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In United States v. Brigham Oil & Gas, L.P., the United States District Court of North Dakota refused to adopt an expansive interpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBT A) and held that oil and gas companies' use of reserve pits, which resulted in the deaths of numerous protected birds, did not fall under the prohibitions of the MBT A. The court expressly found "take," within the context of the statutory language of the MBT A, refers to conduct directed at birds, such as hunting and poaching, not acts or omissions having the incidental or unintended effect of causing bird deaths. As a result, oil development and production activities, which incidentally kill protected birds, do not fall under the MBTA's prohibitions. Although this decision does not constitute new case law regarding the applicability of the MBT A, it is significant because it expands the holding of existing Eighth Circuit precedent to exclude commercial activity by oil and gas producers from the prohibitions of the MBTA. The decision also contributes to the disagreement among the circuit courts regarding the proper scope of the MBT A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information regarding various contributions and personality of the late Judge Ronald N. Davies during his tenure as a judge at the North Dakota District Court. It discusses several court cases of the U.S. related to Davies' career including Aaron v. Cooper, Stromsodt v. Parke-Davis & Co., and Merchant National Bank & Trust Co. v. United States. Also discusses brief information regarding the case related to the Little Rock School District.

Abstract: This case note article examines the unreported decision of a U.S. court in Sierra Corporate Design Inc. v. David Ritz (2007) District Court, County of Cass, State of North Dakota (File No. op-05-C-01660) which deals with the unauthorised use of a domain name system zone transfer. The court ruled that access was unauthorized given the defendant''s intention to obtain and divulge information found in the zone transfer. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]