Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Securities & Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, No. 22-859 (U.S. June 27, 2024), holding that the SEC cannot assess civil penalties for securities
Continue Reading Jury Trials for Environmental Enforcement: What Now After SEC v. Jarkesy?
Intuitively, contamination reduces the value of property. But intuition does not count as evidence. The issues of how one proves that one ought to take a discount from a property’s
Continue Reading Commonwealth Court Offers Another Take on Valuing Contaminated Property
On Aug. 14, a trial judge in Montana issued findings of fact and conclusions of law after a bench trial in what has been called the Montana “Youth Climate Case.”
Continue Reading The Montana ‘Youth Climate Case’ and the Pa. Environmental Rights Amendment
A Texas state district court in Hale County, Texas recently issued a verdict under Texas state law and determined that wind rights are a severable property interest in the surface
Continue Reading The Severability of Wind Rights from a Surface Estate
In February, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided that the Environmental Hearing Board could award attorneys’ fees and litigation costs to a prevailing third-party appellant under the Clean Streams Law. Clean
Continue Reading Attorney Fees Awards Under the Clean Streams Law
There have been a series of recent high-profile legislative actions and media articles concerning attempts to ban natural gas appliances or natural gas service to consumers over alleged safety and
Continue Reading 9th Circuit Chills Municipal Government Efforts to Ban Natural Gas for Cooking, Heating
A few weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court heard argument in a tax case about attorney-client privilege. See In re Grand Jury, No. 21-1397 (U.S. arg. Jan. 9, 2023).
Continue Reading Uncertainty, No Guidance for Attorney-Client Privilege in Environmental Audits
This E2 Law blog post discusses In re Appeal of Friends of Marconi Plaza and the court’s comment on the application of the Pennsylvania Environmental Rights Amendment, Pa. Const. art. I, § 27, to that decision.
Continue Reading The Pennsylvania Environmental Rights Amendment and Statues
On June 30, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in West Virginia, et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency.
Continue Reading West Virginia, et al. v EPA – What It Is and What It Means for Continued Coal-Based Electrical Generation in the U.S.
I recently wrote a column for The Legal Intelligencer’s Pennsylvania Law Weekly, reposted on this blog here, raising questions about whether the Pennsylvania courts have correctly identified the
Continue Reading Oil and Gas and Another Questionable Pennsylvania Environmental Rights Amendment Decision