Tag Archives: “economic benefit of noncompliance”

5th Circuit Vacates Verdict for ExxonMobil in CAA Citizen Suit: Still Not Much of a Win for the Plaintiffs

Last Friday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a District Court decision which had refused to impose penalties on ExxonMobil for various violations of the Clean Air Act at ExxonMobil’s Baytown refinery.  baytown-night-lights_supporting_image (1)While the trade press has focused on the remand, I think that this is largely a win for ExxonMobil and, on balance, helpful to the regulated community.  Here’s why:

  • The Court agreed that “deviation reports”,…
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Courts Must Determine The Economic Benefit Of Noncompliance In Assessing CWA Penalties

It is well-known that the “economic benefit of noncompliance” is one of the factors to be evaluated in setting penalties under the Clean Water Act.  Thus, it is not surprising that, after an oil spill at Citgo’s facility in Lake Charles, Louisiana, LakeCharlesHorizontalthe 5th Circuit Court of Appeals was unhappy when the District Court “did not quantify the economic gain to Citgo, finding it virtually impossible to do so given the evidence.”  The 5th Circuit directed the District Court to “consider its analysis of the [penalty] factors afresh after making a reasonable approximately of economic benefit.”… More

Proof and Causation Matter: District Court Declines to Penalize ExxonMobil in Texas Citizen Suit

On Wednesday, Judge David Hittner, of the District Court for the Southern District of Texas, in a decision long enough to require two separate pdfs, declined to impose an injunction or penalties (plaintiffs sought $642,697,500) against ExxonMobil in a Clean Air Act citizens’ suit brought by Environment Texas and the Sierra Club concerning the ExxonMobil facility in Baytown, Texas. baytown-night-lights_supporting_image (1) The plaintiffs lost even though Judge Hittner did find a number of violations of the CAA. … More