Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Energy
-
July 18, 2024
State Of 2024 Energy Dealmaking: Midyear Report
Energy dealmaking in the first half of 2024 has, in many ways, picked up where 2023 left off, but companies also increasingly have an eye on the U.S. presidential election this fall that could bring drastic change to the landscape. Here are some transactional trends that have stood out to energy attorneys so far this year.
-
July 18, 2024
Term Extension For Ga. Utility Commish Unlawful, Suit Says
Georgia's Secretary of State was hit with a lawsuit Tuesday from a voter and two advocacy groups challenging a recent law that extended the terms of the state's utility regulatory commission while their elections were suspended by voting rights litigation.
-
July 18, 2024
6th Circ. Looks To Wash Hands Of Waters Of US Appeal
An exasperated Sixth Circuit panel on Thursday looked for an easy way to dispatch Kentucky and industry groups' appeal of the dismissal of their challenges to a federal government rule defining the scope of the Clean Water Act.
-
July 18, 2024
Refiner, Distributor To Pay $1M Fine In EPA Biofuel Case
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday that it has slapped an Arizona-based petroleum products company and its affiliate with a more than $1 million civil penalty for violations of the Clean Air Act's conventional and renewable fuel requirements.
-
July 18, 2024
Consumers Hit CenterPoint With 2nd Class Action Over Beryl
CenterPoint Energy Inc. has been hit with a second proposed class action over widespread power outages in the Houston area following Hurricane Beryl, this time from consumers in the Houston-Galveston area who were impacted by the storm.
-
July 18, 2024
Blank Rome Adds Reed Smith Trio In Houston, Pittsburgh
A team of three former Reed Smith attorneys specializing in financial transactions in the energy sector have recently moved their practices to Blank Rome LLP's Houston and Pittsburgh offices.
-
July 18, 2024
Another Enphase Investor Suit Claims Execs Hid Slow Growth
Enphase Energy's top brass has been slapped with another shareholder complaint in California federal court, alleging they misrepresented the energy technology company's financial outlook by concealing a decrease in battery shipments and slower manufacturing outputs, which artificially inflated its stock price.
-
July 18, 2024
Judge With Lake Property Exits $217M Dam Repair Tax Suit
A Michigan federal judge said he would step aside in a fight over a $217 million tax assessment to fund dam reconstruction because he's part of the assessment district, though he warned that hundreds of plaintiffs could have their own conflicts.
-
July 18, 2024
King & Spalding Guides Quanta's $1.5B Cupertino Buy
Houston-based Quanta Services Inc. said Thursday it has acquired fellow energy infrastructure provider Cupertino Electric Inc. for up to $1.54 billion, with King & Spalding LLP and Fenwick & West LLP providing legal counsel on the deal, respectively.
-
July 18, 2024
Ga. Mineral Co. Can't Nab Win In Row Over Talc Suit Coverage
A Georgia federal judge declined to grant a win to a mineral products company trying to compel a Travelers unit to defend it against an underlying suit claiming that it supplied asbestos-containing talc products.
-
July 17, 2024
EPA Disputes High Court Link To Texas Clean Air Act Case
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency argued that the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling blocking a federal plan to reduce cross-state pollution does not impact the EPA's decision to reject state plans submitted by Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
-
July 17, 2024
PJM Jumps Into 3rd Circ. Row Over Transmission Project
A Pennsylvania commission's request to have the Third Circuit reinstate its rejection of a power transmission project would impinge on PJM Interconnection's federally mandated planning process, the regional grid operator said in an amicus brief filed Wednesday.
-
July 17, 2024
Lawmakers Say Bid To Toss Monument Suit Is A 'Red Herring'
The Arizona Legislature is fighting a bid by the Biden administration to dismiss a challenge to a presidential proclamation that established an Indigenous site as a national monument in the Grand Canyon region, arguing that the state's constitution gives the lawmakers power over state trust lands.
-
July 17, 2024
DOE Says Challenge Of $1.1B Diablo Canyon Award Must Fail
The U.S. Department of Energy is urging a California federal judge to throw out a suit challenging its award of $1.1 billion of credits to help Pacific Gas & Electric Co. keep two generation units running for now at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.
-
July 17, 2024
6th Circ. To Review 2 Standards In FirstEnergy's Cert. Fight
The Sixth Circuit indicated Wednesday that it would have to examine the applicability of two different class certification standards in a securities suit by FirstEnergy investors, as the company insisted there was no proof its statements influenced stock prices, and that purported omissions didn't factor into the mix.
-
July 17, 2024
Ex-Cognizant Execs Bemoan Access Woes In Bribery Case
Former Cognizant executives accused of authorizing a bribe to a government official in India have told a New Jersey federal court that obstacles to their access to evidence and overseas witnesses undermine their right to a fair trial and could warrant the dismissal of the case.
-
July 17, 2024
PE Firms Plug $300M Into Digital Infrastructure Developer
Digital infrastructure site developer Cloverleaf Infrastructure on Wednesday announced that it has received more than $300 million in commitments from private equity shops NGP, advised by Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP-led Sandbrook Capital.
-
July 17, 2024
Kazakhstan Agrees To End Fight Over $506M Award
A decade-long fight between Kazakhstan and Moldovan oil and gas investors who won a half-billion-dollar arbitral award against the country has come to a close, with the parties inking a binding framework to resolve their dispute.
-
July 17, 2024
SPAC Investor Sues Battery Co. In Del. Over Held-Back Shares
A Florida-based hedge fund that invested in a blank-check company that took battery company Solidion Technology Inc. public has sued for breach of contract in Delaware's Court of Chancery, alleging the company is refusing to issue more than 9.54 million shares of stock that are due under pre-merger agreements.
