The nine judges that finally coalesced over the decision of affirmance voted for two inconsistent judgments and provided no explanation for this result.
The judges held that, under Laidlaw, civil penalties which must be...more
1/13/2025
/ Appeals ,
Article III ,
Burden of Proof ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Clean Air Act ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Violations ,
Pollution Control ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Standing ,
U.S. Treasury
On March 19, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Air & Liquid Systems Corp. v. Devries, affirming the ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in this maritime tort case involving the availability of...more
3/22/2019
/ Actual or Constructive Knowledge ,
Air and Liquid Systems Corp et al v Devries et al ,
Appeals ,
Asbestos ,
Asbestos Litigation ,
Component Parts Doctrine ,
Duty to Warn ,
Intended Use ,
Manufacturers ,
Maritime Transport ,
Reaffirmation ,
SCOTUS ,
Toxic Exposure ,
U.S. Navy ,
Wrongful Death
The U.S. has experienced a large number of natural disasters requiring the immediate assistance that only the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) can provide....more
On February 27, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and held that international organizations, such as the World Bank, while being protected by the...more
3/5/2019
/ Absolute Immunity ,
Appeals ,
Foreign Governments ,
Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (FSIA) ,
Foreign Sovereigns ,
Immunity ,
International Litigation ,
International Organizations ,
International Organizations Immunities Act of 1945 ,
Jam v International Finance Corporation ,
Qualified Immunity ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation
On December 26, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit accepted an interlocutory appeal of the presiding District Court’s pre-trial rulings in the novel climate change case that is being tried in...more
In the case of CH2M Hill Engineers, Inc. v. Springer, et al., the Court of Appeals of Texas, Ninth District, sitting in Beaumont, decided an interlocutory appeals brought by the Appellant CH2M Hill Engineers, Inc. The Court...more
On October 25, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated the Dan Calver Wallen’s conviction for killing three grizzly bears in violation of the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1531 et seq. (ESA). The case...more
On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, in the case of Sierra Club, at al., v. FERC, rejected most of the arguments made against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) decision to approve the...more
On March 21, 2017, the United States Supreme Court decided the case of National Labor Relations Board v. SW General, Inc. This case concerns the operation and application of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (FVRA). ...more
6/21/2017
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Appeals ,
BNSF Railway Co v Tyrrell ,
CERCLA ,
Civil Investigation Demand ,
Disgorgement ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Federal Employers Liability Act ,
NEPA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB v SW General ,
Oil & Gas ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
US Army Corps of Engineers
On April 20, an intermediate Court of Appeals for the First Court of Appeals, sitting in Houston, reversed the trial court and directed that court to reinstate an environmental enforcement action that had purportedly been...more
On April 20, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a unanimous ruling that may terminate much of the litigation triggered by the bankruptcy of Tronox Inc. The Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal for lack...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has decided the case of North Carolina v. Alcoa Power Generating, Inc. The Court of Appeals affirmed, in a 2 to 1 ruling, the decision of the U.S. District Court for the...more
On April 4, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit decided the case of Mirabella v. Villard, et al., a civil rights case brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging, inter alia, violations of their First Amendment...more
OSHA has just published a Final Rule restating its interpretation of the “continuing violations” theory. There are now two Circuit Court of Appeals rulings that disagree with this interpretation: AKM LLC dba Volks Contractors...more
On December 13, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit decided the case of Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation, et al., v. North Carolina Department of Transportation, et al. The Fourth Circuit concluded that, “[b]ecause...more
On December 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a ruling holding that a lower court’s decision dismissing the federal government’s civil claim that the defendants were at fault in connection with a...more
On December 13, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decided the case of United States of America, e ex rel. Jeffrey M. Simoneaux v. E. I. duPont de Nemours & Company. Reversing the district court, the Fifth...more
On December 8, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit decided the case of United States v. Board of County Commissioners of Otero County, New Mexico. The Tenth Circuit held that a New Mexico statute and resolution...more
On December 6, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in the case of Japanese Village, LLC v. Federal Transit Administration, et al., affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgement to the government...more
On November 16, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided the case of State of Missouri ex rel. Chris Koster, et al., v. Harris, in which it largely affirmed the lower court’s decision that the States of...more
On April 8, 2016, the Texas Court of Appeals, Third District, at Austin, issued an important decision interpreting the standard of review that applies to the judicial review of certain administrative enforcement orders issued...more
Affirming the district court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected claims that the environmental impact statement (EIS) adopted by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency supporting the Regional Plan Update...more
“Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.”
Many important environmental and administrative law decisions were reported by the federal and state courts over the past six months. The courts are dealing with very...more
10/17/2016
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Air Pollution ,
Appeals ,
Appointments Clause ,
Boilers ,
CERCLA ,
Chevron Deference ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Department of the Interior ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Federal Vacancies Reform Act ,
FERC ,
Hawkes Co v United States Army Corps of Engineers ,
Incidental Take Permits ,
Lockheed Martin ,
Navarro v Encino Motorcars ,
NEPA ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
NLRB v SW General ,
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ,
Railways ,
Renewable Energy ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Waters of the United States
This Advisory briefly reports on some of the significant U.S. Supreme Court actions from January through June 2016 related to environmental and administrative law.
...more
8/4/2016
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Alaska ,
Appeals ,
Article III ,
Chevron Deference ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Clean Water Act ,
DAPA ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Electric Generation Suppliers ,
Electricity Costs ,
Energy Market ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
EU ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Farm Bureau ,
Federal Power Act ,
Federal Vacancies Reform Act ,
FERC ,
FERC v Electric Power Supply Association ,
Groundwater ,
Hawkes Co v United States Army Corps of Engineers ,
Hughes v Talen Energy ,
Immigration ,
Immigration Reform ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Inland Waterways ,
Land Parcels ,
Mercury ,
Murr v Wisconsin ,
National Park Service ,
Native American Issues ,
Navarro v Encino Motorcars ,
NLRB ,
Over-Time ,
Pollution Control ,
Preemption ,
Racketeering ,
Regulatory Takings ,
RICO ,
RJR Nabisco v European Community ,
RTO ,
SCOTUS ,
Service Advisors ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing ,
Sturgeon v Frost ,
Takings Clause ,
TMDL ,
Tribal Lands ,
US v Texas ,
Utilities Sector ,
Utility Rates ,
Wage and Hour ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wholesale
On June 1, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued an interesting ruling in Beatrice Boyer, et al., v. BNSF Railway Company dba Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company. It ordered plaintiffs’...more