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Mealey's Pollution Liability

  • August 13, 2018

    Genuine Disputes Exist Over Whether Emissions Violated Permits, Judge Says

    BATON ROUGE, La. — A federal judge in Louisiana on Aug. 10 denied a motion for summary judgment filed by plaintiffs contending that emissions from a facility owned by Exxon Mobil Corp., doing business as ExxonMobil Chemical Co., exceeded levels of pollutants allowed by permits issued from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), finding that disputes exist as to whether the alleged violations occurred (Louisiana Environmental Action Network, et al. v. Exxon Mobil Corp., No. 16-144-SDD-RLB, M.D. La., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134979).

  • August 13, 2018

    Judge: Plaintiffs’ Claims Over Emissions From Exxon Mobil Facility Redressable

    BATON ROUGE, La. — A federal judge in Louisiana on Aug. 9 granted a motion for summary judgment filed by plaintiffs complaining about emissions from a facility owned by Exxon Mobil Corp., doing business as ExxonMobil Chemical Corp., finding that the plaintiffs’ claims about future violations of the Clean Air Act can be redressed through the suit (Louisiana Environmental Action Network, et al. v. Exxon Mobil Corp., No. 16-144-SDD-RLB, M.D. La., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134430).

  • August 10, 2018

    Port Can Seek Contribution From Union Pacific For Cleanup Costs, Judge Says

    TACOMA, Wash. — A federal judge in Washington on Aug. 9 found that the Port of Ridgefield can seek contribution from Union Pacific Railroad Co. for costs it incurred in remediating a former wood treatment site, finding that grants it received from the Washington Department of Ecology (DOE) do not prevent it from pursuing its claim (Port of Ridgefield v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., No. 14-6024, W.D. Wash., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134517).

  • August 8, 2018

    Judge Finds Land Owner’s Claims Over Contamination Untimely, Barred By Deed

    HAMMOND, Ind.— A federal judge in Indiana on Aug. 6 awarded summary judgment to BP North America Inc., finding that a land owner’s state law claims accusing it of withholding information about contamination on the property from underground storage tanks were time-barred and its claims under the Indiana Environmental Legal Action (ELA) statue and the state’s underground storage tank statute were barred by a 2003 deed that waived BP’s liability for present and future contamination (8103 Taft LLC v. BP North America Inc., No. 16 CV 319, N.D. Ind., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 131239).

  • August 8, 2018

    Judge Finds ASARCO Cannot Seek Contribution From Union Pacific For Cleanup

    COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — A federal judge in Idaho on July 26 ruled that American Smelting and Refining Co. (ASARCO) could not seek contribution under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) from Union Pacific Railway, finding that its claim was barred by a bankruptcy settlement and that the plaintiff company paid less than its allocated share of liability (ASARCO, LLC v. Union Pacific Railway, et al., No. 12-cv-283, D. Idaho, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 126370).

  • August 7, 2018

    Bad Faith, Punitive Damages Claims Survive Dismissal In Contamination Coverage Suit

    FRESNO, Calif. — Claims for bad faith and punitive damages alleged against an insurer in an environmental contamination coverage suit can move forward, a California federal judge said Aug. 1 after determining that the insured has sufficiently alleged facts in support of the claims (City of Fresno v. Tokio Marine Specialty Insurance Co., No. 18-504, E.D. Calif., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129224).

  • August 7, 2018

    Judge Transfers Land Owner’s Third-Party Suit Against Cleanup Company

    NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in Louisiana on July 31 transferred a land owner’s breach of contract suit against an environmental cleanup company to Illinois federal court, finding that contracts between the parties contain a forum-selection clause that requires disputes to be resolved in a court in that state (KFC Corp. v. Iron Horse of Metairie Road LLC, et al., No. 16-16791, E.D. La., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 127790).

  • August 6, 2018

    Grand Jury Indicts Arkema, CEO For Texas Plant’s Chemical Release During Hurricane

    LIBERTY, Texas — The district attorney for Harris County, Texas on Aug. 3 announced that a grand jury has indicted chemical manufacturer Arkema North America, its chief executive officer and a plant manager for contamination of the air and the local water supply after the company’s plant was damaged in Hurricane Harvey and released multiple chemical and volatile organic compounds.

  • August 6, 2018

    5th Circuit Dismisses Texas Agencies, Universities From Superfund Cleanup Suit

    NEW ORLEANS — A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Aug. 1 ordered a federal judge in Texas to dismiss claims brought under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) against a number of state agencies and universities, finding that they are immune to the suit under state sovereign immunity (United States Oil Recovery Site Potentially Responsible Parties Group v. Railroad Commission of Texas, et al., No. 17-20361, 5th Cir., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 21375).

  • August 1, 2018

    U.S. Attorney General Can Intervene In MTBE Contamination Suit, Judge Says

    BALTIMORE — A federal judge in Maryland on July 30 ruled that the U.S. attorney general can intervene in a suit brought by the state of Maryland against 69 sellers of gasoline containing the additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), which allegedly contaminated water in the state, finding that the attorney general can present evidence as to whether Section 1503 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is constitutional (Maryland v. Exxon Mobil Corp., et al., No. ELH-18-459, D. Md., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 127475).

