http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/news.aspx Headline Pollution Liability Legal News from LexisNexis® en-us http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/images/lexismealeyslogo.gif 130 29 http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/news.aspx Copyright 2020 http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-5%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%201%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PORTLAND, Ore. - A 2-1 panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 17 overturned a federal judge in Oregon's ruling denying dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a number of youths and an environmental group claiming that the federal government knew about the association between climate change and the burning of fossil fuels, finding that they lacked standing under Article III of the U.S. Constitution because a court cannot redress their injuries (Kelsey Cascadia Rose Juliana, et al. v. United States, et al., No. 18-36082, 9th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-5%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%202%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' DENVER - Defendant companies in a suit brought by the board of commissioners of two Colorado counties and a city in the state over climate change tell the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a Jan. 21 reply brief that an entire order remanding the plaintiffs' case should be reviewed for error and not limited to the federal officer doctrine because the case was removed under Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 1442 (Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County, et al. v. Suncor Energy [U.S.A.] Inc., et al., No. 19-1330, 10th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-5%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%203%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - An Indiana-based steel manufacturing company asks the U.S. Supreme Court in a Jan. 21 petition for a writ of certiorari to review a federal appeals court panel's ruling that a claim for cost recovery under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act was timely because there is a split in the circuit courts over when the statute of limitations for remedial activities begins (Joslyn Manufacturing Co., et al. v. Valbruna Slater Steel Corp., et al., No. 19-917, U.S. Sup., 2020 U.S. S. Ct. Briefs LEXIS 265). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-5%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%204%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - A federal judge in Illinois on Jan. 15 reinstated a refining company's claim for contribution under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act against an oil company after finding that an agreement between the oil company and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) did not bar the refining company's claim (Premcor Refining Group Inc. v. Apex Oil Co. Inc., et al., No. 17-CV-738, N.D. Ill., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6660). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-5%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%205%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' DAYTON, Ohio- A federal judge in Ohio on Feb. 10 denied motions to exclude the proffered expert testimony of an allocation expert and a waste stream specialist brought by defendant companies in a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) lawsuit, finding that challenges regarding the reliability of the experts' opinions are better suited for trial (Hobart Corporation, et al. v. The Dayton Power & Light Co., et al., No. 13-cv-115, S.D. Ohio, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22813). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-5%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%206%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' DAYTON, Ohio - A federal judge in Ohio on Feb. 10 ruled that the transcript and three summaries of a 2005 interview between a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency investigator and a now-deceased truck driver who said he regularly delivered drums of plating waste generated by a plaintiff company in a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act suit to a landfill are admissible under the hearsay exception because they have probative value that is unavailable from other sources and because the information is trustworthy (Hobart Corporation, et al. v. The Dayton Power & Light Co., et al., No. 13-cv-115, S.D. Ohio, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22819). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-5%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%207%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - A 2-1 panel of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 28 upheld a federal judge in Louisiana's decision to not conduct discretionary review of a $817,392.13 award to a Mississippi Walmart store that reopened a location that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina six months before the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, holding that a Court Supervised Settlement Program (CSSP) appeals panel did not err when finding that the store was a start-up business (BP Exploration & Production Inc., et al. v. Claimant ID 100354107, No. 18-31275, 5th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-5%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%208%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SEATTLE - A Washington appeals panel on Jan. 27 affirmed a man's conviction for illegally storing hazardous waste and wrecking vehicles without a license and with a prior conviction, holding that the trial court judge did not apply the wrong standard when evaluating the evidence presented during trial and excluding the testimony of the defendant's character witnesses (State v. Charles Edwin Pillon, No. 78599-1-I, Wash. App., 1st Div., 2020 Wash. App. LEXIS 166). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-5%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%209%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' COLUMBUS, Ohio - A federal judge in Ohio on Jan. 31 dismissed two claims brought by a man accusing a board of county commissioners of violating the Clean Water Act by failing to map the county's municipal storm sewer system (MS4), ruling that the allegations were previously addressed in a lawsuit brought by the state against the county (Jeffrey Cox v. Board of County Commissioners of Franklin County, Ohio, No. 18-cv-1631, S.D. Ohio, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17976). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-5%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2010%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LEWISTON, Maine - The owners of three metal recycling facilities on Feb. 10 entered into an agreement with the federal government in federal court in Maine to resolve allegations that the companies were violating the Clean Water Act through discharges of stormwater from the sites (United States v. Grimmel Industries Inc., et al., No. 16-cv-00191, D. Maine). