32 results for 'cat:"Environment" AND cat:"Tort"'.
J. Broderick partially declines to approve ExxonMobil's settlement agreement reached with Pennsylvania in this consolidated action over the contamination of groundwater from various energy defendants' use of the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether. The oil company has not sufficiently explained why, as a matter of law, all monetary damages claims against it in this case are barred, or why Pennsylvania law prohibits natural resource damages.
Court: USDC Southern District of New York, Judge: Broderick, Filed On: May 6, 2024, Case #: 1:14cv6228, NOS: Property Damage Product Liability - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: environment, Settlements, tort
J. Sessions denies Monsanto, Bayer and two other companies’ motion to dismiss a misrepresentation claim brought by four teachers and a student, who say the companies’ polychlorinated biphenyls are contaminating school buildings, as well as a husband’s claim for loss of consortium due to his wife’s injuries. The ag giants are not entitled to dismissal because the plaintiffs plausibly alleged justifiable reliance on the companies’ representations.
Court: USDC Vermont, Judge: Sessions, Filed On: April 12, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv272, NOS: Personal Injury - Product Liability - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: environment, tort, Negligence
J. Pearson denies, in part, Norfolk Southern's motion to dismiss, ruling claims brought by residents of East Palestine are not preempted by federal law because the claims involved in the train derailment either involve conduct not covered by federal law or seek damages for a breach of safety regulations. Additionally, Norfolk Southern's transport of more than a million pounds of hazardous chemicals and intentionally setting them on fire in a residential neighborhood following the derailment constitute "abnormally dangerous activity" and establishes a claim for strict liability.
Court: USDC Northern District of Ohio, Judge: Pearson, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv242, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: environment, tort, Negligence
J. Dever grants partial summary judgment to the daughter of a deceased military colonel who qualifies as the colonel’s legal representative under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act. The federal government fails to sufficiently claim that there is a genuine triable issue about whether the daughter qualifies as a legal representative, and, thereby, has the right to sue under the Act.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: February 27, 2024, Case #: 7:23cv897, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: environment, Government, tort
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court properly granted the oil company's motion to enforce the stipulation of settlement made in open court by counsel on behalf of their clients in a suit to recover damages sustained as a result of oil contamination to real property. The property owners failed to establish that their attorney did not have the authority to enter into the settlement on their behalf. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: February 14, 2024, Case #: 00760, Categories: environment, Settlements, tort
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[Consolidated.] J. St. Eve finds that the lower court properly found for the lead paint manufacturers in a series of toxic tort cases brought by 170 plaintiffs who allege injuries from exposure to white lead carbonate, a paint pigment. After plaintiffs in the first two waves of litigation met with defeat, the court correctly extended those rulings to the remaining plaintiffs on issue preclusion grounds. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: St. Eve, Filed On: February 9, 2024, Case #: 22-2636, Categories: environment, tort, Class Action
J. Perry grands the landfill's motion to dismiss neighbors' environmental tort claims alleging the improper handling of radioactive materials. The neighbors' claims arise out of a nuclear incident and are therefore preempted by the Price-Anderson Act. The fact that the nuclear waste was mixed with soil, diluting its concentration below the regulatory level of .05%, does not remove this case from being controlled by the Act.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Missouri, Judge: Perry, Filed On: February 1, 2024, Case #: 4:18cv672, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: environment, tort
J. Vance finds for BP on an oil spill cleanup worker's claims following the deadly explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The worker fails to show the discovery he seeks will be important to develop the expert causation evidence required to help him demonstrate the chemical dispersant COREXIT can cause allergic rhinitis or chronic sinusitis in the general population. Since he cannot prove a necessary element of his claims against the oil giant, his claims must be dismissed.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: January 4, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv1043, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: environment, Evidence, tort
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court properly denied the homeowner's motion for summary judgment on liability on their claim that the fuel company overfilled their oil tank, causing it to rupture and spill. The homeowners failed to eliminate all triable issues of fact as to what caused the spill, and whether they contributed to the spill. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: November 29, 2023, Case #: 06110, Categories: environment, tort
J. Beistline denies the government's motion for summary judgment on an individual's trespass and nuisance claims. The individual alleges that the government placed hazardous substances on her Alaska Native Allotment without her permission or knowledge. The government argues that the individual tracked PCBs onto her own property from a hot spot on Air Force property. The individual alleges that the government created the hazardous hot spot adjacent to her property and failed to abate the contaminants in an unmarked, unfenced area. A question of fact remains as to whether the hazardous materials "were tracked from the point of the spill onto Plaintiff’s property by the 'usual course of events'.” There also remains a genuine issue of material fact regarding "whether or not there was appropriate signage warning of the hazard."
