Court Orders Insurer’s Handwritten Notes Discoverable Despite Work-Product Doctrine
Posted on Apr 25, 2015 in Energy/Environmental, Investigations, Litigation, Product Liability | Comments Off on Court Orders Insurer’s Handwritten Notes Discoverable Despite Work-Product Doctrine
Last week, a Maine court took up a discovery fight regarding certain claim and underwriting files maintained by an oil and gas company’s insurer with respect to multi-forum MTBE litigation. The oil and gas company contended that as a result of the more than 60 MTBE lawsuits filed against it, the company incurred significant unreimbursed expenses in connection with the...
Walruses In The Nation’s Capital?
Posted on Apr 18, 2015 in Energy/Environmental, Litigation | Comments Off on Walruses In The Nation’s Capital?
According to yesterday’s opinion from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, “There are no Pacific walruses in Washington, D.C. — not even at the National Zoo.” An environmental group seeking to protect the safety of Pacific walruses asked the court to review a regulation from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service allowing certain oil and gas...
Fourth Circuit Weighs In On CERCLA Arranger Liability
Posted on Apr 13, 2015 in Energy/Environmental | Comments Off on Fourth Circuit Weighs In On CERCLA Arranger Liability
In the early 1980s, a utility company sold multiple electrical transformers containing insulating oil with polychlorinated biphenyls (“PCBs”) to Company A. Company A repaired and rebuilt the transformers for resale to meet third-party customers’ specifications. In the process, one of Company A’s facilities became contaminated with PCBs. Following an EPA...
BSEE Proposes New Rules For Offshore Operations
Posted on Apr 13, 2015 in Energy/Environmental, Process Safety, Workplace Safety | Comments Off on BSEE Proposes New Rules For Offshore Operations
Earlier today, the U.S. Department of the Interior, through the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), announced new proposed regulations for offshore oil and gas operations. The proposed regulations focus on blowout prevention requirements and well design, well control, casing, cementing, real-time well monitoring, and subsea containment. Specifically, the proposed...
DC Federal Court Denies Preliminary Injunction To Stop Rail Tunnel Reconstruction
Posted on Apr 9, 2015 in Energy/Environmental, Transportation | Comments Off on DC Federal Court Denies Preliminary Injunction To Stop Rail Tunnel Reconstruction
On Tuesday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied a non-profit organization’s bid for a preliminary injunction to stop the District of Columbia Department of Transportation from issuing the necessary permits for reconstruction of the Virginia Avenue Tunnel to begin. The tunnel is a 111-year old rail tunnel running under Capitol Hill in D.C. and is a...
NTSB Issues Safety Recommendations To PHMSA On Crude By Rail Issues
Posted on Apr 6, 2015 in Energy/Environmental, Investigations, Transportation | Comments Off on NTSB Issues Safety Recommendations To PHMSA On Crude By Rail Issues
On Friday, the National Transportation Safety Board issued a 10-page Safety Recommendation to the Acting Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The NTSB derived the recommendations from its investigations of the recent derailments of crude-carrying trains in West Virginia, Illinois, and Ontario. The letter, which can be accessed here, requests...
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