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-5%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2011%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PITTSBURGH - Two residents who live next to two sawmills filed a lawsuit against the owners Feb. 12 in federal court in Pennsylvania, complaining that increased activity at the sawmills is adversely affecting their property and health and violating a number of state and federal environmental laws (Nancy Adams, et al. v. David J. Miller, et al., No. n/a, W.D. Pa.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-5%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2012%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PHILADELPHIA - A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Jan. 15 ruled that perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and pefluorooctanic acid (PFOA), which are two types of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), are not hazardous substances under Pennsylvania's Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act (HSCA); therefore, the U.S. Department of the Navy is not liable for remediation of local residents' groundwater contamination (Kristen Giovanni, et al. v. U.S. Department of the Navy, No. 16-4873, Dorothy Palmer, et al. v. U.S. Department of the Navy, No. 17-765, E.D. Pa.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-5%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2013%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' COLUMBUS, Ohio - The U.S. government on Jan. 22 filed a lawsuit for injunctive relief and civil penalties against a hydraulic fracturing company for violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA) at multiple oil and gas production facilities the government contends are liable for contaminating the air with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (United States v. Gulfport Energy Corporation, No. 20-340, S.D. Ohio). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-5%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2014%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals should reconsider its finding that an insured quarry operator's unplanned discharge of rock pellets into a nearby stream is excluded from coverage pursuant to the policy's pollution exclusion because the appeals panel misapplied the meaning of contaminants in determining that the pollution exclusion applies, the insured contends in a Jan. 31 petition for panel rehearing (Eastern Concrete Materials Inc. v. ACE American Insurance Co., et al., No. 18-11043, 5th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-5%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2015%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LOS ANGELES - The Second District California Court of Appeal on Jan. 31 affirmed a trial court's ruling that an insurer was entitled to rescind a pollution liability policy issued to an insured seeking coverage for contamination of oil in a storage tank caused by an insured's work because the insured made misrepresentations in its insurance application (Endurance American Specialty Insurance Co. v. Bennington Group LLC, et al., No. B285909, Calif. App., 2nd Dist., Div. 5, 2020 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 726). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-5%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2016%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A New York federal judge on Jan. 27 dismissed a pollution liability insurer's complaint against the U.S. government and the National Pollution Funds Center after determining that venue in New York federal court is not proper based on a venue provision included in the applicable Oil Pollution Act (OPA) (Water Quality Insurance Syndicate v. National Pollution Funds Center, et al., No. 19-6344, S.D. N.Y., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13333). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-5%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2017%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SHREVEPORT, La. - No coverage is afforded for environmental contamination claims because the contamination claims were not reported within 60 days following the end of the applicable policy as required by the policy, the Second Circuit Louisiana Court of Appeal said Jan. 14 (Kansas City Southern Railway Co. et al., v. The Wood Energy Group Inc. et al., Nos. 53,096, 53,099, La. App., 2nd Cir., 2020 La. App. LEXIS 61). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-4%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%201%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - A District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Dec. 27 affirmed dismissal of a lawsuit brought by residents of a neighborhood who were seeking cost recovery under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for money spent remediating contamination from a burst sewer main, finding that they failed to show that their actions complied with the National Contingency Plan (NCP) (Marquette R. Miller, et al. v. District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority, et al., No. 18-7169, D.C. Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 38633). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-4%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%202%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Residents of a housing complex that was built on property that was later designated a Superfund site cannot seek to recover costs for the investigation of lead and arsenic contamination and relocation to temporary housing under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, a federal judge in Indiana ruled Dec. 16 in granting a motion for partial summary judgment filed by E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. and The Chemours Co., finding that the plaintiffs were required to pay their attorney for the investigative costs pursuant to a retainer agreement and that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency agreed to pay for temporary housing (Lerithea Rolan, et al. v. Atlantic Richfield Co., et al., No. 16-cv-357, N.D. Ind., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 216744). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-4%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%203%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A federal judge in New York on Dec. 26 entered judgment against 18 defaulting third-party defendants in a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act contribution action and ordered them to each pay $13,346.60 after finding that it is allowable to require them to pay a per capita allocation of cleanup costs for a former landfill site (New York v. Town of North Hempstead, et al., No. 13-cv-6355, E.D. N.Y.