Environmental Law

More than 30 lawyers exit as law firm splits

Due to differing “strategic visions” and “philosophical beliefs,” a Mississippi law firm has undergone what at least one exiting partner describes as an amicable split. More than 30 attorneys have left the firm that was until recently known as Forman Perry Watkins Krutz & Tardy for Delaware-based Maron Marvel Bradley…

Oct 16, 2015 11:40 AM CDT

Giant pine cone caused severe head injury, suit says; park officials post warning signs

A tourist taking a nap under bunya pines in a federal waterfront park in San Francisco suffered serious head injuries last year when he was struck by a falling 16-pound pine cone, a lawsuit says. Filed last month in federal court in San Francisco, it seeks $5 million in damages…

Oct 13, 2015 10:15 AM CDT

EPA temporarily blocked from enforcing Clean Water Rule by 6th Circuit panel

A divided three-judge panel from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a temporary stay to a new rule that asserts EPA authority to protect small bodies of water from pollution and development, while the court decides whether it has jurisdiction to review that rule. Eighteen states are…

Oct 9, 2015 3:35 PM CDT

New law bars NYC businesses from keeping doors open while air is on, with these exceptions

A new law signed by New York’s mayor on Wednesday generally requires New York City shops and restaurants to keep their front doors and windows closed when the air conditioning is on. The law takes effect starting next summer, but shops are already being urged to comply with a “shut…

Oct 8, 2015 8:40 AM CDT

A tax ruling could complicate California’s effort to battle the drought

Water conservation is so important to California that it's in the state constitution. Article X, Section 2, says that "the waste ... of water [should] be prevented, and that the conservation of such waters is to be exercised." That's especially so this year, when Gov. Jerry Brown called for urban…

Oct 1, 2015 8:25 AM CDT

County sues Volkswagen for $100M, seeks civil penalties for violation of emissions laws

In what may be the first such lawsuit against Volkswagen, a Texas county has filed a complaint seeking an estimated $100 million in damages over alleged violations of local vehicle emissions laws. Harris County doesn’t have any Volkswagens in its fleet, but is seeking in its complaint (PDF) to address…

Sep 30, 2015 12:35 PM CDT

NYC’s ban on plastic foam food containers is overturned

A judge has struck down New York City’s ban on foam food containers. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Margaret A. Chan, in a ruling Monday, said the ban was “arbitrary and capricious,” the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) report. She also said the city’s contention that…

Sep 23, 2015 3:50 PM CDT

EPA orders Volkswagen recall; vehicles were designed to trick emission tests, says agency

The Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the recall of nearly 500,000 Volkswagen vehicles, saying that they were programmed with a “defeat device” that turned on full emissions controls only when the car is being tested. With the full controls turned off for normal driving, the EPA says, the Volkswagen vehicles…

Sep 18, 2015 12:05 PM CDT

Suit claims climate change is violation of future generations’ constitutional rights

The U.S. government has continued to allow fossil fuels that foster climate change, violating the constitutional rights of future generations, according to a lawsuit filed last week. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Eugene, Oregon, by the California plaintiffs firm Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy and lawyers from Our…

Aug 17, 2015 11:55 AM CDT

Coal company asks court to strike protest song lyrics from activists’ lawsuit

“It’s a song,” according to coal-protesting plaintiffs suing Peabody Energy. “A song can’t hurt Peabody.” More specifically, it’s a John Prine song, and Peabody Energy says it has no place in a complaint filed against the company by two activists who alleged Peabody had a role in their unconstitutional 2013…

Aug 6, 2015 8:32 AM CDT

City of Spokane sues Monsanto over expected $300M clean-up costs concerning long-ago PCBs deposits

Facing some $300 million in environmental cleanup costs concerning polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other pollutants that threaten to seep into the Spokane River, the city of Spokane, Washington, has filed suit against Monsanto. A spokeswoman for the international agricultural chemical company declined to discuss the lawsuit in detail, saying that…

Aug 3, 2015 5:00 PM CDT

Firm challenges Seattle law requiring trash haulers to turn in composting scofflaws

A Seattle law requiring garbage collectors to check trash cans for composting violations is being challenged in a suit filed on behalf of residents by the Pacific Legal Foundation, a public interest law firm that backs property owners. The suit contends the law violates privacy and due process protections in…

Jul 20, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

BP to pay $18.7B to settle oil spill claims by US and Gulf states

BP has agreed to pay five states and the federal government $18.7 billion to resolve environmental and economic claims stemming from the 2010 Gulf oil spill. The settlement, announced on Thursday, settles claims by Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana , report the Associated Press, Bloomberg News and the New…

Jul 2, 2015 8:43 AM CDT

Sea Shepherd law firm won’t make waves like the protest group

Expect to see a different kind of whale wars if a new Seattle environmental law firm, Sea Shepherd Legal, begins making headway.

Jul 1, 2015 6:10 AM CDT

EPA must consider cost of toxic air pollution regulations for power plants, says SCOTUS

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 that the Environmental Protection Agency should have considered costs when it decided to regulate toxic air pollution from coal- and oil-fired power plants. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the majority decision (PDF). According to the New York Times, the decision “blocked one of the…

Jun 29, 2015 10:00 AM CDT