Toxic Torts, Environmental Law, 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

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

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

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

EPA Revises Guidance On Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser Protection For Tenants Under Federal Superfund Law

by Lucas Narducci | Polsinelli on 1/5/2013

On December 5, 2012, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revised its enforcement guidance regarding when tenants may be treated as bona fide prospective purchasers (BFPPs). The revised guidance addresses...more

CERCLA Cost Recovery or Contribution Claim: Another Judicial Misstep

by Robert S. Sanoff | Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 12/31/2012

The chaos unleashed by Aviall continues in a recent decision by the Seventh Circuit. In Bernstein v. Blankert, the Seventh Circuit revisited the issue whether a party having entered into an Administrative Order by Consent...more

Focus on Insolvency and Environment: Newfoundland and Labrador v. AbitibiBowater Inc., 2012 SCC 67 (the “Abitibi case”): Clean-Up...

by Shauna N. Finlay | Dentons on 12/20/2012

Introduction - The Supreme Court of Canada (the “SCC”) recently released an important decision relating to how provincial clean up orders against corporations may be treated when that corporation enters creditor...more

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Toxic Torts › Environmental Law › Civil Remedies