List of environmental lawsuits

Last updated

On this page, environmental lawsuit means "a lawsuit where the well-being of an environmental asset or the well-being of a set of environmental assets is in dispute". Also on this page, lawsuit with environmental relevance means "a lawsuit where a non-environmental entity or a set of non-environmental entities is in dispute, but whose outcome has relevance for an environmental asset or for a set of environmental assets".

Contents

Because the distinction between the two types of lawsuit is not clearly defined, it is beneficial to keep the two lists together on one page, but separated according to that distinction.

Environmental lawsuits

Lawsuit(s)Environmental asset(s)
and subject(s) of lawsuit(s)
Court(s) of decision(s)Year(s) of decision(s)
A-G v Geothermal Produce General environment: pollution from pesticide sprayCourt of Appeal of New Zealand1987
Alaska Dept. of Environmental Conservation v. EPA Air: authority to overrule state decisions about technologySupreme Court of the United States2004
Aldred's Case Aesthetics: smell from pig sty1610
Allison, et al. v. ExxonMobil Corp, et al. Land and aquifers: gasoline leak from service station2009
Amchem Products Inc. v. British Columbia (Workers' Compensation Board) Workplace: asbestosSupreme Court of Canada1993
American Electric Power Company v. Connecticut Climate: greenhouse gas emissionsSupreme Court of the United States2011
Anderson v. Cryovac Water: toxic contaminationUnited States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit1986
Baltimore Gas & Elec. Co. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. General environment: production and disposal of nuclear fuelSupreme Court of the United States1983
Bates v. Dow Agrosciences LLC Crop of peanuts: damage by pesticideSupreme Court of the United States2005
Boomer v. Atlantic Cement Co. Aesthetics: dirt, smoke, and vibrationNew York Court of Appeals1970
Burmah Oil Co. v Lord Advocate Oil fields: destruction during World War IICourts of Scotland1965
Cardwell v. American Bridge Co. Waterways: common highwaysSupreme Court of the United States1885
Castlemaine Tooheys Ltd v South Australia Recycling: bottle depositHigh Court of Australia1990
Central Green Co. v. United States Land: meaning of "flood or flood waters"Supreme Court of the United States2001
Chemical Waste Management, Inc. v. Hunt Cleanliness: interstate importation fee for disposal of hazardous wasteSupreme Court of the United States1992
Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. Air: emissions from new equipment and total emissions from plantSupreme Court of the United States1984
Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe Parkland: highway routingSupreme Court of the United States1971
City of Philadelphia v. New Jersey Cleanliness: interstate importation of wasteSupreme Court of the United States1978
Climate change litigation and the California Environmental Quality Act General environment: climate change
Cline v. American Aggregates Corporation Water in aquifer: pollutionSupreme Court of Ohio1984
Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council Water: gold mine waste disposal in Lower Slate LakeSupreme Court of the United States2009
Colorado River Water Conservation District v. United States Water: supplySupreme Court of the United States1976
Commonwealth v Tasmania Water: hydroelectric dam on Gordon RiverHigh Court of Australia1983
Compagnie Francaise de Navigation a Vapeur v. Louisiana Board of Health General environment: quarantineSupreme Court of the United States1902
Department of Transportation v. Public Citizen Air: pollution from international transportSupreme Court of the United States2004
Dolan v. City of Tigard Land: paving a parking lot, and providing a greenway and a pedestrian and bicycle pathwaySupreme Court of the United States1994
Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Environmental Study Group Workplace: nuclear accidentsSupreme Court of the United States1978
Edwards v National Coal Board Land: preventing accidental rock fall in coal mine1949
Entergy v. Riverkeeper Water: cooling water intakes for power plantsSupreme Court of the United States2009
Environment Agency v Clark Land: compliance with landfill licence terms
Environmental Defence Society v New Zealand King Salmon General environment: salmon farming Supreme Court of New Zealand 2014
Environmental Defense v. Duke Energy Corporation Air: emissions in relation to modifications to power plantsSupreme Court of the United States2007
Ernst v. EnCana Corporation, 2013 ABQB 537 Aquifer: contamination from hydraulic fracturing
Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker Water and land: compensation for victims of oil spillSupreme Court of the United States2008
Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation Water: hydroelectric power from Niagara FallsSupreme Court of the United States1960
Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc. Water: industrial pollution of North Tyger RiverSupreme Court of the United States2000
Gade v. National Solid Wastes Management Association Workplace: hazardous waste materialsSupreme Court of the United States1992
Geer v. Connecticut Wildlife: interstate transportation of wild fowlSupreme Court of the United States1896
Gillingham Borough Council v Medway (Chatham) Dock Co Ltd Soundscape: noise pollutionHigh Court of Justice1992
Greenpeace v. Eni General environment: climate changeCivil Court of Rome2024
Hadacheck v. Sebastian Aesthetics: pollution from manufacture of clay bricksSupreme Court of the United States1915
Haida Nation v. British Columbia (Minister of Forests) Forests: duty to consult Aboriginal groups before exploiting resourcesSupreme Court of Canada2004
Stephanie Hallowich, H/W, v. Range Resources Corporation General environment: pollution from hydraulic fracturingCourt of Common Pleas of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Civil Division)2011
Hanousek v. United States Water and land: oil spill from ruptured pipelineUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit1999
Held v. Montana Effect of climate change on youthFirst Judicial District Court, Lewis and Clark County, Montana2023
Hornbeck Offshore Services LLC v. Salazar Water: offshore drillingUnited States federal courtsongoing
Hughes v. Oklahoma Wildlife: federal legislationSupreme Court of the United States1979
Illinois Central Railroad v. Illinois Submerged land: construction by railroad companySupreme Court of the United States1892
Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad Co. v. American Cyanamid Co. Land and water: acrylonitrile spilled from trainUnited States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit1990
Industrial Union Department v. American Petroleum Institute Workplace: exposure to benzeneSupreme Court of the United States1980
Interprovincial Cooperatives v. The Queen Water: interprovincial river pollutionSupreme Court of Canada1975
Kansas v. Colorado Supreme Court of the United States1902, 1907, 1943, 1995, 2001, 2004, 2009
Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Corporation Climate: destruction of a community by climate changeUnited States federal courts2009
Kleppe v. New Mexico Wildlife: horses and burrosSupreme Court of the United States1976
Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District Wetlands: development and mitigationSupreme Court of the United States2013
Kruger and al. v. The Queen Wildlife: hunting of deer by Aboriginals out of seasonSupreme Court of Canada1978
Kvikk case Electromagnetic radiation: congenital disorders
Los Angeles County Flood Control District v. NRDC Water: pollution from stormwaterSupreme Court of the United States2013
Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council Coastland: erecting homesSupreme Court of the United States1992
Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife Wildlife: geographical limits of a section of the Endangered Species Act of 1973Supreme Court of the United States1992
Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association Forests: road building and timber harvestingSupreme Court of the United States1988
M. C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath Water and land: land encroachment causing swelling of Beas River and washing away of landSupreme Court of India1997
M. C. Mehta v. Union of India Air: pollution causing a hazard to community of DelhiSupreme Court of India
Maine v. Taylor Fisheries: interstate importation of fishSupreme Court of the United States1986
Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency Air: regulation of greenhouse gasesSupreme Court of the United States2007
McCastle v. Rollins Environmental Services General environment: disposal of hazardous waste1987
McLaren v. Caldwell Waterways: common highways Judicial Committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom 1884
Metropolitan Edison Co. v. People Against Nuclear Energy General environment: restarting reactorSupreme Court of the United States1983
Missouri v. Holland Wildlife: hunting migratory waterfowlSupreme Court of the United States1920
Missouri, Kansas, & Texas Railway Company of Texas v. Clay May Land: weed propagationSupreme Court of the United States1904
Monsanto Canada Inc. v. Schmeiser Farmland: deliberate propagation of canola contaminated by genetically modified organismsSupreme Court of Canada2004
Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms Farmland: genetically modified alfalfaSupreme Court of the United States2010
Montreal (City) v. 2952-1366 Québec Inc. Soundscape: invasive musicSupreme Court of Canada2005
Morrison v. Olson Land: Superfund law regarding hazardous wasteSupreme Court of the United States1988
National Assn. of Home Builders v. Defenders of Wildlife Water and wildlife: granting state authority over anti-pollution statutesSupreme Court of the United States2007
National Audubon Society v. Superior Court Water: supply from Mono LakeSupreme Court of California1983
New Jersey v. Delaware Water: liquefied natural gas pipelineSupreme Court of the United States2008
New York v. United States General environment: disposal of radioactive wasteSupreme Court of the United States1992
Newfoundland and Labrador v. AbitibiBowater Inc. Land: remediation of expropriated mill propertySupreme Court of Canada2012
Nollan v. California Coastal Commission Coastland: erecting a house, and providing a public easementSupreme Court of the United States1987
North Shore City Council v Auckland Regional Council Water in Auckland Region: urban developmentEnvironment Court of New Zealand1996
Norton v. S. Utah Wilderness Alliance Wilderness: preservationSupreme Court of the United States2004
Nulyarimma v Thompson Water: mining company draining Lake EyreFederal Court of Australia1999
Operation Dismantle v. The Queen General environment: military tests increasing risk or nuclear warSupreme Court of Canada1985
Oregon Waste Systems, Inc. v. Department of Environmental Quality of Oregon Cleanliness: interstate disposal of wasteSupreme Court of the United States1994
Overseas Hibakusha Case Electromagnetic radiation at natural levels: health-care benefits for hibakushaSupreme Court of Japan1957, 1968, 1974, 1978, 1995, 2003, 2005
Palazzolo v. Rhode Island Wetlands: developmentSupreme Court of the United States2001
Palila v. Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources Wildlife: introduced species (goats and sheep)United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit1981
Partridge v Crittenden Wildlife: advertising brambling cocks and hensQueen's Bench Division of the High Court of England and Wales1968
People v. the Brooklyn Cooperage Company Forests: logging in Adirondack ParkNew York Supreme Court, Appellate Division1906
PUD No. 1 of Jefferson County v. Washington Department of Ecology Water: hydroelectric power from Dosewallips RiverSupreme Court of the United States1994
R v Stephens Water: quarry refuse dumped into riverQueen's Bench Division1866
R (Jackson) v Attorney General Wildlife: hunting foxes and hares House of Lords of the United Kingdom 2005, 2006
R. v. Badger Wildlife: hunting by Aboriginals on private landSupreme Court of Canada1996
R. v. City of Sault Ste-Marie Water: locating a waste disposal site near a streamSupreme Court of Canada1978
R. v. Crown Zellerbach Canada Ltd. Water: ocean dumpingSupreme Court of Canada1988
R. v. Hydro-Québec Water: dumping polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into the St. Maurice RiverSupreme Court of Canada1997
R. v. Jim Wildlife: hunting by Aboriginals on Indian reservesBritish Columbia Supreme Court1915
R. v. Van der Peet Fisheries: Aboriginal fishing rights extending to sellingSupreme Court of Canada1996
Rapanos v. United States Wetlands: filling with sandSupreme Court of the United States2006
Rio Grande Silvery Minnow v. Bureau of Reclamation Wildlife: irrigation damaging endangered speciesU.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals2010
Rylands v Fletcher Water and land: reservoir flooding adjacent land House of Lords of the United Kingdom 1868
Ryuichi Shimoda v. The State General environment: atomic bombs damaging Hiroshima and NagasakiDistrict Court of Tokyo1963
S. D. Warren Co. v. Maine Board of Environmental Protection Water: hydroelectric dams discharging into Presumpscot RiverSupreme Court of the United States2006
Save the Plastic Bag Coalition v. The City of Manhattan Beach General environment: plastic bagsSupreme Court of California2011
Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference v. Federal Power Commission Aesthetics and conservation: construction of power plantUnited States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit1965
Sierra Club v. Babbitt Endangered species: high-density housingUnited States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama1998
Sierra Club v. Morton Parkland: developmentSupreme Court of the United States1972
Slaughter-House Cases Water: slaughterhouse wasteSupreme Court of the United States1873
Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook Cty. v. Army Corps of Engineers Water: waste disposalSupreme Court of the United States2001
South Florida Water Management District v. Miccosukee Tribe Wetlands (Everglades): pollution from storm water in canalSupreme Court of the United States2004
Sporhase v. Nebraska ex rel. Douglas Water: exportation of waterSupreme Court of the United States1982
St Catharines Milling and Lumber Co v R Forests: land title Judicial Committee of the Privy Council 1888
St. Louis v. Myers Water: rights of landowners beside Mississippi RiverSupreme Court of the United States1885
Sterling v. Velsicol Chemical Corp Water: disposal of waste from insecticide productionUnited States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit1986, 1988
Stop the Beach Renourishment v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection Beaches: beach renourishmentSupreme Court of the United States2010
Summers v. Earth Island Institute Forests: sale of fire-damaged timberSupreme Court of the United States2009
Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Water: supply from Lake Tahoe BasinSupreme Court of the United States2002
Teitiota v Chief Executive Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Environment of Kiribati: climate change and immigration Court of Appeal of New Zealand 2014
Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill Habitat: destruction by hydroelectric damsSupreme Court of the United States1978
Tri-state water dispute Water: supply from Lake Lanierundecided
Tsilhqot'in Nation v British Columbia Forests: land titleSupreme Court of Canada2014
Tuna-Dolphin GATT Case (I and II) Marine biology: seine fishingPanel of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and World Trade Organization
United Haulers Assn. v. Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Mgmt. Auth. Cleanliness: interstate exportation of wasteSupreme Court of the United States2007
United States v. 50 Acres of Land Land: compensation for replacing condemned landfillSupreme Court of the United States1984
United States v. Approximately 64,695 Pounds of Shark Fins Fisheries: shark finningUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit2008
United States v. Bestfoods Land: pollution from chemical manufacturing plantSupreme Court of the United States1998
United States v. Dion Wildlife: American Indians hunting eaglesSupreme Court of the United States1986
United States v. Locke Water: regulation of maritime activitySupreme Court of the United States2000
United States v. Reserve Mining Company Water (Lake Superior): tailings (i.e., mine waste) United States district court in Minneapolis 1974
United States v. Riverside Bayview Wetlands: placement of fill materialsSupreme Court of the United States1985
United States v. SCRAP Recycling: railroad freight rateSupreme Court of the United States1973
United States v. Washington Fisheries: rights of Native AmericansUnited States District Court for the Western District of Washington1974
United States v. Weitzenhoff Water: ocean dumpingNinth Circuit Court of Appeals1993
United States v. Winans Fisheries: Americans using a fish wheel to catch salmonSupreme Court of the United States1905
Utility Air Regulatory Group v. Environmental Protection Agency Air: regulation of greenhouse gas emissionsUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia2012
Vatican Radio lawsuit Electromagnetic radiation: health effects from non-ionizing radiation
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. General environment: rulemaking, and environmental effects of the uranium fuel cycleSupreme Court of the United States1978
Verstappen v Port Edward Town Board General environment: waste disposalDurban and Coast Local Division1993
Ward v. Canada (Attorney General) Fishing and hunting: catching seals and selling their peltsSupreme Court of Canada2002
West Virginia v. EPA Clean power plan issuesU.S. Court of Appeals2022
Wheeler v Saunders Ltd Aesthetics: smell from pig housesCourt of Appeal of England and Wales1994
Whitman v. American Trucking Associations, Inc. Air: ozone and particulate matterSupreme Court of the United States2001
Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council Biophony: navy sonar harming whales and other marine mammalsSupreme Court of the United States2008
Winters v. United States Water: rights of American IndiansSupreme Court of the United States1908
Wisconsin v. Illinois Water: supply from the Great LakesSupreme Court of the United States1929
Wyoming v. Colorado Water: supply from Laramie RiverSupreme Court of the United States1922
Yorta Yorta v Victoria Land and water: rights of nativesFederal Court of Australia1998