Court: USDC Alaska, Judge: Beistline, Filed On: November 21, 2023, Case #: 3:15cv221, NOS: Torts to Land - Real Property, Categories: environment, tort
J. Jolly finds the district court properly dismissed claims brought by various Houston Ship Channel-associated entities seeking economic loss damages as allowed by the Oil Pollution Act against the petroleum terminal services company that spilled a mixture of oil and hazardous substances there. Hazardous substance spills are governed by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, which does not allow for recovery of economic losses. The mixed spill is not “oil” as defined by OPA. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Jolly, Filed On: October 27, 2023, Case #: 22-20456, Categories: environment, Maritime, tort
J. Joseph grants the chemical manufacturer's motion to file a third-party complaint against the developer's parent company in the developer's lawsuit seeking compensation for cleaning up chemical contamination at its properties. Despite the developer's arguments that the manufacturer's motion is untimely and that its parent company is not a party of interest in the case, the manufacturer has satisfied all the requirements necessary to file its third-party complaint under federal rules.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Wisconsin, Judge: Joseph, Filed On: October 24, 2023, Case #: 2:20cv1694, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: environment, Property, tort
Per curiam, the Fifth Circuit finds the district court properly granted summary judgment in favor of BP in this toxic tort case arising from the charter captain’s exposure to crude oil and dispersants while assisting with cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The court properly granted BP’s motion to exclude expert medical opinions finding that the experts failed to establish general causation between the captain’s exposure to the chemicals and his progressive loss of eyesight. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: October 5, 2023, Case #: 22-30779, Categories: environment, Maritime, tort
[Consolidated.] J. Dever partially grants a group of citizens' motion for class certification in its suit against DuPont and related companies and individuals for their alleged pollution of a major North Carolina river going back to the 1970s. The class claims DuPont dumped chemicals into the river for years, including perfluorinated compounds or PFCs, which are toxic to humans and last for up to 2,000 years in the environment. DuPont challenges the certification, arguing that individual suits would be more efficient. However, since there are potentially over 100,000 class members in this case, and the awards they might receive are relatively small, class certification is much more appropriate.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: October 4, 2023, Case #: 7:17cv189, NOS: Torts to Land - Real Property, Categories: environment, tort, Class Action
[Consolidated.] J. Copenhaver, following an 18-day bench trial from July 6 through Aug. 3, 2022, finds the chemical and polymer producer violated the Clean Water Act by discharging unpermitted stormwater across adjacent industrial property owned by the management company and into the Davis Creek watershed via shallow ditches and culverts at its technical center in South Charleston.
Court: USDC Southern District of West Virginia, Judge: Copenhaver, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 2:18cv1230, NOS: Torts to Land - Real Property, Categories: environment, Property, tort
J. Joseph denies summary judgment to owners and operators of a now-closed pipe valve manufacturing plant, ruling in favor of neighboring property owners in consolidated cases suing for environmental damages. The accused polluters unsuccessfully argue that their neighbors cannot provide evidence of a contractual provision of a state environmental law entitling them to “excess” groundwater remediation damages because no such contractual provision exists. The neighbors argue that they are not seeking damages for which the plant owners/operators are seeking summary judgment. However, applicability of the state’s groundwater law is a factual question for the jury.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Joseph, Filed On: September 21, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv24, NOS: Torts to Land - Real Property, Categories: environment, Property, tort
J. Tymkovich finds that the lower court properly dismissed a suit from victims of the Roosevelt Fire who sued the U.S. Forest Service with claims that the agency delayed its fire suppression response. Under the Federal Tort Claims Act, government entities are shielded from certain suits when they show they had to exercise a "discretionary function" that requires judgment and choice in tackling an event or problem. Responding to a wildfire falls under that umbrella, leaving the Forest Service immune from the suit due to the discretionary function exception. Affirmed.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Tymkovich, Filed On: September 15, 2023, Case #: 22-8023, Categories: environment, tort, Agency
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court improperly granted the gas company's motion to dismiss an unjust enrichment claim against it, stemming from its refusal to remediate 45,000 tons of soil contaminated by its facilities. A construction firm has a reasonable claim the gas company was unjustly enriched when the construction firm was forced to remediate the soil on its own dime in order to proceed with its work. Reversed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: September 13, 2023, Case #: 04566, Categories: environment, tort
J. Torresen grants in part a paper manufacturer's motion to dismiss class action claims brought against it by homeowners who live near its Old Town mill, which they claim has not been maintained properly, resulting in emissions of harsh rotten egg odors that are a nuisance and have devalued surrounding properties. The homeowners' nuisance claims cannot be dismissed based on their lack of regulatory claims. Whether the mill "has exceeded the standards for sulfur emissions or whether something else has caused the odor problem to worsen are open questions that may become clear after discovery."
