Category: Litigation

California / Clean Water Act / Litigation
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Tijuana Blues: Mexican Wastewater Contaminates SoCal Coast, According to New Lawsuit

SoCal surfer dudes were in for a surprise when a serious funk rolled in with the tides in Imperial Beach and Chula Vista, California. A new lawsuit has been filed against the International Boundary & Water Commission – United States Section (IBWC or the Commission) and Veolia Water North America West for repeatedly failing to address “devastating pollution discharges” from the Tijuana River, which had been used as a dump for decades.

In the last three years alone, severely polluted waters have caused officials in …

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Litigation / New York / PFOA
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Strictly Business: Court Opens Door to PFOA Lawsuit for Purely Economic Damages

On February 20, 2018, a federal court in New York expanded the universe of plaintiffs who can sue for PFOA contamination in that state. The court ruled that plaintiffs could seek purely economic damages in negligence claims based on PFOA contamination, so long as the plaintiff’s business is located within the “zone of contamination.”

As readers of this blog may be aware, PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) is a man-made chemical used, among other things, to make fabrics water- and stain-resistant. Originally manufactured by the 3M Company, …

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Litigation / Ohio / PFOA
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PFAS Update: DuPont and Chemours Hit With Another Suit in Ohio

Last week, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine filed suit against E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DuPont) and its spinoff The Chemours Company (Chemours) for the release of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), also known as C8, into the Ohio River.  The current suit alleges that between 1951 and 2013 DuPont released toxic chemicals from its Washington Works plant, a 1,200-acre facility along the Ohio River, which forms the border between Ohio and West Virginia.  The lawsuit alleges that DuPont’s internal research and medical staff concluded …

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Climate Change / Litigation / New York
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New York City Sues Big Oil Over Effects of Climate Change

Earlier this month, the New York City government (the City) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against five of the world’s largest publically traded oil companies. The complaint alleges that the defendants significantly contributed to climate-change through the sale of oil and gas products over the years, resulting in property damage and subsequently forcing the City to incur other costs associated with weather-related prevention efforts, now and in the future.

Specifically, the City claims that the …

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Litigation
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Paddling Upstream — Lawsuit Looking to Recognize the Rights of the Colorado River Dismissed

A novel approach to finding a plaintiff meets a quick end. In September 2017, an environmental group filed a lawsuit in Colorado federal court. That lawsuit sought to force the State of Colorado to “protect and defend” the Colorado River ecosystem. While that action itself is not original in any sense, the named plaintiff was. The suit claimed it was filed on behalf of “The Colorado River Ecosystem.”

Undeterred by the fact that the Colorado River is not a person, the lawsuit claimed the river …

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