Lawsuits with environmental relevance

Lawsuit(s)Environmental asset(s)
and subject(s) of lawsuit(s)
Court(s) of decision(s)Year(s) of decision(s)
Adirondack League Club v. Sierra Club General environment: trespassing during recreation New York Court of Appeals 1998
Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. (United Kingdom v. Iran) Oil fields: licence to extract oil International Court of Justice of the United Nations, based in The Hague, Netherlands 1952
Arizona v. California Water: supply from Colorado RiverSupreme Court of the United States1931, 1934, 1936, 1963, 1964, 1968, 1979, 1983, 1984, 2000 and 2006
Babbitt v. Sweet Home Chapter of Communities for a Great Oregon Wildlife: interpretation of law protecting fish and wildlifeSupreme Court of the United States1995
Baldwin v. Fish and Game Commission of Montana Wildlife: elk huntingSupreme Court of the United States1978
Bamford v Turnley Aesthetics: smoke from brick kiln1860
BG Checo International Ltd. v. British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority Electromagnetic fields: terms regarding clearing of landSupreme Court of Canada1993
Bowman v. Monsanto Co. Seeds: patent exhaustionSupreme Court of the United States2013
Bowoto v. Chevron Corp. Oil fields (offshore): injuries and human rights violationsUnited States District Court for the Northern District of California2008
Burford v. Sun Oil Co. Oil fields: complex geology and multiple usersSupreme Court of the United States1943
C&A Carbone, Inc. v. Town of Clarkstown, New York Recycling: interstate exportation restrictionSupreme Court of the United States1994
Carter v. Carter Coal Co. Land: regulating the coal mining industrySupreme Court of the United States1936
Celotex Corp. v. Catrett Workplace: asbestos exposureSupreme Court of the United States1986
Chemical Waste Management, Inc. v. United States EPA General environment: hazardous waste (disposal and reporting)1992
Chilean–Peruvian maritime dispute Water: sea border between Chile and Peru International Court of Justice of the United Nations, based in The Hague, Netherlands unresolved
Deepwater Horizon litigation Water: Gulf of Mexico
Department of the Interior v. Klamath Water Users Protective Association Water: federal legislationSupreme Court of the United States2001
Diamond v. Chakrabarty Genetics and water: patent for GMO for cleaning oil spillsSupreme Court of the United States1980
Dimmock v Secretary of State for Education and Skills Climate: providing documentary An Inconvenient Truth (about climate change) to English state schools High Court of Justice of England and Wales 2007
English v. General Electric Workplace: work table contaminated with uraniumSupreme Court of the United States1990
Farley v Skinner Soundscape: aircraft noise House of Lords of the United Kingdom 2001
Funk Brothers Seed Co. v. Kalo Inoculant Co. Leguminous plants: patent for product for promoting nitrogen fixationSupreme Court of the United States1948
Georgia v. South Carolina (1990) Water: interstate boundarySupreme Court of the United States1990
Hunt v. T&N plc Workplace: asbestos exposureSupreme Court of Canada1993
Keystone Bituminous Coal Ass'n v. DeBenedictis Land: coal mining causing damage to buildings, etc.Supreme Court of the United States1987
McLibel case Water and rainforests: waste and destruction, respectively European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France 2005
Michigan v. EPA General environment: pollution from power plantsSupreme Court of the United States2015
Minister of Public Works v Kyalami Ridge Environmental Association Conservation: housing for flood victimsConstitutional Court of South Africa2001
Minnesota v. Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians Wildlife: hunting, fishing, and gathering rightsSupreme Court of the United States1999
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission General environment: disposal of radioactive waste from nuclear reactorsSupreme Court of the United States1983
Peevyhouse v. Garland Coal & Mining Co. Land: restoration after coal miningSupreme Court of Oklahoma1962
Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon Land: coal mining under a habitationSupreme Court of the United States1922
People of the State of California v. Federal Housing Finance Agency General environment: energy-related property improvementsUnited States District Court for the Northern District of California
R. v. Marshall Fisheries: right of Aboriginals to catch and sell eelsSupreme Court of Canada1999
RJW & SJW v The Guardian newspaper & Person or Persons Unknown Environment of Ivory Coast: publishing toxic waste dumping2009
Rindge Co. v. County of Los Angeles Land: expropriation for highwaySupreme Court of the United States1923
Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency Wetlands: fill material for building a houseSupreme Court of the United States2012
Solar Century Holdings Ltd v Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change General environment: support for solar power Court of Appeal of England and Wales 2016
State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. United States ex rel. Rigsby General environment: false insurance claims after Hurricane KatrinaSupreme Court of the United States2016
Train v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. Air: federal regulation of state emission limitationsSupreme Court of the United States1975
Transco plc v Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council Land: water pipe leaking and washing away land2003
Tulee v. Washington Fisheries: rights of Native AmericansSupreme Court of the United States1942
United States v. Causby Biophony and scotobiology: aircraft flying lowSupreme Court of the United States1946
United States v. Louisiana (1965) Natural resources: entitlement to Gulf of Mexico seabedSupreme Court of the United States1965
United States v. Shoshone Tribe of Indians Land: mineral and timber rightsSupreme Court of the United States1938
United States v. Students Challenging Regulatory Agency Procedures General environment: transport of raw materials and of recyclable materialsSupreme Court of the United States1973
United States v. The Progressive General environment: publishing the "secret" of the hydrogen bomb1979
Vaughan v Menlove General environment: spontaneous ignition of hay, causing fire to spread to adjacent land1837
Village of Schaumburg v. Citizens for a Better Environment Environmental protection: door-to-door solicitationSupreme Court of the United States1980
Wik Peoples v Queensland Land: removal of land from Aboriginal reserve for bauxite miningHigh Court of Australia1996
Willson v. Black-Bird Creek Marsh Co. Water: sailboat breaking through a damSupreme Court of the United States1829
Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Shell Co. Oil fields: human rights abusesUnited States District Court for the Southern District of New York2009
Yarmirr v Northern Territory Water: native title to seas, sea-bed and sub-soilFederal Court of Australia2001