  • July 31, 2018

    U.S. Supreme Court Refuses To Stay Youths’ Climate Change Suit

    WASHINGTON, D.C.  — The U.S. Supreme Court on July 30 denied a petition filed by the federal government that sought a stay in a suit brought by 21 young people accusing the government of contributing to climate change, finding that the request was premature and that the plaintiffs’ claims present “substantial grounds for difference of opinion” (United States of America, et al. v. U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, No. 18A65, U.S. Sup.).

  • July 31, 2018

    Judge Finds Oakland, San Francisco Lack Jurisdiction In Climate Change Suit

    SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California in July 27 granted a motion filed by four fossil fuel sellers in which they argued that the cities of Oakland and San Francisco lacked personal jurisdiction to pursue claims that the companies’ marketing of fossil fuels contributed to climate change and rising sea levels that now threaten the cities, holding that the municipalities failed to demonstrate that their injuries would have occurred without the companies’ activities in the state (City of Oakland v. BP Plc, et al., No. 17-06011, N.D. Calif., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 126258).

  • July 31, 2018

    Oregon Federal Judge Says Insurers Failed To Prove Accidental Exception Applies

    PORTLAND, Ore. — An Oregon federal judge on July 19 granted an insured’s motion for partial summary judgment on the applicability of a pollution exclusion in two insurers’ policies after determining that the insurers failed to prove that the exclusion’s exception for sudden and accidental releases does not apply to the insured’s claims (Siltronic Corp. v. Employers Insurance Company of Wausau, et al., No. 11-1493, D. Ore., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 126184).

  • July 27, 2018

    Insured Must Amend Complaint To Address Policy’s Pollution Exclusion

    BATON ROUGE, La. — A Louisiana federal judge on July 26 denied an insurer’s motion to dismiss an insured’s complaint seeking coverage for an oil spill and ordered the insured to amend its complaint to address the applicability of the pollution exclusion to its claim for coverage (Apollo Energy LLC v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London, No. 17-1741, M.D. La., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124918).

  • July 27, 2018

    6th Circuit Affirms Class Certification For Some Groundwater Claims

    CINCINNATI — A panel of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 16 affirmed a lower court’s decision to deny class certification under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3), but then certify other issues for class treatment under Rule 23(c)(4) for a lawsuit in which residents contend that they have been harmed by the presence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in their groundwater (Terry Martin, et al. v. Behr Dayton Thermal Products LLC, et al., No. 17-3663, 6th Cir.; 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 19441).

  • July 26, 2018

    Judge Allows Groups’ Federal Records Act Claims Against EPA, Administrator

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge on July 24 ruled that two nonprofit organizations dedicated to informing the public about governmental actions can pursue claims that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and former administrator Scott Pruitt did not implement a proper records management policy and violated the Federal Records Act (FRA) requirement to create and preserve records, ruling that they sufficiently stated claims for relief (Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington v. Scott Pruitt, et al., No. 18-406, D. D.C., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123183).

  • July 25, 2018

    DuPont To Pay $3.1M To EPA To Settle Claims Related To Fatal Chemical Spill

    HOUSTON — E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. on July 23 agreed to pay $3.1 million to the Environmental Protection Agency to settle allegations that it violated the Clean Air Act (CAA) when it accidentally released methyl mercaptan (MeSH) at the company’s chemical plant in La Porte, Texas, causing the death of four employees and injuring six others (United States v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, No. 18-2545, S.D. Texas).

  • July 25, 2018

    CSX To Pay $2.7M To Settle Claims Stemming From Spill After Derailment

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. — CSX Transportation Inc. on July 24 agreed in West Virginia federal court to pay $2.7 million to resolve claims that an oil spill caused by a derailment of 109 rail cars in 2009 resulted in violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA), the West Virginia Water Pollution Control Act (WPCA) and the West Virginia Groundwater Protection Act (GPA) (United States, et al. v. CSX Transportation Inc., No. 18-cv-1175, S.D. W.Va.).

  • July 25, 2018

    Judge: Developer Owes Environmental Services Firm For Breach Of Contract

    NEWARK, N.J. — A developer that was removed from a construction job to build an outdoor recreational facility after it used crushed concrete fill material containing high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) breached its contract with an environmental services firm when it failed to pay monthly invoices from the firm, a federal judge in New Jersey ruled July 24 in awarding summary judgment to the firm (TRC Environmental Corp. v. Waterside Development Corp., et al., No. 16-cv-374, D. N.J., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1233365).

  • July 23, 2018

    New York Federal Judge: Excess Insurer Must Cover Costs For 7 Contaminated Sites

    NEW YORK — In an environmental contamination suit filed by an insured more than 30 years ago, a New York federal judge on July 17 ruled that an excess insurer owes its insured coverage for environmental contamination remediation costs for seven sites arising out of the insured’s manufacture of pesticides (Olin Corp. v. Lamorak Insurance Co., et al., No. 84-1968, S.D. N.Y., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119212).