Law Commons^™

Losing The Littoral Zone, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Review of John Stilgoe, Alongshore (1994)

Elevated Pleading In Environmental Litigation, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The recent United States Supreme Court opinion in Leatherman v. Tarrant County Narcotics Intelligence and Coordination Unit is critical to parties and attorneys who participate in environmental litigation. Leatherman proscribed the imposition of pleading requirements that are stricter than those ordinarily applied under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a). Such heightened pleading requirements compel plaintiffs to plead more facts, and courts can dismiss claims that fall short of the mark.

The Leatherman court considered civil rights actions alleging that municipalities are liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.2 Although Leatherman might seem of limited relevance to environmental lawsuits, its holding and …

Environmental Litigation And Rule 11, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The 1983 amendment to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 has been the most controversial revision in the half-century history of the Federal Rules. Judges have applied amended Rule 11, which requires them to sanction lawyers and parties who do not conduct reasonable inquiries before filing papers, in over 1000 reported opinions, considerably more unreported determinations, and numerous informal contexts. The Rule has engendered much unnecessary satellite litigation and has been implemente4 inconsistently, while attorneys' fees remain the "sanction of choice" for violations. Rule 11 activity has especially disadvantaged civil rights plaintiffs and lawyers, whose lack of resources can make …

Criminal Prosecutions In Environmental Law: A Study Of The "Kepone" Case, Ronald J. Bacigal, Margaret I. Bacigal

Law Faculty Publications

The effectiveness of criminal prosecutions in the environmental law area is often disparaged. Some commentators suggest that corporate behavior is not significantly affected by criminal convictions because fines that are adequate to deter individual pollutors often have little impact on multi-million dollar corporations. Such a contention, however is challenged by the history surrounding the prosecution of the Allied Chemical Corporation for the pollution caused by the pesticide Kepone. The successful prosecution of the Kepone case dramatically altered Allied's corporate behavior had a significant impact on legislative and administrative inspection schemes, and led to the establishment of an endowment for improvement …

Taking Precedents In The Tidelands: Refocusing On Eminent Domain, W. Wade Berryhill

Law Faculty Publications

The focus of this article is on the state's power of eminent domain as a means of controlling the use of scarce coastal resources. However, in order to determine whether this rather drastic exercise of governmental power is the most appropriate means of effecting its purposes, the state or its delegate must consider the alternatives. This article therefore will first examine briefly other possible means of control; it will then discuss the substantive and procedural requirements of eminent domain; and finally, it will consider problems of post-acquisition resource management.

Of Crabbed Interpretations And Frustrated Mandates: The Effect Of Environmental Policy Acts On Pre-Existing Agency Authority, Carl W. Tobias, Daniel N. Mclean

Law Faculty Publications

When Congress passed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 1969, the legislation was acclaimed as one of the most important environmental measures ever enacted. States soon followed the federal lead, so that by 1976 thirty jurisdictions had adopted statutes similar to the national legislation. The Montana legislature was in the vanguard, passing the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) in 1971.

The federal agencies now appear to have accepted full responsibility for implementation of NEPA, despite some initial reluctance. Several agencies contended at first that the statute did not authorize them to consider in decisionmaking any environmental factors not expressly …

Guaranteeing Solar Access In Virginia, W. Wade Berryhill

Law Faculty Publications

This article will address in order: the mechanics of a solar energy system; the problem of solar access; the traditional public and private remedies available at common law; Virginia's legislative response to the problem of assuring solar access; and some suggestions for the resolution of anticipated solar access conflicts in Virginia.