Environmental Law

W.R. Grace, 5 Ex-Execs on Trial in Landmark Asbestos Prosecution

Five former executives and the company that employed them, W.R. Grace & Co., went on trial today in federal court in Missoula, Mont., in what observers say is the most significant criminal case ever pursued over corporate pollution. “There’s never been a prosecution in the United States where so many…

Feb 24, 2009 1:36 AM CST

VA to Pay $20M to Settle Case Over Stolen—and Recovered—Laptop

Seemingly taken in a routine burglary at an employee’s home, a laptop computer stolen from a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs analyst in 2006—and recovered later that year, apparently without any of its data being misused—is costing taxpayers a $20 million settlement. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., approved the…

Feb 10, 2009 9:50 PM CST

What Is a Weed? Mich. Judge Decides, Upholds $100 Lawn Ticket

In a hard-fought municipal ordinance case pitting a Michigan man, supported by local environmental groups, against his township’s governing officials, a local judge has weighed in against the flourishing so-called weeds growing in his yard. “Central to the case is what it means to ‘cultivate,’ and to a lesser degree,…

Feb 10, 2009 8:59 PM CST

Nearly 200 Dead in Australian Fires; Top Official Cites ‘Mass Murder’

As residents fled for their lives and Australian firefighters battled more than 30 blazes in Victoria in the country’s worst-ever bushfires, authorities say some of the deadly conflagrations that have burned at least 741,000 acres were intentionally set. “Police declared incinerated towns crime scenes Monday, and the prime minister spoke…

Feb 9, 2009 7:15 PM CST

Green Grow the Lawsuits

Real estate industry braces for green-inspired litigation

Feb 2, 2009 2:50 AM CST

Four Firms Adding Office Space, Lawyers in Chicago

Breaking away from reports of attorney layoffs, this week we spoke to four law firms taking advantage of the recent spate of law firm mergers and downsizing to hire pools of lateral attorneys—hopefully with big books of clients—and expand niche practices in Chicago. “There’s two seasons in Chicago: winter and…

Jan 29, 2009 10:17 PM CST

Law Prof, Nominated for Regulatory Czar, Advocated ‘Senior Death Discount’

Harvard law professor Cass Sunstein, nominated to become regulatory czar in the Obama administration, supports a cost-benefit analysis that has ruffled liberal feathers when advocated by Republicans. Sunstein is “dedicated to calculating the dollar value of every regulation,” the Los Angeles Times reports. He has advocated a “senior death discount”…

Jan 27, 2009 1:51 PM CST

Racing Unknown, a 32-Year-Old Lawyer, Speeds Into Marathon Spotlight

A few years ago, while working for a Washington, D.C., law firm, attorney Kelly Jaske began running recreationally with some colleagues. They were much faster than she was, but her competitive drive helped the Harvard Law School graduate start catching up, reports the Oregonian. In 2007, she moved to Portland,…

Jan 22, 2009 5:59 PM CST

Pro Se Teen Argues for Injunction in Florida Environmental Case

Mathew Poling not only hasn’t graduated from law school, he hasn’t even graduated from college. But the 18-year-old freshman at the University of Florida was sitting alone at the plaintiff’s counsel table in Pinellas County Circuit Court in Clearwater yesterday as defense counsel prepared to argue against him that Circuit…

Jan 8, 2009 8:52 PM CST

FDIC to Pay Texas Financier $10M to Settle Legal Defense Claim

Ending a legal battle that began after the 1988 collapse of a Texas savings and loan indirectly controlled by financier Charles Hurwitz, the FDIC has agreed to pay him $10 million. The award is intended to cover his defense costs in earlier litigation involving both the thrift’s failure and, a…

Dec 17, 2008 9:40 PM CST

DOJ Legal Opinion Says Pentagon Must Obey EPA Cleanup Orders

A Justice Department legal opinion tells the Pentagon that it must clean up three sites as ordered by the Environmental Protection Agency. The Washington Post obtained a copy of the opinion by deputy assistant attorney general Steven Bradbury. The Dec. 1 opinion said the Defense Department did not have legal…

Dec 5, 2008 12:11 PM CST

Supreme Court Mulls Meaning of ‘Best’ in Environmental Case

U.S. Supreme Court justices debated the meaning of “best” with quirky examples yesterday as they considered the requirements of a phrase in the Clean Water Act. The statute requires power plant cooling systems to use the “best technology available” to minimize environmental harm, the New York Times reports. The Environmental…

Dec 3, 2008 12:35 PM CST

Supreme Court Rules for Navy in Suit Claiming Sonar Harmed Whales

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against environmental groups seeking to limit the Navy’s use of sonar in training exercises to protect whales near the California coast. The 5-4 decision said the Navy needs to conduct realistic training, and federal courts had abused their discretion by ordering limits on sonar…

Nov 12, 2008 3:25 PM CST

Obama Mulls 200 Changes He Could Make Using Executive Authority

Barack Obama’s lawyer-laden transition team has prepared a list of 200 possible regulatory and policy changes he could quickly adopt using his executive authority. They include hot-button issues such as funding for stem cell research and abortion counseling. Obama has already indicated he plans to reverse a Bush administration limit…

Nov 10, 2008 12:34 PM CST

2nd Circuit OKs Suit Over Alleged Union Carbide Water Pollution in Bhopal, India

Nearly 25 years after a catastrophic accident in Bhopal, India, killed thousands of people, a federal appeals court in the U.S. has reinstated a 2004 lawsuit concerning those allegedly exposed to toxic drinking water and contaminated soil after the 1984 gas leak at a Union Carbide Corp. pesticide plant there.…

Nov 4, 2008 8:00 PM CST