Managing the Environmental Regulations and Safety
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law is a body of rules and procedures designed to govern and protect
persons and properties. It originated in the customs and practices of the
Anglo-Saxon people of England. These practices and traditions evolved
into a set of laws affirmed by the courts through judicial decisions.
Common law is flexible and adapts to change. It is sometimes referred
to as "court-made law" or "case law," but it is just as real as any law
passed by the United States Congress or any other legislative body.
Since state court systems operate independently and are subject to federal
review only on constitutional issues and in certain prescribed situations,
the common law may
differ in its interpretation from state to state. If a
person is involved in litigation under the common law, he should
obviously retain an attorney familiar with common law practices in that
state. There is also a federal common law, though this is invoked much
less frequently. Some states have codified parts of the common law,
making it very important to seek the advice of an attorney familiar with
the laws of the jurisdiction where one is involved. Statutory law is the
result of enactments by a legislative body, and it forms the basic part of
the jurisprudence of most of the states.
The class of common law actions encountered in environmental cases
is called
Tort
Law. Torts are civil actions as distinguished from criminal
procedures, though in
some cases there can be both civil and criminal
causes of action deriving from the same set of circumstances. A tort is
a civil wrong that does not arise from a specific and explicit agreement
between parties such as in a contract, but from a generalized duty of any
citizen to avoid harming his neighbor. Court actions can arise from
injury or damage to property and from injury to a person including not
only his body, but also his reputation or sensibilities.
Violations of these private rights can be
abated by award of monetary
damages or injunctive relief. Monetary damages can be actual, punitive
or exemplary. An injunction is an order of the court to do or refrain
from doing a certain act. Injunctions can be temporary or permanent.
Generally, temporary injections are issued to provide time for a case to
be litigated. Permanent injunctions are intended to provide permanent
relief, and are normally issued as the outcome of a trial. Courts have
great flexibility in determining whether to issue injunctions, but they
generally follow certain rules. First, does the plaintiff appear to have a
complaint that would prevail when and if the case came to trial? Second,
is the alleged injury of such a nature to be irreparable and especially to
be incapable of abatement by later award of monetary damages? Third,
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