut, et al....

On September 21, 2009, in a 140-page opinion, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court‘s dismissal of global warming federal nuisance claims brought by eight states, the City of New York, and various...more

"Citizens for Better Forestry" Denied Fees Where Ninth Circuit Concludes Environmental Organization Was Not The "Prevailing Party"

The Ninth Circuit decided a “prevailing party” issue in the environmental context in Citizens for Better Forestry, et al. v. U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2009 DJDAR 8323 (2009). Citizens for Better Forestry and other...more

Supreme Court Upholds Private Right of Action Under CERCLA

A unanimous Supreme Court has removed any doubt about a private party's right to sue for environmental response costs under the federal Superfund. In U.S. v. Atlantic Research Corporation, Case No. 06-562, the Court addressed...more