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Energy
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December 10, 2024
Feds Tell Justices To Stay Out Of Climate Change Tort Fights
U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar on Tuesday urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to weigh in on climate change torts filed against fossil fuel companies, arguing in a pair of briefs that the state court cases aren't the correct vehicles for resolving the issues, at least not yet.
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December 10, 2024
BNP Paribas Seeks High Court Appeal In Sudan Refugee Case
BNP Paribas has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify the standard for permitting immediate appeals of class certifications, arguing the Second Circuit was wrong to deny it such review in a class action accusing the bank of enabling human rights abuses in Sudan.
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December 10, 2024
Wash. Woman Accused Of Smuggling Oil, Gas Parts To Russia
A Washington-based regional manager of a freight forwarding company is accused of helping Russians evade U.S. export controls and sanctions issued after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine by illegally shipping industrial oil and gas equipment to Russia through intermediary countries like China, New York federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.
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December 10, 2024
Feds Propose Enviro Protections For Monarch Butterfly
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a proposed rule on Tuesday that would list the monarch butterfly as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act and designate 4,395 acres of critical habitat in coastal California.
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December 10, 2024
Kid Climate Activists Ask Justices To Save Twice-Nixed Case
Youth plaintiffs have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revive their climate change lawsuit against the federal government but said the court should decide a key death penalty case first that involves a similar constitutional question.
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December 10, 2024
Venezuela Oil Cos. Say $23M Suit Wasn't Properly Served
Two Venezuelan oil companies urged the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday to undo a $23 million judgment for a Florida-based chemical distributor, arguing neither company was properly served the summons and complaint.
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December 10, 2024
Ga. Justices Say Courts To Decide Whether Utilities Are Taxes
A Georgia trial court wrongly decided it could not judge whether a county's utility rates are a backdoor tax on property owners, the state's highest court said Tuesday, ruling that a restriction on the state Legislature's power to "regulate or fix" rates doesn't bar review by the judicial branch.
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December 10, 2024
Utah Counties' Narrow NEPA Test Meets High Court Critics
Utah counties looking to narrow courts' ability to review federal agencies' environmental analyses of proposed projects hit roadblocks Tuesday from skeptical U.S. Supreme Court justices and the U.S. Department of Justice, who said the proposed limits go too far.
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December 10, 2024
Judge Says Indiana Grid Project Law Is Discriminatory
An Indiana federal judge has blocked the state's right of first refusal law granting Indiana-based utilities the first attempt at securing new transmission project contracts in the state, saying the law discriminates against out-of-state economic interests.
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December 10, 2024
Insurer QBE Settles Suit Over Failed $18M Wind Support Deal
Belgium-based insurer QBE Europe has settled a lawsuit accusing it of wasting available policy limits on pointless litigation rather than make a reasonable offer in a separate $18 million dispute over a failed wind support vessel deal, according to a Tuesday filing.
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December 10, 2024
Google, TPG To Help Steer $20B Clean Energy Investment
Google and an arm of private equity shop TPG that is focused on solutions to combat climate change revealed plans to partner with clean energy company Intersect Power to invest $20 billion in renewable power infrastructure by the end of the decade, with an initial plug of $800 million announced on Tuesday.
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December 10, 2024
Ex-Conn. Utility Execs Win Pretrial Diversion Bid In 2nd Case
A Connecticut federal judge has approved pretrial diversion agreements between federal prosecutors and two former public utility executives, pausing a second prosecution as the duo prepare to serve prison sentences in a case alleging they misused public funds.
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December 10, 2024
Stellantis, CATL Invest Up To €4.1B For Battery Plant In Spain
Automaker Stellantis announced Tuesday that it has formed a joint venture with Chinese battery maker CATL that sees the two investing up to €4.1 billion ($4.3 billion) to help build a large-scale European lithium iron phosphate battery plant in Spain.
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December 10, 2024
Eversource Charges 'Junk Fee' To Restore Service, Suit Says
Utility company Eversource's $102 charge to restore service after a shutoff for nonpayment is a "junk fee" that exploits customers who can least afford it, a proposed class action filed in Massachusetts says.
