Environmental Law › Conflict of Laws › Civil Procedure

Texas Supreme Court Rules in Southern Crushed Concrete that Texas Clean Air Act Preempts City of Houston Land Use Ordinance

On February 15, 2013, the Texas Supreme Court reversed the rulings of both a trial court and lower appellate court and found in favor of Southern Crushed Concrete in holding that a City of Houston ordinance placing location...more

Native Village Of Kivalina Files Its Petition For Certiorari - A Five-Year Climate Change Litigation Marathon That Has Yet To...

One day short of five years since the case was originally filed, on February 25, 2013 the plaintiffs in Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Corp. attempt once more to get out of the starting blocks, this time with a...more

U.S. District Court Holds that Federal Clean Air Act Preempts Pennsylvania State Law Common Law Tort Claims

On October 12, 2012, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania issued an opinion and order in Kristie Bell v. Cheswick Generating Station, GenOn Power Midwest, L.P., No. 2:12-cv-929, holding that state...more

Paris International Litigation Bulletin no. 4

This quarterly bulletin provides an overview of newly applicable legal provisions, recent case law and more generally the recent news in international litigation viewed from France....more

Justice Liu Authors Four Unanimous Opinions by the California Supreme Court

As the summer got started, and his first year on the bench nearly completed, Justice Liu produced four unanimous opinions on wide ranging issues of California law, including arbitration, preemption work product and...more

Public Trust Climate Litigation: On Life Support, But Still Breathing For Now

Last month, Judge Robert Wilkins dismissed the federal public trust climate change law suit, Alec L. v. Jackson. Judge Wilkins ruled on two alternative grounds. First, he held that there was no federal public trust doctrine....more

Florida Water Quality Standards in Flux Due to Challenges at Federal and State Level; UPDATED: Administrative Ruling issued June...

The final standards that set numeric limits/criteria regarding the amount of nutrient pollution allowed in Florida’s lakes, rivers, streams, and springs are being challenged in federal court. These Water Quality Standards for...more

Second Appellate District Approves Use of Projected Future Baseline to Measure Environmental Impacts in L.A. Light Rail Case

On Tuesday, the Second District Court of Appeal issued its decision in Neighbors for Smart Rail v. Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority, ruling that a lead agency’s use of projected future conditions to measure the...more

Court Upholds Use of Future CEQA Baseline, Contravening Sunnyvale and Madera

On April 17, 2012, the Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District upheld the use of a 2030 baseline for an Environmental Impact Report’s (EIR) traffic and air quality analysis in Neighbors for Smart Rail v. Exposition...more

Clean Water Act Orders Subject to Pre-Enforcement Review

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

Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency

SCOTUS Opinion in Sackett v. EPA

Full text copy of the Supreme Court's unanimous decision in Sackett v. EPA, allowing landowners judicial review when faced with compliance orders from EPA regarding violations of the Clean Water Act....more

Chevron v. Naranjo, et al.

Second Circuit Opinion Dismissing Chevron's Attempt to Bar Enforcement of Ecuador Judgment.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York issued an opinion explaining its decision to overturn a district court injunction barring enforcement of the judgment outside of Ecuador. Chevron filed suit in...more

Busy Times in Climate Change Regulation

In This Alert: In the Courts: Supreme Court Weighs In Again on Greenhouse Gas Regulation; In Congress: Efforts Stall to Rein In EPA Authority to Regulate Greenhouse Gases; At EPA: The Rulemaking Process Lumbers On; and...more

US Courts Order Discovery for Use Overseas in Chevron-Ecuador Disputes

Context: The Chevron-Ecuador Litigation A high profile and complex dispute involving a group of Ecuadorian residents, Chevron Corporation and the Republic of Ecuador is forcing courts and the media to focus on an arcane...more

New York's Choice of Law Doctrine in Coverage Cases is Moving Inexorably Toward the Site-Specific Approach

Published in Mealey's Litigation Report -- Insurance...more