Lexis Legal News : Mealey's Pollution Liability : Lawsuit Filings, Litigation, Settlements, Verdicts and Court News

Mealey's Pollution Liability

June 13, 2019
California Group Says Cement Mixing Company’s Discharges Violate Clean Water Act

LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles-based environmental group on June 11 filed a lawsuit in California federal court against a cement mixing and recycling company, complaining that stormwater discharges from the company’s facility contain levels of iron, oil, grease and total suspended solids that violate the amounts allowed by it National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit (Los Angeles Waterkeeper v. Security Paving Co., No. 19-cv-5068, C.D. Calif.).
June 13, 2019
Cruise Lines Plead Guilty To Violating Probation By Dumping Contaminated Waste

MIAMI — Princess Cruise Lines Ltd. and its parent company, Carnival Cruise Lines Ltd., on June 3 pleaded guilty in Florida federal court to violating the terms of probation they were serving as part of a 2017 agreement to resolve allegations that they illegally dumped oil-contaminated water 23 miles off the coast of England and agreed to pay a $20 million criminal penalty (United States v. Carnival Cruise Lines Ltd., et al., No. 16-cr-20897, S.D. Fla.).
June 13, 2019
Judge Allows Group To Amend Suit Over Discharges, Denies Attorney Fees Request

TACOMA, Wash. — A federal judge in Washington on June 4 allowed Puget Soundkeeper Alliance to amend its Clean Water Act (CWA) lawsuit after a defendant company was dismissed, finding that the proposed amendment is not futile or untimely (Puget Soundkeeper Alliance v. APM Terminals Tacoma LLC, et al., No. C17-5017-BHS, W.D. Wash., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 93490).
June 13, 2019
Judge’s Refusal To Review Power Company’s Denied Oil Spill Claim Upheld

NEW ORLEANS— A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on May 30 found no error in a Louisiana federal judge’s refusal to review the denial of a power company’s claim for damages under the Deepwater Horizon Economic and Property Damages Settlement Agreement, finding that the company was seeking to relitigate the denial of claims for 19 substations (Claimant ID 100271726 v. BP Exploration & Production Inc., et al., No. 18-31117, 5th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 16805).
June 12, 2019
Judge Remands City’s Climate Change Suit, Finds Claims Based On State Law

BALTIMORE — A federal judge in Maryland on June 10 remanded a lawsuit filed by the mayor and city council of Baltimore against the sellers of fossil fuels over climate change, holding that the allegations in the action stem from state law and that the claims are not subject to federal jurisdiction (Mayor and City Council of Baltimore v. BP PLC, et al., No. 17-2357, D. Md., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97438).
June 11, 2019
5th Circuit Panel Refuses To Rehear Environmental Damage Coverage Dispute

NEW ORLEANS — A panel of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 3 denied a petition for rehearing filed by a company that conducted fracking operations on an insured's facility asking it to reconsider its ruling that reversed a federal court's finding that a site pollution legal liability insurer waived its subrogation rights under an onshore master services agreement (MSA) (Halliburton Energy Services Inc. v. Ironshore Specialty Insurance Co., No. 17-20678 consolidated with No. 18-20239, 5th Cir.).
June 10, 2019
Philadelphia Agrees To Pay $6.5M To Reimburse EPA For Landfill Cleanup

PHILADELPHIA — The city of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (PRA) on June 5 entered into a settlement with the federal government in Pennsylvania federal court in which they agreed to pay $6.5 million to reimburse the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for costs it incurred in remediating contamination from the Lower Darby Creek Area Superfund site (United States v. Philadelphia, et al., No. 19-cv-2433, E.D. Pa.).
June 10, 2019
High Court Rejects Petition Over $8.25 Million Award To Tribe For CERCLA Costs

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that an Indian tribe is entitled to recover more than $8.25 million in response costs from a Canadian industrial polluter stands after the U.S. Supreme Court on June 10 declined to review the case (Teck Metals Ltd. v. The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, et al., No. 18-1160, U.S. Sup.).
June 10, 2019
Supreme Court Will Review Ruling In Landowners’ Suit Seeking Additional Cleanup

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 10 said it would review a Montana Supreme Court decision affirming denial of Atlantic Richfield Co.’s motion for summary judgment in a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) lawsuit brought by landowners seeking to have the company conduct additional cleanup activities at a former copper smelting site (Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Gregory A. Christian, et al., No. 17-1498, U.S. Sup.).
June 05, 2019
Texas High Court Denies Rehearing On Applicability Of Joint Venture Provision

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas high court on May 31 denied a petition for rehearing filed by insurers in a coverage dispute arising out of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, refusing to reconsider its decision that an exception to a policy’s joint venture provision does not limit excess coverage for defense costs incurred by the insured (Anadarko Petroleum Corp., et al. v. Houston Casualty Co., et al., No. 16-1013, Texas Sup., 2019 Tex. LEXIS 526).
June 05, 2019
Governments, Tribes Seek Settlement OK For Restoration Of Washington Bay