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-4%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%204%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' COLUMBUS, Ohio - A federal judge in Ohio on Dec. 16 dismissed counterclaims seeking attorney fees from plaintiff companies in a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) lawsuit, holding that the fees are not available in cases seeking cost recovery under the statute (Garrison Southfield Park LLC v. Closed Loop Refining & Recovery Inc., et al., No. 17-cv-783, S.D. Ohio, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 217764). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-4%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%205%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' DAYTON, Ohio - A federal judge in Ohio on Dec.12 overruled International Paper Co.'s (IPC) objections to a March 25 ruling that denied its motion for summary judgment on liability in a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act lawsuit, finding that genuine disputes exist as to whether any spills of hazardous substances occurred while its predecessor operated a paper mill (Garrett Day LLC v. International Paper Co., et al., No. 15-cv-36, S.D. Ohio, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 214638). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-4%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%206%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' RIVERSIDE, Calif. - A federal judge in California on Dec. 20 denied a motion for judgment on the pleadings brought by two estates seeking cost recovery under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for remediation costs associated with the cleanup of perchloroethylene (PCE) contamination caused by dry cleaning operations, finding that insurers can represent two defendant estates and a suspended corporation (Estate of Betty Goldberg, et al. v. Goss-Jewett Co., et al., No. 14-1872, C.D. Calif.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-4%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%207%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Jan. 14 upheld five awards totaling $15 million that were issued to Wal Mart Stores East L.P. (Walmart) for business and economic losses (BEL) sustained as a result of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that followed the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, holding that changes in the retailer's accounting system were sufficiently addressed when calculating profits and losses were properly addressed by the Court Supervised Settlement Program (CSSP) and the CSSP appeals panels that reviewed the awards (BP Exploration & Production Inc., et al. v. Claimant ID 100354107, No. 18-31115, 5th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-4%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%208%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CINCINNATI - A Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Dec. 17 reinstated a man's citizen suit accusing a local sanitary district of violating the Clean Water Act (CWA) by failing to create a management plan for discharges of pesticide used to control mosquitoes, holding that his notice of intent to sue was sufficient because it listed the date of violation as the month the district's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit became effective (Matt Cooper v. Toledo Area Sanitary District, No. 19-3216, 6th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 37235). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-4%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%209%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BOISE, Idaho - A federal judge in Idaho on Jan. 8 denied a motion to stay the Nez Perce Tribe's lawsuit against Midas Gold Corp. and its subsidiaries over allegedly illegal discharges of mining waste, finding that there is no sign that an agreement between the company and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over remediation at the site will be finalized in the next six months (Nez Perce Tribe v. Midas Gold Corp., et al., No. 19-cv-307, D. Idaho, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4707). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-4%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2010%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BOSTON - The company that operates the F/V Enterprise and F/V Pacific Capes fishing vessels and the company that owns them pleaded guilty on Dec. 16 in federal court in Massachusetts to two counts of violating the Clean Water Act for negligently discharging oily bilge water into waterways of the United States and agreed to pay $1 million as a civil penalty (United States v. Sea Harvest Inc., et al., No. 19cr10400, D. Mass.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-4%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2011%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' FORT MYERS, Fla.- A federal judge in Florida on Jan. 6 granted a city's motion for partial summary judgment on a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) claim brought by residents who lived near a site where lime sludge from the city's wastewater treatment plant was dumped, holding that there is no evidence that the site presents an imminent or substantial risk to human health or the environment since the sludge has been removed (Deretha Miller, et al. v. City of Fort Myers, No. 18-cv-195, M.D. Fla., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1356). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-4%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2012%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - A federal judge in Alabama on Jan. 7 dismissed a landowner's lawsuit against a pipeline owner over alleged property damage stemming from the cleanup of a 300,000-gallon gas spill, finding that the claims were premature because remediation efforts have not been completed (Valley Creek Land & Timber LLC v. Colonial Pipeline Co., No. 19-CV-970, N.D. Ala., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2102). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-4%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2013%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BOSTON - Rhode Island told the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 2 that its review of a ruling remanding its climate change lawsuit should be limited to whether the judge properly found that its claims are not subject to federal jurisdiction under the federal officer statute (Rhode Island v. Shell Oil Products Co. LLC, et al., No. 19-1818, 1st Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-4%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2014%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BOSTON - Seven amicus curiae briefs, including one by 13 states, were filed in the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals between Dec. 26 and Jan. 2 in support of the remand of Rhode Island's lawsuit against oil companies over climate change, arguing that there is no basis for federal jurisdiction for the state's allegations that the companies knew that the burning of fossil fuels contributes to global warming and climate change (Rhode Island v. Shell Oil Products Co. LLC, et al., No. 19-1818, 1st Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-4%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2015%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' DENVER - Four amicus curiae briefs filed in the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 14 say that a federal judge in Colorado's ruling remanding a lawsuit brought by two Colorado counties and one city over climate change should be affirmed because the lawsuit does not raise federal issues (Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County, et al. v. Suncor Energy [U.S.A.] Inc., et al., No. 19-1330, 10th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-4%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2016%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BOSTON - Massachusetts' lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Corp. over the company's marketing of its Synergy gasoline and "green" motor oil should be remanded because the action does not raise federal issues, the state says in a Dec. 26 motion to remand (Massachusetts v. Exxon Mobil Corp., No. 19-12430, D. Mass.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-4%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2017%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ROCHESTER, N.Y. - A federal magistrate judge in New York on Dec. 16 refused to consolidate two lawsuits brought under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and Clean Air Act (CAA) against the operator of a landfill over noxious emissions, holding that it would be prejudicial to the plaintiffs (Fresh Air for the Eastside Inc. v. Waste Management of New York LLC, et al., No. 18-cv-6588, W.D. N.Y., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 216168). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-4%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2018%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PHILADELPHIA - The U.S. Department of the Navy's request for a six-month stay of a consolidated lawsuit pending a determination from the federal government and the commonwealth of Pennsylvania as to whether perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and pefluorooctanic acid (PFOA) are hazardous substances was denied by a federal judge in Pennsylvania on Dec. 16 after he found that the interests of the plaintiffs outweigh those of the Navy (Kristen Giovanni, et al. v. U.S. Department of the Navy, No. 16-4873, Dorothy Palmer, et al. v. U.S. Department of the Navy, No. 17-765, E.D. Pa., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 215446). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-4%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2019%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. House of Representatives on Jan. 10 voted 247-159 in favor of a measure that would require perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances to be listed as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-4%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2020%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PITTSBURGH - A state court judge in Pennsylvania on Dec. 4 preliminarily approved an $8.5 million settlement between USX Co., formerly known as U.S. Steel Corp., and a class of residents who complained about odors from emissions discharged from the company's Clairton Coke Works facility (Cindy Ross, et al. v. USX Co., No. G.D. 17-008663, Pa. Comm. Pls., Allegheny Co.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-4%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2021%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CHICAGO - The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 8 heard oral arguments in an environmental contamination coverage suit and will decide if a district court properly found that an insurer owes no coverage for environmental contamination claims asserted by neighbors based on the insured's alleged late notice (Carmine Greene, et al. v. Kenneth Will, et al., No. 19-2260, 7th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-4%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2022%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PITTSBURGH - A Pennsylvania federal magistrate judge on Dec. 31 recommended granting an insurer's motion for summary judgment and denying an insured's motion for summary judgment because it is clear that a pollution exclusion bars coverage for a black powder that contaminated the insured's property (Vale Vista Associates L.P. v. The Cincinnati Casualty Co., No. 18-1064, W.D. Pa., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 223366). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-4%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2023%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CHARLESTON, S.C. - The South Carolina Court of Appeals on Dec. 18 affirmed a trial court's dismissal of a corporate successor's claims against a number of insurers, agreeing with the trial court's finding that the successor has no rights under the predecessor's policies because the policies were expired when the new company was purchased and there was execution of an assignment of rights to the insurance policies (PCS Nitrogen Inc. v. Continental Casualty Co., et al., No. 5699, S.C. App.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-3%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%201%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - Arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 3 in a suit over the cleanup of contamination at a Superfund site in Montana focused more on whether landowners are potentially responsible parties (PRPs) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) that must obtain approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency before engaging in any remedial activities than on whether their claims are preempted by the statute (Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Gregory Christian, et al., No. 17-1498, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-3%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%202%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PHILADELPHIA - A Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 22 affirmed a ruling awarding summary judgment to the federal government, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army in a suit brought by a New Jersey property owner seeking contribution under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act for contamination at a former weapons manufacturing site, finding that the claim was untimely because it was brought nine years after the plaintiff entered into a settlement agreement with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) (Cranbury Brick Yard LLC v. United States, et al., No. 18-3287, 3rd Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 34998). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-3%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%203%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' HANNIBAL, Mo. - A federal judge in Missouri on Nov. 20 ordered a defendant company found liable for 100 percent of past response costs incurred in remediating trichloroethylene (TCE) contamination at a portion of a former small appliance manufacturing site to pay $20,469.14, finding that segregated invoices revealed how much cleanup of that area of the site cost (Cooper Industries LLC v. Spectrum Brands Inc., No. 16-cv-39, E.D. Mo., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 200928). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-3%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%204%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' COLUMBUS, Ohio - A federal judge in Ohio on Nov. 13 refused to dismiss claims under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act brought against a former managing member of a limited liability company that owned a property where an alleged sham electronic waste recycling center was in operation, finding that there is sufficient evidence to warrant piercing of the corporate veil (Garrison Southfield Park LLC v. Closed Loop Refining & Recovery Inc., et al., No. 17-cv-783, S.D. Ohio, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 196880). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-3%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%205%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CHARLOTTE, N.C. - A cement company will have more than $17,000 in allowed, unsecured claims in the Chapter 11 case of Kaiser Gypsum Co. Inc. and Hanson Permanente Cement Inc. to settle claims against the debtors for cleanup costs for a Superfund site in Washington, with a North Carolina federal bankruptcy judge approving the deal in a Nov. 14 minute order (In re Kaiser Gypsum Company, Inc., et al., No. 16-31602, W.D. N.C. Bkcy.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-3%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%206%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SEATTLE - A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 14 granted a portion of a petition filed by a number of public health and environmental groups that challenged an amendment to the Toxic Substances Control Act's Risk Evaluation Rule, holding that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must consider the history of a chemical's use and its associated disposal when determining its safety (Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, et al. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, et al., Nos. 17-72260, 17-72501, 17-72968, 17-73290, 17-73383, 17-73390, 9th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 33976). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-3%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%207%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' FORT WAYNE, Ind. - A federal judge in Indiana on Nov. 18 denied certification of a proposed class of residents in Andrews, Ind., who complain that their properties and the town's drinking water are contaminated as a result of the operations of two businesses in the middle of town, holding that the claims among class members lack typicality and that a class action is not the best vehicle to advance resolution of the lead plaintiffs' claims (Opal Millman, et al. v. United Technologies Corp., et al., No. 16-CV-312-HAB, N.D. Ind., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 199595). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-3%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%208%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BOSTON - A federal judge in Massachusetts on Nov. 26 denied a motion to dismiss a case brought by an environmental advocacy group that sued a beach club for allegedly contaminating local groundwater, concluding that the plaintiffs adequately stated a claim under federal law for contributing to disposal of hazardous waste that "may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to health and the environment" (Conservation Law Foundation Inc. v. Longwood Venues & Destinations Inc., et al., No. 19-cv-11672, D. Mass., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 205273). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-3%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%209%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' TRENTON, N.J. - A New Jersey appeals panel on Nov. 13 upheld a lower court' ruling that the state's environmental agency can enforce violations of the New Jersey Spill and Control Act (Spill Act) through municipal courts, finding that the statute provides municipal courts with such authority (New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection v. Alsol Corp., No. A-3546-17T1, N.J. Super., App. Div., 2019 N.J. Super. LEXIS 159). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-3%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2010%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' DENVER - Exxon Mobil Corp. tells the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a Nov. 19 opening brief that it has jurisdiction to review a federal judge in Colorado's entire ruling remanding a climate change lawsuit brought by the board of commissioners of two counties and the county of Boulder, Colo., asserting that the plaintiffs' lawsuit raises more issues than simply federal officer jurisdiction (Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County, et al. v. Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc., et al., No. 19-1330, 10th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-3%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2011%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - The Office of the Attorney General (AG) of New York failed to sufficiently plead that Exxon Mobil Corp. engaged in a years-long scheme to misrepresent the risk of climate change regulations to investors in violation of the Martin Act and other New York law, a New York justice ruled Dec. 10 (People of the State of New York v. Exxon Mobil Corp., No. 452044/2018, N.Y. Sup., New York Co.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-3%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2012%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BOSTON - Removal of a lawsuit brought by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey against Exxon Mobil Corp. for alleged violations of the state's consumer protection law based on its misrepresentations to consumers and investors concealing the risks of fossil fuel-driven climate change to Exxon's business is warranted because although Healey's claims are brought under state law, the complaint actually states claims that deal with federal law, Exxon argues in a Nov. 29 removal notice filed in Massachusetts federal court (Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Exxon Mobil Corp., No. 19-12430, D. Mass.