-
July 16, 2024
Smirnov Wants David Weiss DQ'd After Trump Docs Ruling
Former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov said Monday that a Florida federal judge's order disqualifying the special prosecutor in the Donald Trump classified documents case means special counsel David Weiss should also be disqualified from Smirnov's case, according to a motion filed in California federal court.
-
July 16, 2024
Colombia Ducks Damages In Eco Oro's $700M Mining Claim
An international tribunal has declined to order Colombia to pay damages to a Canadian precious metals company despite its finding three years ago that the country had breached an underlying treaty, issuing an award Monday that appended a scathing criticism of third-party funding in investor-state cases by arbitrator Philippe Sands.
-
July 16, 2024
Tesla Says Chinese Co. Sells 'Dangerous' Charging Adapter
Tesla said on Monday that a Chinese company sells a "dangerous" charging adapter that lets owners of non-Tesla electric vehicles charge at its network, saying in a suit filed in California federal court that the device could injure consumers and damage the power infrastructure.
-
July 16, 2024
Apollo's $1.85B Mining Co. Deal Sparks Del. Suit For Docs
An investor sued a mining and logistics company in Delaware's Court of Chancery seeking documents regarding the firm's $1.85 billion go-private deal with affiliates of asset management giant Apollo, approved Tuesday by the mineral producer's stockholders, asserting that there are credible concerns over pre-transaction communications between its executives and Apollo about their jobs.
-
July 16, 2024
DC Circ. Knocks La. Site FERC Order, Tosses LNG Export Row
Two D.C. Circuit panels on Tuesday ruled the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission inadequately explained a failure to assess the significance of greenhouse gas emissions for proposed liquefied natural gas facilities in Louisiana, dismissing a challenge of approvals allowing a Texas project to send more of its LNG exports to nonfree trade agreement countries.
-
July 16, 2024
Enbridge Seeks 6th Circ. Rehearing In Venue Dispute
Enbridge Energy LP has asked the full Sixth Circuit to rehear an appellate panel's decision to send the company's pipeline dispute with Michigan's attorney general back to state court, arguing that the opinion creates a conflict within the circuit over when the removal clock starts running.
Expert Analysis
-
A Look At M&A Conditions After FTC's Exxon-Pioneer Nod
The Federal Trade Commission's recent consent decree imposing several conditions on Exxon Mobil's acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources helps illustrate key points about the current merger enforcement environment, including the probability of further investigations in the energy and pharmaceutical sectors, say Ryan Quillian and John Kendrick at Covington.
-
Opinion
US Solar Import Probe's Focus On China Is Misguided
The U.S. Department of Commerce's recent anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigation focuses on the apparent Chinese ownership of solar device importers in four Southeast Asian countries — a point that is irrelevant under the controlling statute, says John Anwesen at Lighthill.
-
3 Recent Decisions To Note As Climate Litigation Heats Up
Three recent rulings on climate-related issues — from a New York federal court, a New York state court and an international tribunal, respectively — demonstrate both regulators' concern about climate change and the complexity of conflicting regulations in different jurisdictions, say J. Michael Showalter and Robert Middleton at ArentFox Schiff.
-
Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: May Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four notable circuit court decisions on topics from automobile insurance to securities — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including circuit-specific ascertainability requirements and how to conduct a Daubert analysis prior to class certification.
-
New TSCA Risk Rule Gives EPA Broad Discretion On Science
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent final amendments to its framework for evaluating the risks of chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act give it vast discretion over consideration of scientific information, without objective criteria to guide that discretion, say John McGahren and Debra Carfora at Morgan Lewis.
-
Perspectives
Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
-
Key Insurance Considerations After $725M Benzene Verdict
The recent massive benzene verdict in Gill v. Exxon Mobil will certainly trigger insurance questions — and likely a new wave of benzene suits — so potential defendants should study Radiator Specialty v. Arrowood Indemnity, the only state high court decision regarding benzene claim coverage, says Jonathan Hardin at Perkins Coie.
-
Series
Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.
-
Contractors Must Prep For FAR Council GHG Emissions Rule
With the U.S. Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council expected to finalize its proposed rule on the disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risk this year, government contractors should take key steps now to get ready, say Thomas Daley at DLA Piper, Steven Rothstein at the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets, and John Kostyack at Kostyack Strategies.
-
How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case
The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.
-
Opinion
We Need A Legislative Path To Power Plant Emissions Cuts
With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's newest regulation targeting power plant carbon emissions likely to be overturned by courts or a future administration, it's time for bipartisan legislation to preserve affordable, reliable electricity while substantially decarbonizing the sector by midcentury, say Jeffrey Holmstead at Bracewell and Samuel Thernstrom at the Energy Innovation Reform Project.
-
Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content
From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.
-
2 Oil Trader FCPA Pleas Highlight Fine-Reduction Factors
Recent Foreign Corrupt Practices Act settlements with Gunvor and Trafigura — the latest actions in a yearslong sweep of the commodities trading industry — reveal useful data points related to U.S. Department of Justice policies on cooperation credit and past misconduct, say Michael DeBernardis and Laura Perkins at Hughes Hubbard.
-
Opinion
NEPA Final Rule Unlikely To Speed Clean Energy Projects
A recent final rule from the White House Council on Environmental Quality purports to streamline federal environmental reviews to accelerate the construction of renewable energy infrastructure — but it also expands consideration of climate change and environmental justice, creating vast new opportunities for litigation and delay, says Thomas Prevas at Saul Ewing.
-
Tips For Companies Tapping Into Commercial Cleantech
A recent report from the European Patent Office and European Investment Bank examining the global financing and commercialization of cleantech innovation necessary for the green energy transition can help companies understand and solve the issues in developing and implementing the full potential of cleantech, says Eleanor Maciver at Mewburn Ellis.