Toxic Torts, Civil Remedies

Senate Bill 814 Proposes Sweeping and Retroactive Changes to Environmental Claims Handling in Oregon

by Molly Eckman | Cozen O'Connor on 5/8/2013

On March 13, 2013, the Oregon legislature introduced Senate Bill 814 to create sweeping reforms on environmental claims handling regulations and available remedies for insureds facing liability for cleanup of contaminated...more

Mistakes Have Consequences – British Petroleum’s Settlement

by Cleve Clinton | Looper Reed & McGraw, P.C. on 4/30/2013

Three years ago, Tilting told tales of oil spill legal problems suffered by Forrest Gump, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, Wok Ann chu-gumm Seafood Restaurants, Chef Red Fishy and Bishop Carp. Tilting predicted class action...more

BP Unable To Block Oil Spill Claim Payments

by John Schifino | Burr & Forman on 4/29/2013

On March 15, 2013, BP asked United States District Court Judge Carl Barbier, Jr. to block the Deepwater Horizon claims administrator from awarding “business economic losses” that BP contends are “fictitious” claims for...more

Judge Approves Deepwater Horizon Health Settlement

by Viles & Beckman, LLC on 4/12/2013

When BP spilled an unprecedented amount of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, the devastation that followed went far beyond the environmental and economic damages that were the focus of initial reports. A health settlement,...more

BP Could Have Stopped Gulf Oil Spill on Day 2, Says Expert

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

Oil giant BP could have stopped the massive 2010 oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico just two days after the blowout aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, an expert witness testified today in the civil trial over the spill....more

Maryland’s Highest Court Clarifies Toxic Tort Standards and Reverses a Punitive Damage Award in Excess of $1 Billion

by Mike Williams | Sedgwick LLP on 4/2/2013

The Maryland Court of Appeals clarified certain standards for toxic tort claims, reversed a judgment in excess of $1 billion in punitive damages, vacated approximately $640,000,000 in compensatory damages, and remanded...more

Drywaller Awarded $27 Million for Asbestos Exposure

by Sylvia Hsieh | Lawyers.com on 4/1/2013

A drywall worker who built houses during the California housing boom in the 1970s, when asbestos was used in virtually every type of building material, has won a $27 million jury award for a cancer caused by the toxic...more

Asbestos Alert: Barabin v. AstenJohnson, Inc., et al. Ninth District Court of Appeals, Action #10-36142, 11-35020 (November 16,...

by Guy W. Stilson | Low, Ball & Lynch on 4/1/2013

On March 25, 2013, the Ninth Circuit ordered that this case be reheard en banc. The hearing is currently expected to go forward during the week of June 24, 2013 in Seattle, Washington. A decision is expected within three...more

Fifth Circuit Reverses District Court in Deepwater Horizon Insurance Coverage Litigation and Grants BP Unlimited Access to...

by John Ellison, Jean Farrell, John Shugrue | Reed Smith on 3/27/2013

On March 1, 2013, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in In re Deepwater Horizon, No. 12-30230, 2013 WL 776354 (5th Cir. March 1, 2013), held that BP PLC ("BP") can access...more

Sea Monsters Two Years After Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

by Perry Draper Law on 3/27/2013

These aren’t just old fishermen’s tales. More than two years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, local Gulf Coast fishers are seeing eyeless fish and shrimp, festering sores and tumors on catches and other mutations in...more

Ontario Court Rejects Damage Recovery in Contamination Claim, Adopting a Strict Analysis That May Hinder Future Claims

by Jack Coop, Jennifer Fairfax, Daniel Kirby, Patrick Welsh | Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 3/26/2013

In Midwest v. Thordarson (Midwest) 2013 ONSC 775, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed a property owner’s claim for damages for remediation costs stemming from the alleged migration of contaminants from a...more

BP, Alabama to File for Sanctions Against Halliburton

by Josh Crank | Lawyers.com on 3/22/2013

Lawyers for oil giant BP and the state of Alabama told a federal judge today that they intend to file for sanctions against Halliburton for its handling of cement samples in the wake of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig...more

Rhode Island Cleans Up Problematic Superfund Precedent That Undermined Federal Settlements

by Thomas Allen, Sheila Harvey, Liz Lord | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP on 3/21/2013

The U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island has vacated its 2010 summary judgment decision in Ashland Inc. v. GAR Electroforming, 729 F. Supp. 2d 526 (D.R.I. 2010), just days after receiving an amicus memorandum...more

The Intersection of Subrogation and Environmental Law — The Ninth Circuit’s Tyranny of Logic over Common Sense

by Robert S. Sanoff | Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 3/20/2013

In a decision that exalts casuistry over common sense, the Ninth Circuit recently held that an insurer who reimbursed $2.4 million in CERCLA response costs to its policyholder had no subrogation rights against the potentially...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

BP Settlement Claim

by Robert Ciotti, Wm. Cary Wright | Carlton Fields on 3/20/2013

After years of litigation, BP Exploration & Production, Inc. and BP America Production Company (collectively, "BP") entered a class-wide settlement ("BP Settlement") that covers most businesses located in the Gulf Coast...more

Catches Down & Prices Up Two Years After BP Oil Spill

by Perry Draper Law on 3/13/2013

There are always fluctuations in catches, often exaggerated by fishers as they exchange tall tales. Two years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Louisiana crab and shrimpers are complaining about dire drops in yields. But...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

Research Shows Impact Two Years After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

by Perry Draper Law on 3/4/2013

Everyone is looking for changes to the Gulf of Mexico two years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The federal government operates the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Process, which conducted a preliminary assessment,...more

Product Liability Annual Review -- 2012

by Morrison & Foerster LLP on 3/1/2013

In This Issue: Letter from Chair; Key Practice Highlights; Aviation; Consumer Products and Toxic Torts; Pharmaceutical Products and Medical Devices; Awards + Rankings; Publications; Key Contacts. Excerpt from...more

Recent Changes To The BP Claims Program

by Viles & Beckman, LLC on 2/27/2013

The BP oil spill started with the April 20, 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig. The failure of BP Oil to cap the spill promptly resulted in millions of barrels of crude oil being released into Gulf...more

Limitation Periods for Environmental Cost Recovery Claims in BC Abolished

by Wally Braul, Laura Gill, Michael Theroux | Bennett Jones LLP on 2/7/2013

The government of B.C. recently passed legislation that will eliminate any limitation period previously applicable to actions to recover the costs of environmental remediation under the Environmental Management Act, S.B.C....more

Bankruptcy Loses Arguments for Special Relief Under Prepetition Agreements for Environmental Liability

by Levi Jones | Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP on 2/6/2013

A recent case from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York addressed the recurring conflict between the goals of bankruptcy law, which seeks to give debtors a fresh start, and the goals of federal and...more

JAMA Report Questions Link Between 9/11 Exposure and Cancer

by Michael Barasch | Barasch McGarry Salzman & Penson PC on 1/22/2013

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) questions the claim that exposure to 9/11 toxins causes cancer. The report will no doubt be used by those who would like to cap or reduce the amount...more

Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Update: January 2013 - New Jersey Supreme Court Clarifies Requisite Nexus for Liability Under...

by F. Paul Pittman | Sedgwick LLP on 1/7/2013

In New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection v. Dimant, 212 N.J. 153 (2012), the New Jersey Supreme Court held that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) must establish, by a preponderance of the...more

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Toxic Torts › Civil Remedies