By Andrew Chung
April 20 - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday threw out a
lower court ruling that had allowed litigation by Montana
landowners to proceed against BP Plc unit Atlantic
Richfield Co seeking a more extensive cleanup of a hazardous
waste site than the federal government had ordered.
The justices tossed a state court decision that allowed the
claims for restoration damages by the private landowners within
the sprawling site of its former Anaconda copper smelter in
western Montana to proceed to trial. The case involves the
Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund program responsible
for cleaning up certain toxic waste sites.
(Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)