On August 11, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division, issued a long ruling deciding a challenge to a new rule, adopted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in December 2013, which increased the maximum duration of a “programmatic permit” to “take” bald…
In Minnick, et al., v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, decided on August 12, 2015, involves conservation easements. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the U.S. Tax Court’s decision that disallowed a charitable deduction under Treasury Regulation § 1.170A-14(g)(2) claimed by the taxpayers for the donation of…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an interesting ruling on July 31, 2015 that is excellent guide to this esoteric corner of federal government regulation and practice. In the case of Bodie S. Knapp dba The Wild Side v. U.S.D.A, the Court of Appeals largely upheld a governmental order…
On August 10, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a very rare Writ of Mandamus, directing the EPA to issue a “full and final response” by October 31, 2015 to a pesticide regulatory petition filed several years ago by the Pesticide Action Network North America. …
In another recent Fifth Circuit case, Cox Operating , L.L.C. v. St. Paul Surplus Lines Insurance Company, decided July 30, 2015, the Court of Appeals issued an important environmental/insurance ruling in an insurance recovery controversy. The Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s decision that the insurance company breached its…
On July 31, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a ruling affirming the Secretary of Labor’s interpretation of the term ”fire” in the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, and accordingly affirmed a decision of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review…
On July 30, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a ruling affirming the district court’s dismissal of an action brought by the City and County of San Francisco against the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and its administering Agency, the Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration…
In Organized Village of Kake, et al. v. U.S. Department of Agriculture, et al., decided July 29, 2015, an en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reinstated the Department of Agriculture’s (Department) 2001 “Roadless Rule”, which limits timber harvesting in the natural forests under…
This is Part VII of VII of a brief recap of some the significant environmental law and administrative cases decided in the past few months: B. Texas State Court of Appeals On June 1, 2015, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh District sitting in Amarillo issued a ruling reversing the grant…
This is Part VI of VII of a brief recap of some the significant environmental law and administrative cases decided in the past few months: M. U.S. Court of Federal Claims Wetlands mitigation banking agreements are subject to the rules of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; they can serve a useful…