Real-Time Court Decisions and Other Developments in Asbestos Litigation.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recently enacted budget bill for 2025-2026 includes several important changes to the New York State Superfund program. The Superfund was created to help enforce state hazardous waste regulations and to investigate and remediate contaminated sites. Overall, the amendments clarify the program and strengthen the state’s ability to enforce hazardous waste laws. Separately, … Continued
While the Trump administration has spent 2025 slamming the brakes on U.S. expansion of renewable energy by defunding solar and wind projects, Americans have seen their electricity costs skyrocket by more than an average of 30 percent, a trend not expected to abate any time soon. The rapid expansion of cryptocurrency mining facilities and artificial … Continued
As we reflect on environmental stewardship this week, the accelerating loss of biodiversity remains one of the most critical challenges facing our planet. Healthy ecosystems provide essential services – clean air and water, pollination, climate regulation, and more – underpinning human well-being and economic stability. While international efforts aim to address this crisis, action within … Continued
On March 24, in Kelsey Cascadia Rose Juliana et al. v. United States of America et al., the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a petition to hear an appeal from Our Children’s Trust from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision concluding that a lawsuit from youths alleging that current federal energy policies harm their future … Continued
In a landmark decision, a North Dakota jury has ordered Greenpeace to pay over $660 million in damages to Energy Transfer, the company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). This verdict stems from Greenpeace’s involvement in the 2016-2017 protests against the pipeline’s construction near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. Energy Transfer accused Greenpeace of defamation, … Continued
Ask any New Yorker what their top five complaints are about the city and either “traffic” or “gridlock” (or both) are all but certain to be represented. Indeed, you don’t get to be called “the Business Capital of the World” without piling enough people on to the Island of Manhattan to get that business done, … Continued
Over the last six years, our firm has written extensively about 1,4-Dioxane, from U.S. EPA’s proclamations to state laws and regulations, litigation, and distinctions between federal and state perspectives. (see compilation of blog posts here.) Today we are providing an update on the EPA’s final revised Unreasonable Risk Determination for 1,4-Dioxane, which includes new air … Continued
We have relied upon lithium-ion batteries to power electric vehicles and mobile phones, among other things, almost since the inception of their respective industries. But the mining and processing necessary to manufacture these batteries provides one of their major drawbacks—not only does their production pose environmental and human costs, but their improper disposal can inject … Continued
A couple of months ago, our blog published an article on the exploding ubiquity of Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in the environment. TFA is a breakdown product of several hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC). It is regulated under the Montreal Protocol (MP), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) used mainly as refrigerants. Trifluoroacetic acid is (1) produced naturally and synthetically, (2) used … Continued
Through the modern industrial age, there’s always been a push-and-pull between the utility of our innovations and the risks they often inadvertently create. In the 70’s, we discovered the synthetic pesticide that was so effectively combating typhus and malaria, DDT, was causing breast cancer and impairing neurological development in babies. In the 80’s and 90’s, … Continued