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December 09, 2024
Petrobras Calls On Justices To Review Samsung RICO Suit
The American subsidiary of Brazil's state-owned oil company called on the U.S. Supreme Court to unravel the Fifth Circuit's decision blocking its racketeering claim against Samsung Heavy Industries over an alleged $1.6 billion bribery scheme involving drillship contracts.
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December 09, 2024
Kellogg Retirees Say DOL's Brief Backs 6th Circ. Revival
A proposed class of married Kellogg retirees alleging their pension annuity payouts were lowballed by the cereal company due to outdated mortality assumptions used in conversions is urging the Sixth Circuit to heed a recently filed brief from the U.S. Department of Labor backing workers seeking to revive a similar dispute in the Eleventh Circuit.
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December 09, 2024
EV Carmaker Lucid Wants To Shed More Of Inflated Biz Suit
Electric carmaker Lucid Group has asked a California federal judge to toss most of the latest version of a proposed investor class action alleging its production forecasts were misleading, arguing that parts of the suit that remained intact after a recent dismissal order involved statements taken out of context.
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December 09, 2024
Mexico Found Liable For Axing Oil Drilling Contract
An International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes tribunal has found that Mexico breached the North American Free Trade Agreement when a Mexican administrative court confirmed the termination of an oil drilling contract between the country's state-owned energy firm and Texas-based investors.
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December 09, 2024
DC Circ. Unsure Of Wading Into FERC Grid Plan Fight
D.C. Circuit judges appeared reluctant on Monday to entertain the legality of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's 2023 rejection of a grid operator's plan to manage certain transmission project costs, given that the agency later approved related projects in May.
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December 09, 2024
Xcel Can't Hide Evidence In Marshall Fire Suit, Attys Say
Attorneys representing more than 4,000 individuals suing Xcel Energy over a 2021 Colorado wildfire demand the utility release thousands of documents regarding the location of a power line that allegedly caused an ignition, claiming the information is being improperly withheld despite how critical it is to the case.
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December 09, 2024
BNSF Asks 9th Circ. To Upend Tribe's $400M Trespass Win
BNSF Railway Co. has argued the Ninth Circuit should reverse a lower court's finding that the company owes a Washington tribe nearly $400 million for years of illegally running oil cars across tribal territory, saying the "massive penalty" is excessive because it strips away lawfully earned profits.
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December 09, 2024
Ill. Congresswoman Denies Undue Influence From Madigan
U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski was called to the witness stand Monday in the racketeering trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, where she testified that while she received multiple job recommendations from Madigan as a former senior aide to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, those candidates were only hired if they were qualified.
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December 09, 2024
Beveridge & Diamond Picks Up Longtime DOJ Enviro Litigator
Beveridge & Diamond PC has hired the former chief of the law and policy section at the U.S. Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division, who is bringing his more-than 26-year government experience in environmental law to the D.C. team, the firm announced Friday.
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December 09, 2024
Justices Spurn Worker's Challenge To 'Honest Belief' Firing
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review a Fourth Circuit decision holding that a Baltimore utility's "honest belief" that a worker was misusing medical leave justified the employee's termination, according to high court orders released Monday.
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December 07, 2024
Up Next: Environmental Reviews, Wire Fraud & TM Awards
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear its final set of oral arguments for the 2024 calendar year starting Monday, including disputes over the proper scope of federal environmental reviews and whether corporate affiliates can be ordered to pay disgorgement awards in trademark infringement disputes.
Expert Analysis
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With Esmark Case, SEC Returns Focus To Tender Offer Rules
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent enforcement action against Esmark in connection with its failed bid to acquire U.S. Steel indicates the SEC's renewed attention under Rule 14e‑8 of the Exchange Act on offerors' financial resources as a measure of the veracity of their tender offer communications, say attorneys at MoFo.