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-3%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2013%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' GULFPORT, Miss. - A federal judge in Mississippi on Nov. 15 awarded summary judgment to BP Exploration & Production Inc. in a man's suit claiming that he developed pneumonia and acute respiratory failure as a result of his exposure to oil and chemical dispersants during the cleanup of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that followed the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in April 2010, finding that the man presented no reliable expert testimony to show that his exposure to the chemicals caused his injuries (Blaine McGill v. BP Exploration & Production Inc., et al., No. 18CV159-LG-RHW, S.D. Miss., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 198359). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-3%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2014%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - A California appeals court panel on Nov. 27 reversed a ruling that a former property owner could not be ordered to remediate contamination caused by a tenant that operated a dry cleaning operation, finding that the landowner knew that chemicals used at the site were hazardous and that its liability was not discharged during bankruptcy proceedings (United Artists Theatre Circuit Inc. v. Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Region, et al., No. A152988, Calif. App., 1st Dist., 5th Div., 2019 Cal. App. LEXIS 1198). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-3%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2015%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SEATTLE - A federal judge in Washington on Nov. 4 granted in part the government's motion for partial summary judgment against a trucking company accused of violating the Clean Water Act (CWA), finding that while an oxbow channel on a property constituted a navigable water of the United States, there is not enough evidence to show that the defendant company participated in the work that caused unpermitted discharges of fill material (United States v. Bobby Wolford Trucking & Salvage Inc., et al., No. C18-747, W.D. Wash., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 191471). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-3%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2016%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) on Nov. 7 issued a notice to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a North Carolina environmental agency and a city in the state notifying them of a potential lawsuit for violations of federal laws related to groundwater contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and 1,4-dioxane. http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-3%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2017%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A refinery agreed to pay a $500,000 civil penalty for violating the Clean Air Act (CAA) when failing to monitor flare emissions and violating the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) when failing to report the amount of toxic chemicals it releases into the environment, according to a consent decree filed Dec. 9 in a federal court in California (United States, et al. v. Kern Oil & Refining Co., No. 19-cv-2046, E.D. Calif.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-3%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2018%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PITTSBURGH - The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on Nov. 27 issued a cease-and-desist order to a hemp drying facility after finding that odors from the site were violating the Air Pollution Control Act. http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-3%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2019%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PEORIA, Ill. - An Illinois federal judge on Dec. 5 granted an insurer's motion for judgment on the pleadings after determining that no coverage is afforded for an underlying environmental contamination suit arising out of the insured's mining operation because the insured's six-year delay in providing the insurer with notice of the underlying suit bars coverage (Rockhill Insurance Co. v. Carri Scharf Materials Co., No. 18-1380, C.D. Ill., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 209581). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-3%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2020%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WAUSAU, Wis. - The Third District Wisconsin Court of Appeals on Nov. 19 remanded a trial court's ruling in an environmental contamination coverage dispute on the meaning of occurrence used in three excess policies after determining that the term occurrence is ambiguous and that an insured has to prove only that "one event" caused the damage at issue (Superior Water, Light and Power Co. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyds, London et al., No. 2018AP1926, Wis. App., Dist. 3, 2019 Wisc. App. LEXIS 617). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-3%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2021%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SEATTLE - A Washington federal judge on Nov. 12 approved the terms of an almost $4 million proposed settlement between an insured and one of its insurers in an environmental contamination coverage dispute after determining that the terms of the settlement are reasonable (Seattle Times Co. v. National Surety Corp., et al., No 13-1463, W.D. Wash., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 196369). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-3%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2022%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - An insured on Nov. 21 filed a motion to confirm a $25 million arbitration award entered against an excess liability insurer and to award more than $6 million in prejudgment interest in an environmental contamination coverage dispute, arguing that confirmation of the award is warranted because the excess insurer forfeited any right to contest the award (ExxonMobil Oil Corp. v. TIG Insurance Co., No. 16-9527, S.D. N.Y.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=33-3%20Mealey%27s%20Poll.%20Liab.%20Rep.%2023%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A California federal judge on Dec. 3 denied motions to intervene by a number of insurers in a dispute over liability for groundwater contamination under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act after determining that the insurers failed to show good cause for intervening in the suit (California Department of Toxic Substances Control, et al. v. Jim Dobbas Inc., et al., No. 14-0595, E.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 209377).