Pollution Fear Fails As Basis For Class Action

Landowners near an area where pollution from a pipeline spill, specifically benzene, had been found and remediated sued on the basis of their fear that it could happen to them. A Missouri district court certified their class action but was reversed by the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. This ruling is consistent with holdings in the Fourth and Fifth circuits as well as the supreme courts of several states, according to a post from Mayer Brown, and it “should be useful in limiting the number of potential plaintiffs in environmental litigation.”