Environmental Law

Bose McKinney & Evans Sanctioned for Acts of ‘Chameleon’ Lawyers

Updated: A federal judge has sanctioned Bose McKinney & Evans, saying the Indianapolis law firm “skated the edge of its responsibility” by behaving as a chameleon and becoming indistinguishable from a client that withheld information in discovery. U.S. District Judge Larry McKinney ordered Bose McKinney and the client, Red Spot…

Jun 11, 2009 5:31 PM CDT

‘Greenwashing’ Disputes Become Hot Area of False Advertising Law

There’s a hot new area of false advertising law: “greenwashing” lawsuits that claim companies are making false claims about the environmental benefits of their products. Greenwashing lawsuits are already on the increase, and there could be “an explosion in these kinds of cases,” lawyer Eric Lane of the Green Patent…

Jun 10, 2009 1:26 PM CDT

Pioneering Environmental Justice Lawyer Dies in Uganda Car Crash

San Francisco environmental justice lawyer Luke Cole has died in a car crash while vacationing with his wife in Uganda. Cole was 46, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. His wife, Nancy Shelby, was injured in the accident and flown to Amsterdam for an eye operation. Cole pioneered the field of…

Jun 9, 2009 11:53 AM CDT

Jury Acquits W.R. Grace and Former Execs in Landmark Criminal Asbestos Case

In the latest blow to federal prosecutors trying a high-profile criminal case, a jury in Missoula, Mont., has acquitted chemical products company W.R. Grace & Co. and three former executives on all charges in a landmark criminal environmental case. All had been accused of knowingly contaminating a small Missouri mining…

May 8, 2009 9:31 PM CDT

High Court Holds Chemical Supplier Not Liable for Pollution Cleanup

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a supplier that delivered pesticides to a company that polluted an industrial site in California is not liable for cleanup costs. The court ruled that Shell Oil Co. was not liable under the Superfund law for delivering the chemicals, the Associated Press reports.…

May 4, 2009 3:31 PM CDT

After Blasting Prosecutors, Judge Allows Asbestos Trial to Proceed

A federal judge who blasted federal prosecutors for failing to turn over evidence about a star witness in a Montana asbestos case is allowing the trial to continue. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy of Missoula refused to dismiss criminal charges against W.R. Grace, accused of exposing residents of a small…

Apr 30, 2009 4:48 PM CDT

Hogan & Hartson Lawyer Saves Electricity with Solar Panels, Clothesline

A Hogan & Hartson environmental lawyer has cut back on his electricity consumption with the help of a solar panel, a clothesline and a so-called smart meter. The New York Times writes about lawyer Dennis Arfmann, who works in Hartson’s Boulder, Colo., office, in a story about companies offering smart…

Apr 30, 2009 3:27 PM CDT

EPA Raids Chicago Suburb Accused of Providing Toxic Water to Residents

Criminal investigators from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency raided a suburban Chicago municipality today, presumably seeking information about the Village of Crestwood’s alleged provision of contaminated well water to the public. After raiding the village hall and Crestwood’s public works department, the investigators planned to hit the police department next,…

Apr 29, 2009 5:25 PM CDT

Company Claims Prosecutor Misconduct in Asbestos Prosecution

W.R. Grace and five of its former executives are claiming prosecutor misconduct in a case that alleges the chemical company poisoned the residents of a mining town through asbestos exposure. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy of Missoula has scheduled a hearing today on the defense claim, the New York Times…

Apr 27, 2009 3:44 PM CDT

Lawyers, Firms Note Green Milestones on Earth Day

Although recession-weary lawyers may find it harder to go green this Earth Day when they’re focused on making green, environmental lawyer Claudia Rast says attorneys have more reason to celebrate the planet now than ever. Rast, chair of the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, and a…

Apr 22, 2009 10:31 PM CDT

EPA Seeks to Regulate Greenhouse Emissions

Two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to consider whether greenhouse gas emissions should be regulated under the Clean Air Act. Today the EPA announced its answer. The agency said in a statement it considers greenhouse gases, the pollutants that contribute to global warming, to…

Apr 17, 2009 4:28 PM CDT

EPA & Lawmakers Focus on New Environmental Issue: Bedbugs

In a summit today near the nation’s capital, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is putting a new emphasis on a growing environmental issue: A proliferation of bedbugs. The increasing plague of the tiny insects, which notoriously lurk in mattresses waiting to feed on humans as they sleep, apparently has been…

Apr 14, 2009 7:53 PM CDT

PowerPoint Presentation Sparked Jones Day-Motley Rice ‘Sandbox’ Spat

Updated: It now appears that it wasn’t merely a document but a PowerPoint presentation on legal costs allegedly purloined by an unknown person from a 2004 Sherwin-Williams board meeting that is at issue in a contentious dispute between Jones Day and Motley Rice. Motley Rice, which represents the state of…

Apr 10, 2009 12:59 AM CDT

US Sues BP Sub Over Alaska Oil Spills, Seeks Maximum Penalties

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed suit against a subsidiary of a global oil company, contending that two discharges totaling some 200,000 gallons of crude oil into Prudhoe Bay on Alaska’s North Slope in 2006 violated federal clean air and water laws and seeking maximum penalties. Filed in federal…

Apr 1, 2009 9:15 PM CDT

Scalia Rejects Standing Based on Affidavit of Frequent Forest Visitor

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that environmental groups don’t have standing to challenge Forest Service comment regulations for small projects based on an affidavit of a member who frequently visits the National Forests. The 5-4 decision (PDF) will make it more difficult to challenge federal regulations governing timber sales…

Mar 3, 2009 5:05 PM CST