See also

Environment courts

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transocean</span> Offshore drilling contractor

Transocean Ltd. is an American drilling company. It is the world's largest offshore drilling contractor based on revenue and is based in Vernier, Switzerland. The company has offices in 20 countries, including Canada, the United States, Norway, United Kingdom, India, Brazil, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anadarko Petroleum</span> American energy company

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation was a company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration. It was organized in Delaware and headquartered in two skyscrapers in The Woodlands, Texas: the Allison Tower and the Hackett Tower, both named after former CEOs of the company. In 2019, the company was acquired by Occidental Petroleum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Resolute Forest Products</span> Pulp and paper company

Resolute Forest Products, formerly known as AbitibiBowater Inc., is a Canada-based pulp and paper company. Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, the company was formed in 2007 by the merger of Bowater and Abitibi-Consolidated. At that time, the merged company was the third largest pulp and paper company in North America, and the eighth largest in the world.

<i>Deepwater Horizon</i> Former offshore oil drilling rig

Deepwater Horizon was an ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned, semi-submersible offshore drilling rig owned by Transocean and operated by BP. On 20 April 2010, while drilling at the Macondo Prospect, a blowout caused an explosion on the rig that killed 11 crewmen and ignited a fireball visible from 40 miles (64 km) away. The fire was inextinguishable and, two days later, on 22 April, the Horizon sank, leaving the well gushing at the seabed and creating the largest marine oil spill in history.

Ecojustice Canada, is a Canadian non-profit environmental law organization that provides funding to lawyers to use litigation to defend and protect the environment. Ecojustice is Canada's largest environmental law charity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Leach-Cross Feldman</span> American judge (1934–2022)

Martin Leach-Cross Feldman was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vringo</span>

Vringo was a technology company that became involved in the worldwide patent wars. The company won a 2012 intellectual property lawsuit against Google, in which a U.S. District Court ordered Google to pay 1.36 percent of U.S. AdWords sales. Analysts estimated Vringo's judgment against Google to be worth over $1 billion. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned the District Court's ruling on appeal in August 2014 in a split 2-1 decision, which Intellectual Asset Magazine called "the most troubling case of 2014." Vringo appealed to the United States Supreme Court. Vringo also pursued worldwide litigation against ZTE Corporation in twelve countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Malaysia, India, Spain, Netherlands, Romania, China, Malaysia, Brazil and the United States. The high profile nature of the intellectual property suits filed by the firm against large corporations known for anti-patent tendencies has led some commentators to refer to the firm as a patent vulture or patent troll.

