Personal Injury, Energy & Utilities Law

Jarndyce v. Jarndyce Has Nothing On Comer v. Murphy Oil: The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Dismissal

by Seth Jaffe | Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 5/17/2013

Readers of this blog will recall the bizarre history of Comer v. Murphy Oil. In 2005, Plaintiffs brought tort claims against major GHG emitters, claiming that those emissions, by causing global warming, led to plaintiffs’...more

Fifth Circuit Knocks Out Climate Change Liability Lawsuit Again

by J. Wylie Donald | McCarter & English: Climate Change &... on 5/16/2013

Res judicata is one of those phrases learned in law school that seemed of limited utility. How often is someone going to bring the same claim twice?...more

The U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Extraterritorial Lawsuit Against Shell Oil

by Tyler Weidlich | Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell &... on 5/13/2013

The United States Supreme Court, in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, recently restricted the scope of the Alien Tort Statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1350 (“ATS”), a 224-year-old law often used to invoke jurisdiction in suing...more

Courts To Rule On Wind Issues

by Bruce Goodman | Varnum LLP on 5/13/2013

Seventeen neighbors of the Consumers Energy Lake Wind Energy Park have filed a complaint in Mason County claiming the wind farm has negatively impacted property values and caused sleep disruption, headaches, ringing ears,...more

Ontario Court Dismisses “Speculative” Challenge to a Prospective Wind Turbine Project

by Jack Coop, Jennifer Fairfax, Daniel Kirby, Lindsay Rauccio, Patrick Welsh | Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 5/7/2013

In Wiggins v. WPD Canada Corporation, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims for injunctive relief and $16.6 million in damages against a prospective (not yet approved) wind turbine project,...more

Massive Minnesota Oil Spill Raises Questions about Safety of Transporting Oil by Rail

by Yaeger, Jungbauer, & Barczak on 5/6/2013

As oil exports from Canada to the United States expand, so do the risks associated with rail transport. Early in the morning of March 27, 2013, a mile-long Canadian Pacific train hauling Canadian crude oil went into...more

Texas Court Allows Defamation Claim Against Landowner to Proceed

by Cassie J. Dallas | BakerHostetler on 4/26/2013

On Monday, Texas’s Second District Court of Appeals partially affirmed a District Court order allowing Range Resources Corporation’s (“Range”) defamation and business disparagement claims against a landowner to...more

DISPUTE RESOLUTION: International Arbitration: Chevron Tribunal Declares Ecuador in Breach of Interim Awards

by King & Spalding on 4/17/2013

On February 7, 2013, an investment arbitration tribunal issued its third interim measures award in the Chevron vs. Ecuador case. The tribunal found Ecuador in breach of its previous award ordering Ecuador to take all measures...more

BP Exec Defends Safety Record in Combative Trial Testimony

by Josh Crank | Lawyers.com on 4/12/2013

An executive with oil giant BP steadfastly defended the company’s commitment to safety while testifying today in the civil trial over the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. BP’s Neil Shaw delivered testimony that grew...more

Neutrals create streamlined process for resolving natural disaster cases

by JAMS, The Resolution Experts on 4/4/2013

Originally published in the Daily Journal on March 15, 2013. With more than 2,000 lawsuits filed by homeowners in the wake of the fires that ravaged San Diego County in 2007, attorneys for plaintiffs and San Diego Gas...more

Judge Dismisses Some Claims, But BP Trial Goes On

by Josh Crank | Lawyers.com on 3/21/2013

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier dismissed claims today against the contractor that supplied oil giant BP with drilling fluid, but denied most other dismissal requests from defendants in the civil trial over the Deepwater...more

Businesses Most Affected by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

by Perry Draper Law on 3/20/2013

So far, more than $9.5 billion has been paid out to compensate Gulf Coast residents and businesses for the losses suffered from the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. With the claims process reopened and a new settlement...more

Judge Shoots Down BP’s Request to Drop Gross Negligence Charge

by Josh Crank | Lawyers.com on 3/19/2013

As soon as plaintiffs’ attorneys in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill trial called their last witness, an attorney for BP asked U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier to dismiss charges that the oil giant committed “gross...more

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

by J. Wylie Donald | McCarter & English: Climate Change &... on 3/18/2013

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

Court Finds Private Person Can Be Held Liable for Negligent Inspection

by Michael T. Heenan | Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 3/15/2013

A private person who inspects a workplace can be held liable for injury or death due to hazards that should have been found and addressed. That is effectively what the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia recently held...more

Jurgens And Bercaw Establish A Tension Leg Platform Is Not A Vessel

by James D. Bercaw, George Jurgens, III | King, Krebs & Jurgens, PLLC on 3/11/2013

Jack Jurgens and Jim Bercaw succeeded in obtaining a partial summary judgment from District Judge Lance M. Africk that the MATTERHORN SEASTAR, a floating tension leg platform (“TLP”) secured to the Outer Continental Shelf off...more

DEP Hazmat Specialist Pleads Guilty To Spill Records Destruction – Implications For Those Affected By Spills

by Kenneth Gray, Dixon P. Pike | Pierce Atwood LLP on 3/8/2013

Former HazMat Specialist Jon P. Andrews, assigned to the Augusta Region of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, has pleaded guilty to destroying three years of spill records on his final day on the job. The...more

Indirect Costs of Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill May Be Reimbursed

by Perry Draper Law on 3/7/2013

Lost business, lost profits — these are easily the most recognizable losses eligible for compensation from the BP settlement funds. However, under a new claims administrator and a new claims process, there are additional...more

Deepwater Horizon Trial Kicks Off with Finger Pointing

by Josh Crank | Lawyers.com on 2/27/2013

Federal Judge Carl Barbier heard opening statements today in the trial of BP, Transocean Ltd. and Halliburton Co. for their roles in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion that killed 11 workers and dumped millions of...more

Would You Be Annoyed If Your Neighbor Installs A Wind Turbine?

by Keith Paul Bishop | Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis... on 2/15/2013

In 2009, the Nevada legislature enacted a statute intended to remove private barriers to landowners’ harnessing of wind energy...more

Employer Fined $85,000 For Failing To Maintain Vehicle’s Brakes

by Adrian Miedema | Dentons on 1/29/2013

There may be many good reasons for employers to maintain their vehicles, but one reason not often considered is avoidance of occupational health and safety charges and fines....more

When "Undisputed" Evidence Is Not "Conclusive" Evidence

by S. Vance Wittie | Sedgwick LLP on 1/14/2013

The Texas Supreme Court’s opinion in Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America v. Justiss highlights a subtle but important point regarding the way appellate courts treat undisputed facts. The case concerned claims by...more

Texas Supreme Court Applies Daubert-Type Standards to Lay Testimony

by S. Vance Wittie | Sedgwick LLP on 1/14/2013

Texas has long adhered to the “Property Owner Rule,” permitting property owners to testify as to the value of their property. Recent cases have emphasized that the testimony must relate to market value, rather than intrinsic...more

Louisiana Lands on “Judicial Hellhole Watch List” for Third Year

by Paul Colomb | Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell &... on 1/2/2013

The American Tort Reform Association released its annual Judicial Hellholes Report earlier this month and Louisiana received the dubious distinction of landing on the report’s watch list for the third consecutive year. The...more

Top 6 At 12: Highlights Of The Top Climate Change Stories In The Second Half Of 2012

by J. Wylie Donald | McCarter & English: Climate Change &... on 1/2/2013

2012 has drawn to a close. We chronicle here six of the most significant stories on the climate change front in the last six months. For those looking for hope that government is taking action to rein in greenhouse gas...more

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Personal Injury › Energy & Utilities Law