Court: USDC Maine, Judge: Torresen, Filed On: September 12, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv305, NOS: Torts to Land - Real Property, Categories: environment, tort, Zoning
J. Watts finds that the lower court improperly excluded expert testimony in a suit brought by the former resident of an apartment for alleged lead paint exposure in childhood that led to the resident's cognitive disabilities. The lower court did not agree with the expert's methodology in his findings relating lead paint exposure to the resident's IQ loss. However, the court abused its discretion in then resolving genuine disputes of material fact and granting summary judgment. The resident and her witness have presented sufficient evidence to proceed. Reversed.
Court: Supreme Court of Maryland, Judge: Watts, Filed On: July 26, 2023, Case #: 24-C-18-000268, Categories: environment, tort, Experts
J. Peterson denies Monsanto's motion to exclude expert Dr. Michael Trapp's fourth opinion that the city will incur $230 million in costs to reduce polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Lower Duwamish Waterway and the city's stormwater and drainage systems, which the city says was contaminated by Monsanto's PCB-containing products. Dr. Trapp's cost estimate is sufficiently reliable because he used tools regulatory agencies and other government entities developed to determine city abatement costs, and the omission of certain sediment samples in his analysis are irrelevant.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: July 19, 2023, Case #: 2:16cv107, NOS: Torts to Land - Real Property, Categories: environment, tort, Experts
J. Block dismisses for lack of standing an action brought by three residents of East Hampton, New York, who sought to halt the construction of a wind farm off the coast of Long Island because the onshore trenching excavation work allegedly would exacerbate an existing PFAS contamination present in the surrounding soils. The defendants are not responsible for the onshore trenching work and are therefore are not the source of the residents’ alleged injury.
Court: USDC Eastern District of New York, Judge: Block, Filed On: July 17, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv1305, NOS: Administrative Procedure Act/Review or Appeal of Agency Decision - Other Suits, Categories: Construction, environment, tort
J. Chin finds that the district court properly remanded 19 actions contending plaintiffs suffered injuries due to residual toxicity from the Love Canal superfund site in Niagara Falls. The actions have bounced between federal and state jurisdictions, and following the latest amendment adding further affected sites, municipal and company defendants cited both federal officer and federal question jurisdiction. However, the claim seeking removal was untimely, and the "revival" exception was not applicable. Affirmed.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Chin, Filed On: July 14, 2023, Case #: 21-0249-cv, Categories: environment, tort, Jurisdiction
J. Sessions denies the company's motion to dismiss the nuisance case, where the school district alleges the company's polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, are contaminating school buildings. The company is not entitled to dismissal based on the statute of limitations, and the school district sufficiently stated its nuisance and trespass claims.
Court: USDC Vermont, Judge: Sessions, Filed On: June 26, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv215, NOS: Torts to Land - Real Property, Categories: Civil Procedure, environment, tort
J. Conley orders Enbridge to stop operating portions of its oil and gas pipeline on the Chippewa tribe's reservation lands within three years, in part given Enbridge has been found to be trespassing on the lands under expired easements and the potential environmental impacts of ongoing riverbed erosion damaging the pipeline. Enbridge is also ordered to pay the tribe $5.1 million in damages for trespass calculated based on profits it netted while trespassing, additionally pay the tribe for each quarter it continues to trespass and adopt a modified, "more conservative" version of its proposed emergency shutdown plan for the pipeline. An immediate shutdown of the pipeline is not ordered, as the threat of rupture is not imminent and such an abrupt shutdown could severely disrupt markets for oil and natural gas and burden low-income energy consumers.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Conley, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 3:19cv602, NOS: Torts to Land - Real Property, Categories: environment, tort, Native Americans
J. Wilson finds the district court properly held the Louisiana failed to establish standing to challenge a National Marine Fisheries Service rule requiring certain shrimping vessels to use turtle excluder devices. The record indicates that Louisiana would not suffer a cognizable injury because the service would provide funding to Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for its additional enforcement efforts. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Wilson, Filed On: June 15, 2023, Case #: 22-30799, Categories: environment, Maritime, tort