SEATTLE — The United States, the state of Washington and Native American tribes filed a consent decree on June 3 in federal court to settle claims they brought in a complaint filed the same day for damages to natural resources from the release of oil and other hazardous substances into the Port Gardner Bay area in Everett, Wash. (United States, et al. v. Port of Everett, No. 2:19-cv-843, W.D. Wash.).
June 03, 2019
Los Angeles County, Flood Control District Sue Monsanto Over PCB Contamination

LOS ANGELES — The county of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Flood Control District on May 30 sued Monsanto Co., Pharmacia Corp. and Solutia Inc. in California federal court over contamination in the county’s waterways caused by the manufacture and sale of materials containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (County of Los Angeles, et al. v. Monsanto Company, et al., No. 19-cv-4694, C.D. Calif.).
June 03, 2019
Judge Orders Development Company To Pay $5.3M For Groundwater Contamination

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A federal judge in Puerto Rico on May 31 ordered an industrial development company to pay $5.3 million to the government for costs incurred pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for remediation of groundwater contamination at the Maunabo Area Groundwater Contamination Superfund site, finding that the company was unable to show that actions taken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency did not comply with the National Contingency Plan (NCP) United States v. Puerto Rico Industrial Development Co., No. 15-2328, D. P.R., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91861).
May 31, 2019
Los Angeles County: Monsanto Liable For PCB Contamination, ‘Wrongful Conduct’

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County on May 30 sued Monsanto Co. and affiliated companies in California federal court, contending that they are responsible for contaminating the county’s air, soil and water with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (County of Los Angeles, et al. v. Monsanto Company, et al., No. 19-4694, C.D. Calif.).
May 30, 2019
Fracking Company Asks Panel To Rehear Environmental Damage Coverage Dispute

NEW ORLEANS — A company that conducted fracking operations on an insured’s facility on May 15 filed a petition asking a panel of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reconsider its ruling that reversed a federal court's finding that a site pollution legal liability insurer waived its subrogation rights under an onshore master services agreement (MSA) (Halliburton Energy Services Inc. v. Ironshore Specialty Insurance Co., No. 17-20678 consolidated with No. 18-20239, 5th Cir.).
May 28, 2019
5th Circuit Affirms Denial Of Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ $19.5M Oil Spill Claim

NEW ORLEANS — A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on May 24 upheld a federal judge in Louisiana’s ruling denying the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ $19.5 million claim to the Deepwater Horizon Economic and Property Damages Settlement Agreement Court Supervised Settlement Program (CSSP), holding that the judge did not err when finding that the threat of a lockout in 2011 did not warrant the reallocation of revenue to support the team’s assertion that it gained revenue during the relevant time period (BP Exploration & Production Inc. v. Claimant ID 100246928, No. 18-30375, 5th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 15620).
May 28, 2019
Company Says Cert Needed For $8.25 Million Award To Tribe For CERCLA Costs

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Calling it an “internationally important case,” a Canadian industrial polluter says in a May 20 reply brief that the U.S. Supreme Court should grant its petition for certiorari and vacate a ruling that an Indian tribe is entitled to recover more than $8.25 million in response costs from the company for enforcement actions taken under federal law (Teck Metals Ltd. v. The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, et al., No. 18-1160, U.S. Sup.).
May 22, 2019
5th Circuit: Settlement Panel Properly Classified Claimant’s Costs, Business

NEW ORLEANS — A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on May 7 ruled that an appeals panel for the Deepwater Horizon Economic and Property Damages Settlement Agreement Court Supervised Settlement Program (CSSP) did not err when finding that equipment rental expenses were fixed costs under the terms of the agreement and that the company was not a developer that would be precluded from submitting a claim to the settlement program (BP Exploration & Production Inc. v. Claimant ID 100212052, No. 18-30588, 5th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 13946).
May 21, 2019
EPA Can Access Man’s Property To Conduct Remedial Activities, Judge Rules

SEATTLE — A federal judge in Washington on May 20 granted the federal government’s motion for summary judgment in a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) lawsuit and held that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can have access to a man’s property to conduct remedial actions, finding that the man has refused to cooperate with the agency and that there is a threat of a release of hazardous substances at the property (United States v. Charles Pillon, No. C18-1845-JC, W.D. Wash., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 84681).
May 20, 2019
Judge Upholds Dismissal Of Takings Clause Action Suit Over Contaminated Site

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge on May 17 denied a motion to reconsider a Feb. 8 ruling that found that a Superfund site in Pennsylvania’s current owner’s claim against the federal government under the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was barred by the six-year statute of limitations, holding that no manifest injustice occurred when the date of accrual was determined (Whiteland Holdings LP, et al. v. United States, No. 18-1081L, Fed. Clms., 2019 U.S. Claims 526).