PHMSA Issues Final Rule Prohibiting Hazmat Operations By Persons With Unpaid Civil Penalties
Posted on Aug 7, 2014 in Energy/Environmental, Investigations, Transportation | Comments Off on PHMSA Issues Final Rule Prohibiting Hazmat Operations By Persons With Unpaid Civil Penalties
Yesterday, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a final rule prohibiting companies who fail to pay a civil penalty as ordered, or who fail to abide by a payment agreement, from performing activities regulated by the Hazardous Materials Regulations (49 CFR Parts 171-180) until payment is made. The rulemaking was conducted pursuant to the Moving...
Fines And Jail Time Follow Dumping Fracking Wastewater In Violation Of The Clean Water Act
Posted on Aug 6, 2014 in Energy/Environmental, Investigations | Comments Off on Fines And Jail Time Follow Dumping Fracking Wastewater In Violation Of The Clean Water Act
An Ohio federal judge sentenced the former owner of an oil and gas services contractor to 28 months in jail and ordered him to pay a $25,000 fine for dumping fracking wastewater in violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The defendant had pled guilty to one count of making an unpermitted discharge for ordering an employee to discharge the fracking wastewater more than 30 times over a...
Texas Federal Court Sorts Through Expert Challenges In Insurance Coverage Dispute For Well Blowout
Posted on Aug 5, 2014 in Energy/Environmental, Investigations, Litigation | Comments Off on Texas Federal Court Sorts Through Expert Challenges In Insurance Coverage Dispute For Well Blowout
Following an oil well blowout in Reeves County, Texas in September 2011, the operator sought insurance coverage under a policy providing protection against well blowouts and reimbursement for costs and expenses reasonably incurred in bringing the well under control. When the operator filed its insurance claim for the expenses related to the clean-up and the re-drilling of a...
Sixth Circuit Reverses District Court’s Exclusion Of Plaintiff’s Expert Witness Testimony That Contradicted Plaintiff’s Own Testimony In Gun Case
Posted on Aug 1, 2014 in Investigations, Product Liability | Comments Off on Sixth Circuit Reverses District Court’s Exclusion Of Plaintiff’s Expert Witness Testimony That Contradicted Plaintiff’s Own Testimony In Gun Case
A plaintiff initiated a product liability suit after he was seriously injured when a revolver made by the defendant gun manufacturer discharged improperly. The plaintiff offered only one expert witness, who concluded that the gun’s cylinder was not closed and locked when fired as a result of manufacturing and design defects. The expert specifically opined that when the plaintiff...
Grand Jury Returns Superseding Indictment Adding Obstruction Charges Following September 2010 Pipeline Explosion
Posted on Jul 29, 2014 in Investigations, Process Safety, Transportation | Comments Off on Grand Jury Returns Superseding Indictment Adding Obstruction Charges Following September 2010 Pipeline Explosion
A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging a utility with obstruction of the National Transportation Safety Board’s (“NTSB”) investigation of a pipeline explosion in September 2010 that killed 8 people, injured 58 others, and damaged or destroyed more than 100 homes. The superseding indictment also alleges additional violations of the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety...
$11.6 Million Asbestos-Exposure Verdict In Texas Not Supported By Sufficient Evidence
Posted on Jul 18, 2014 in Investigations, Product Liability | Comments Off on $11.6 Million Asbestos-Exposure Verdict In Texas Not Supported By Sufficient Evidence
The Supreme Court of Texas held last week that the standard of substantial factor causation previously recognized by the court in asbestosis cases also applies to mesothelioma cases. The case involved claims by the estate of a 40-year old individual who died from mesothelioma against 40 defendants based on asbestos exposure. In 2006, a jury awarded the estate $6.8 million in...
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