Environmental Law

Fatal fertilizer plant blast a ‘nightmare scenario’; Texas plant told EPA explosion could not occur

An explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant Wednesday night could be heard at least 45 miles away, causing massive damage and killing and injuring an unknown number of people in and around the small farming town of West. Officials estimate that up to 15 people have been killed, although a…

Apr 18, 2013 6:46 PM CDT

Lawyer’s $236M verdict against ExxonMobil isn’t her first big win

The lead lawyer who obtained a $236 million verdict against ExxonMobil in a groundwater contamination case last week had another high-profile win in 2005 against Wal-Mart. Being a lawyer was a childhood dream for 44-year-old Jessica Grant, who used to play make-believe court in her bedroom when she was 11…

Apr 16, 2013 10:35 AM CDT

Did man’s frog phobia help him win $1.6 million verdict in land-runoff case?

Nobody knows for sure how much Paul Marinaccio’s testimony about his frog phobia may have upped the ante in a $1.6 million jury award over a land runoff case. However, the 65-year-old’s detailed explanation of how “petrified” he is by the small creatures now proliferating on his property wasn’t enough…

Apr 9, 2013 5:30 PM CDT

Booted from big enviro case, Covington blames ex-client for not protesting conflict earlier

A Minnesota judge last year agreed with 3M Co. that its longtime counsel, Covington & Burling, could not continue to represent the state in a big environmental lawsuit against the corporation. But even if a legal ethics rule would otherwise have prohibited the representation, Covington should be allowed to continue…

Apr 5, 2013 9:36 PM CDT

Scalia’s dissent: ‘For no good reason,’ courts are deferring to federal agency interpretations

The U.S. Supreme Court is siding with the Environmental Protection Agency—and the timber industry—in a decision holding that timber companies don’t have to obtain Clean Water Act permits to channel stormwater runoff from logging roads. The court ruled in a 7-1 decision (PDF) finding that the EPA’s interpretation of its…

Mar 20, 2013 4:11 PM CDT

Federal judge sides with whooping cranes in water rights case

A federal judge has ordered Texas officials to put the needs of an endangered flock of whooping cranes first when determining whether to grant water-use permits to new users. The Corpus Christi Caller-Times provides a link to Monday’s 124-page opinion (PDF) by Senior U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack. She…

Mar 13, 2013 8:00 PM CDT

State’s top court tosses $1B punitives award against Exxon in community gas-spill case

Maryland’s top court has nixed a $1 billion punitive damages award against ExxonMobil Corp. in an environmental case brought over a 2006 gasoline spill in Jacksonville, finding that the fraud claims on which the 2011 verdict was based were not proven. In a 129-page opinion (PDF), the Maryland Court of…

Feb 27, 2013 10:29 PM CST

With billions at issue, trial begins to apportion fault for oil spill among BP, its subcontractors

A federal judge in New Orleans began hearing opening statements Monday in a trial to determine how to apportion blame between BP Plc and its subcontractors for the massive oil spill that began April 20, 2010 with a blowout of an undersea well after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded…

Feb 25, 2013 6:16 PM CST

Judge approves Transocean’s guilty plea in Gulf oil spill

A federal judge in Houston has approved a plea agreement with Transocean, the Swiss-based owner and operator of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, for its role in the 2010 oil well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico that left 11 workers dead and resulted in a yearlong moratorium on deepwater…

Feb 15, 2013 10:05 PM CST

It’s a golden age for Texas’ oil and gas transactional lawyers

“Mud lawyers,” that’s what they called them—oil and gas attorneys, viewed for decades as second-class citizens in the world of corporate transactional law. They dealt in wet, smelly products pulled from the ground, relegated to practicing in Dallas and Houston, earning subpar rates compared to their brethren in the white-shoe…

Feb 1, 2013 10:59 AM CST

Judge OKs BP plea deal despite objections; pollution case looms

A federal judge on Tuesday approved a plea deal in which BP agreed to pay $4 billion to resolve criminal charges over the Gulf oil spill. U.S District Judge Sarah Vance of New Orleans approved the deal on Tuesday despite emotional testimony and letters from several dozen people who objected…

Jan 30, 2013 4:48 PM CST

Transocean to Pay $1.4B to Resolve DOJ Criminal Probe, Other Federal Claims re Gulf Oil Spill

The company that owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and safety equipment involved in the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill nearly three years ago has agreed to pay $1.4 billion to settle federal claims over the fatal environmental disaster. Transocean Ltd. will plead guilty to violating the Clean Water…

Jan 3, 2013 10:52 PM CST

Lawyer with Famous Name Backs Solar Panels in Every Home—and Less ‘Regulatory Red Tape’

Environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is calling for the installation of solar panels in homes being rebuilt after Hurricane Sandy—and less “regulatory red tape” to make it happen. In a New York Times op-ed titled “Solar Panels for Every Home,” Kennedy sees a solution for homeowners who lose power…

Dec 13, 2012 12:46 PM CST

King Coal’s Violent Reign: Century-Old Labor Strife Still Raises Constitutional Questions

On May 8, in West Virginia’s primary election, President Barack Obama received nearly 60 percent of the 178,000 votes cast in the Democratic primary. His opponent, who received about 40 percent of the vote, was a convicted felon named Keith Judd who managed to get on the ballot despite the…

Dec 1, 2012 11:10 AM CST

Wet Behind the Ears: Chicago Aquarium Offers Legal Fellowship

Legal work often requires navigating murky waters, but DePaul University Law School student Brandon Clark never expected it would involve throwing on a pair of waders and collecting specimens in the Chicago River. But as this year’s recipient of the Georges Fellowship for Conservation at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium, Clark was…

Dec 1, 2012 10:00 AM CST