<i>Sterling v. Velsicol Chemical Corp.</i>

Sterling v. Velsicol Chemical Corp., 855 F.2d 1188, was an environmental lawsuit filed by citizens of Hardeman County, Tennessee, led by Steven Sterling, who sued Velsicol Chemical Corporation for contaminating their water supply through improper disposal of toxic chemicals.

<i>Deepwater Horizon</i> oil spill Oil spill that began in April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was an environmental disaster which began on 20 April 2010, off the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect, considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry and estimated to be 8 to 31 percent larger in volume than the previous largest, the Ixtoc I oil spill, also in the Gulf of Mexico. Caused in the aftermath of a blowout and explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform, the United States federal government estimated the total discharge at 4.9 MMbbl. After several failed efforts to contain the flow, the well was declared sealed on 19 September 2010. Reports in early 2012 indicated that the well site was still leaking. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is regarded as one of the largest environmental disasters in world history.

<i>Deepwater Horizon</i> explosion 2010 oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico

On April 20, 2010, an explosion and fire occurred on the Deepwater Horizon semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit, which was owned and operated by Transocean and drilling for BP in the Macondo Prospect oil field about 40 miles (64 km) southeast off the Louisiana coast. The explosion and subsequent fire resulted in the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon and the deaths of 11 workers; 17 others were injured. The same blowout that caused the explosion also caused an oil well fire and a massive offshore oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, considered the largest accidental marine oil spill in the world, and the largest environmental disaster in United States history.

<i>Discoverer Enterprise</i>

Discoverer Enterprise is a fifth generation deepwater double hulled dynamically positioned drillship owned and operated by Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc., capable of operating in moderate environments and water depths up to 3,049 m (10,000 ft) using an 18.75 in (47.6 cm), 15,000 psi blowout preventer (BOP), and a 21 in (53 cm) outside diameter (OD) marine riser. From 1998 to 2005 the vessel was Panama-flagged and currently flies the flag of convenience of the Marshall Islands.

<i>Deepwater Horizon</i> litigation Aspect of the Deepwater Horizon explosion

The civil and criminal proceedings stemming from the explosion of Deepwater Horizon and the resulting massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico began shortly after the April 20, 2010 incident and have continued since then. They have included an extensive claims settlement process for a guilty plea to criminal charges by BP, and an ongoing Clean Water Act lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and other parties.

Hornbeck Offshore Services v. Salazar is an ongoing case in United States federal court. In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and the subsequent oil spill, the U.S. Department of the Interior issued a six-month moratorium on exploratory drilling in deep water. Plaintiffs filed suit challenging the moratorium.

Following is a Timeline of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill for May 2010.

Range Resources Corporation is a natural gas exploration and production company headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It operates in the Marcellus Formation, where it is one of the largest land owners

<i>In re Zappos.com, Inc., Customer Data Security Breach Litigation</i>

In re Zappos.com, Inc., Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, 893 F. Supp. 2d 1058, was a United States District Court for the District of Nevada case in which the Court held that Zappos.com's customers were not held to the browsewrap terms of use because of their obscure nature. The courts also held that the agreement was unenforceable because Zappos had reserved the right to change it at any time without informing the customers. This court decision set a precedent for businesses that use browsewrap agreements and/or include a clause in their agreements that allow them to change the agreements at any time. The decision encouraged conversation on how a business should most fairly display its terms of use and how to avoid unfairness and ambiguity when writing them.

High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation is a 2010 United States Department of Justice (DOJ) antitrust action and a 2013 civil class action against several Silicon Valley companies for alleged "no cold call" agreements which restrained the recruitment of high-tech employees.

Baron & Budd, P.C. is an American plaintiffs' law firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Opponents of mass tort litigation have criticized the firm for the zealousness with which it represents its clients, and for the political activities of some of its attorneys.

Xiaoning et al v. Yahoo! Inc, et al, No. C 07-2151 CW, was a civil litigation in a federal court in San Francisco, California. The plaintiffs were Chinese citizens and democratic activists in China arrested, incarcerated, and tortured allegedly after defendants Yahoo provided Chinese officials with access to their personal emails, user IDs, and other identifying information. Yahoo settled with the plaintiffs out of court.