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Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Spain Faces Award Enforcement
Spain's loss in its Australian court case against Infrastructure Services Luxembourg underlines the resilience of international arbitration enforcement mechanisms, with implications extending far beyond this case, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.
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6th Circ. Preemption Ruling Adds Uncertainty For Car Cos.
Automakers and their suppliers need uniformity under the law to create sufficient scale and viable markets — but the Sixth Circuit's recent decision in Fenner v. General Motors creates more uncertainty around the question of when state law consumer claims related to violations of federal vehicle emissions and fuel economy standards are preempted, say attorneys at Sidley.
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State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape
Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.
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Review Shipping Terms In Light Of These 3 Global Challenges
Given tensions in the Middle East, labor unrest at U.S. ports and the ongoing consequences of climate change, parties involved in maritime shipping must understand the relevant contract provisions and laws that may be implicated during supply chain disruptions in order to mitigate risks, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Cos. Face Increasing Risk From Environmental Citizen Suits
Environmental citizen suits stepping in to fill the regulatory vacuum concerning consumer goods waste may soon become more common, and the evolving procedural landscape and changes to environmental law may contribute to companies' increased exposure, say J. Michael Showalter and Bradley Rochlen at ArentFox Schiff.
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8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney
A new school year is underway, marking a fitting time for attorneys to reflect on some fundamental life lessons from early childhood that offer a framework for problems that no legal textbook can solve, say Chris Gismondi and Chris Campbell at DLA Piper.
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Navigating Complex Regulatory Terrain Amid State AG Races
This year's 10 attorney general elections could usher in a wave of new enforcement priorities and regulatory uncertainty, but companies can stay ahead of the shifts by building strong relationships with AG offices, participating in industry coalitions and more, say Ketan Bhirud and Dustin McDaniel at Cozen O’Connor.
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How The 2025 Tax Policy Debate Will Affect The Energy Sector
Regardless of the outcome of the upcoming U.S. election, 2025 will bring a major tax policy debate that could affect the energy sector more than any other part of the economy — so stakeholders who could be affected should be engaging now to make sure they understand the stakes, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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3rd Circ. Hertz Ruling Highlights Flawed Bankruptcy Theory
The Third Circuit, in its recent Hertz bankruptcy decision, became the latest appeals court to hold that noteholders were entitled to interest before shareholders under the absolute priority rule, but risked going astray by invoking the flawed theory of code impairment, say Matthew McGill and David Casazza at Gibson Dunn.
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Opinion
This Election, We Need To Talk About Court Process
In recent decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has markedly transformed judicial processes — from summary judgment standards to notice pleadings — which has, in turn, affected individuals’ substantive rights, and we need to consider how the upcoming presidential election may continue this pattern, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Int'l Agreements Are Key For Safe Nuclear Waste Disposal
By replacing fossil fuels, nuclear energy has the potential to offer a major contribution to the global fight against climate change — but ensuring that nuclear power is safe and sustainable will require binding, multinational agreements for safe nuclear waste disposal, say Ryan Schermerhorn and Christopher Zahn at Marshall Gerstein.
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Series
Playing Diplomacy Makes Us Better Lawyers
Similar to the practice of law, the rules of Diplomacy — a strategic board game set in pre-World War I Europe — are neither concise nor without ambiguity, and weekly gameplay with our colleagues has revealed the game's practical applications to our work as attorneys, say Jason Osborn and Ben Bevilacqua at Winston & Strawn.
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Applying High Court's Domestic Corruption Rulings To FCPA
After the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the domestic corruption statutes in three decisions over the past year and a half, it’s worth evaluating whether these rulings may have an impact on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement, and if attorneys can use the court’s reasoning in international bribery cases, says James Koukios at MoFo.
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How Multifamily Property Owners Can Plan For The EV Future
As the electric vehicle market expands, and federal and state incentives and mandates intended to promote EV use come into effect, owners and operators of multifamily residential properties should be prepared to meet the growing demand for onsite EV charging infrastructure, say Sydney Tucker and Andreas Wokutch at Frost Brown.