$18B Enviro Case a ‘Donnybrook’ for Parties’ Law Firms; ‘Both Sides Hate Each Other,’ Law Prof Says

It’s not unusual to see opposing attorneys become friends again the moment a hard-fought case or courtroom argument is over. But unlike many counsel for whom the war of words is something of an act, corporate attorneys at two prominent United States law firms engaged in pitched battle over an…

Oct 7, 2011 12:15 AM CDT

2nd Circuit Nixes Injunction 3 Days After Hearing, Lifts Ban on Pursuing $18B Award Against Chevron

After losing an environmental case in Ecuador in which $18 billion was awarded to the plaintiffs, Chevron Corp. filed a civil racketeering lawsuit in federal court in the United States. It contended that the lawyers for the plaintiffs conspired to fabricate evidence. Earlier this year, a federal judge overseeing the…

Sep 20, 2011 6:01 PM CDT

2nd Circuit Is Dubious re Claim That a Federal Judge Can Strike a Foreign Country’s $18B Judgment

It appears that the plaintiffs may be on the path to victory in a hard-fought international legal battle with Chevron Inc. over environmental damage done to the Ecuador rainforest by a predecessor oil company. During a hearing today, three judges of the New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of…

Sep 16, 2011 9:23 PM CDT

Feds Blame BP Shortcuts for Gulf Oil Spill in New Report Released Today

Reaching conclusions similar to those of earlier investigators, in the most comprehensive report to date on the cause of disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill that began on April 20, 2010, when the Deepwater Horizon blew up in a fiery explosion, a joint task force today blames BP and two…

Sep 14, 2011 9:00 PM CDT

Nebraska Attorney General Criticized for Comparing Welfare Recipients to Hungry Raccoons

Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning has issued an apology after comparing welfare recipients to hungry raccoons during a campaign speech. Bruning is seeking the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate. Speaking on Saturday, he told of an effort to protect endangered beetles found during a road construction project, report Fox…

Aug 12, 2011 12:18 PM CDT

$10M Federal Wrongful Death Claim Over Hiker Gored By Mountain Goat in National Park

The survivors and estate of a hiker who bled to death soon after being gored by a monster 370-pound mountain goat in Olympic National Park last year are pursuing a $10 million wrongful death claim in federal court in Tacoma, Wash. They say park rangers should have acted more swiftly…

Aug 8, 2011 8:27 PM CDT

Blawg Review #314: LawLawpalooza 2011

We at ABAJournal.com are honored to be asked to host Blawg Review—“a blog carnival for everyone interested in law”— in conjunction with the 2011 ABA Annual Meeting in Toronto. We are not actually blawgging from Canada—as usual, we are in Chicago taking the el train into the office over the…

Aug 8, 2011 7:00 PM CDT

Plowing Over: Can Urban Farming Save Detroit and Other Declining Cities? Will the Law Allow It?

Aug 1, 2011 8:50 AM CDT

Water Woes Lead to Suits Blaming Banking for Shortages

A small utility in California is claiming that the process of “water banking” damaged the water table and caused well problems and shortages for its customers. The plaintiff, the Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District, serves only 20,000 customers, the New York Times reports. But it has filed two important test…

Jul 29, 2011 11:00 AM CDT

Federal Laws Multiply: Jail Time for Misappropriating Smokey Bear Image?

Federal criminal statutes have multiplied to such an extent that it has become increasingly difficult to count them. As a result of the increase, federal prisons now house more than 200,000 inmates, eight times the number 30 years ago, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. And more people are…

Jul 25, 2011 1:50 PM CDT

California Supremes Uphold Plastic Bag Ban in Manhattan Beach

The California Supreme Court has upheld a ban on plastic bags in Manhattan Beach, ruling a full-scale environmental review isn’t needed. The industry group Save the Plastic Bag Coalition had argued that shifting to paper bags would cause even more damage to the environment, report the San Francisco Chronicle and…

Jul 15, 2011 12:52 PM CDT

New Secondhand-Smoke Frontier Focuses on Shared Residential Buildings

Smoking has been banned in a number of public places and worksites. But, although individuals also have a right to live smoke-free in their own homes, if they wish, there’s no comparable law prohibiting smoking in residential buildings, the New York Post reported. And that’s creating work for a number…

Jul 14, 2011 6:17 PM CDT

7 Drinker Biddle Lawyers Form New Environmental Firm, Brooman Buzzell & Garber

Headed by the former managing partner of the now-closed Berwyn, Pa., office of Drinker Biddle & Reath, seven attorneys from the law firm have formed a new environmental boutique. It will be known as Brooman Buzzell & Garber, reports the Legal Intelligencer in an article reprinted in New York Lawyer…

Jul 7, 2011 7:31 PM CDT

Supreme Court Bars Federal Nuisance Suit by Plaintiffs Seeking to Curb Global Warming

Corrected: The U.S. Supreme Court has barred a federal suit that seeks to fight global warming through the common law tort of public nuisance. The plaintiffs, including eight states and New York City, had sued four private power companies and the federal Tennessee Valley Authority in an effort to get…

Jun 20, 2011 4:58 PM CDT

Is Pee Problem in Portland Reservoir a Crime? DA Must Decide

After a man was caught on surveillance footage peeing into a reservoir in Portland, Ore., he told authorities he thought the uncovered expanse of water was a sewage treatment tank. Although the relatively tiny quantity of pee poses virtually no health hazard, officials decided to drain the reservoir, because of…

Jun 16, 2011 5:01 PM CDT