Expert Neurologist And Real Estate Broker’s Opinions Excluded In Manganese Contamination Case
Posted on Nov 10, 2015 in Construction, Energy/Environmental, Investigations | Comments Off on Expert Neurologist And Real Estate Broker’s Opinions Excluded In Manganese Contamination Case
In a case in which plaintiffs allege a steel mill’s slag processing operations have resulted in dangerous levels of manganese being released onto their property, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio concluded yesterday that two of the plaintiffs’ proposed experts cannot testify. First, the plaintiffs’ expert neurologist intended to testify that...
Importance Of Conditions Precedent To Indemnification Demands Highlighted In Pipeline Case
Posted on Oct 23, 2015 in Energy/Environmental, Investigations, Litigation | Comments Off on Importance Of Conditions Precedent To Indemnification Demands Highlighted In Pipeline Case
In 1994, an oil and gas company (Company A) sold a pipeline to Company B, which has owned and operated it since. During the sale, the companies entered into a Purchase and Sale of Assets Agreement whereby the parties agreed that any contamination occurring before the agreement’s closing date would be Company A’s responsibility and any contamination after the closing date...
Court Declines To Certify Damages Class In West Virginia Water Contamination Case
Posted on Oct 9, 2015 in Energy/Environmental, Investigations, Product Liability | Comments Off on Court Declines To Certify Damages Class In West Virginia Water Contamination Case
In the litigation following the interruption of the Charleston, West Virginia water supply caused by a leaking chemical storage tank in January 2014, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia ruled yesterday that the plaintiffs could certify a class for determining liability, but refused to certify a class for purposes of establishing damages. The plaintiffs...
PHMSA Proposes New Pipeline Safety Regulations
Posted on Oct 6, 2015 in Energy/Environmental, Investigations, Process Safety | Comments Off on PHMSA Proposes New Pipeline Safety Regulations
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced proposed regulations to revise and update its pipeline safety standards and reporting requirements on October 1, 2015. The deadline to submit comments on the proposed rulemaking is January 8, 2016. PHMSA estimates that compliance with the proposed rule will cost the industry...
Refinery’s Insurance Claims Following Supply Interruption Caused By Pipeline Rupture Taken Up In Arkansas
Posted on Sep 28, 2015 in Energy/Environmental, Investigations, Litigation | Comments Off on Refinery’s Insurance Claims Following Supply Interruption Caused By Pipeline Rupture Taken Up In Arkansas
An Arkansas refinery received oil from a pipeline owned and operated by a third party. In 2007, the pipeline owner inspected the pipeline and identified anomalies at various locations. The inspection vendor, however, misidentified one anomaly as a seam weld unlikely to cause a failure but this particular weld anomaly caused the pipeline to rupture in April 2012. After the rupture,...
Oil Refinery Owner’s Convictions Related To Uncovered Equalization Tanks Reversed By Fifth Circuit
Posted on Sep 5, 2015 in Energy/Environmental, Investigations | Comments Off on Oil Refinery Owner’s Convictions Related To Uncovered Equalization Tanks Reversed By Fifth Circuit
Yesterday, the Fifth Circuit reversed a petroleum company’s criminal convictions under the Clean Air Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”). The reversal vacated fines of $2 million under the Clean Air Act and $15,000 for each violation of the MBTA. In an unannounced inspection of a Texas refinery in 2012, state environmental inspectors discovered 130,000...
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