A few weeks ago, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit decided a natural resources damages case under the Oil Pollution Act with some interesting implications for NRD claims generally. See United States v. Ernst Jacob GmbH & Co., No. 23-1969 (1st Cir. Oct. 23, 2025). Those few who read this column regularly will recall that in September I considered an NRD case under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation v. Teck Cominco Metals, No. 24-5565 (9th Cir. Sept. 3, 2025). We have precious few litigated NRD cases at all, so to have two appellate decisions in two months is rare and worth noting.
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