Friday, June 5, 2015

Adkisson v. Jacobs Eng'g Grp, Inc

<> Adkisson v. Jacobs Eng'g Grp, Inc - 6/2/15. In the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Case No. 14-6207. The case involves a In 2008, a KIF Kentucky coal-ash containment dike that failed, spilling 5.4 million cubic yards of coal-ash sludge over 300 acres of adjacent land.
     The Plaintiffs worked on the KIF remediation and, in 2013, sued, alleging that Jacobs improperly monitored fly ash; inadequately trained workers about hazards of inhaling toxic fly ash; inadequately monitored their medical conditions; denied requests for respirators and dust masks; exposed them to high concentrations of flyash toxic constituents; and fraudulently concealed that exposure.
     The district court dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, concluding that Jacobs was entitled to government-contractor immunity as a corollary of the discretionary-function exception to the Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. 2674. The Appeals Court reversed, finding that such immunity is not jurisdictional and that the court should have considered a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.

Lost Tree Village Corp. v. United States

<> Lost Tree Village Corp. v. United States - 6/1/15. In the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Case No. 14-5093. The Appeals Court agreed with the trial court that the Army Corps of Engineers denial of an application under the Clean Water Act diminished a development value by 99.4% and constituted a per se taking and awarded Lost Tree $4,217,887.93 to the developer.