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September 09, 2024
Sentencing Of Ex-Ecuador Official Delayed By Late Gov't Filing
A frustrated Florida federal judge on Monday pushed back the sentencing of Ecuador's ex-comptroller — who was convicted of laundering more than $12 million in bribes — after admonishing the government for an "inexplicably and undeniably late" forfeiture motion filed at 4 p.m. Friday.
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September 09, 2024
Investment Firm Can't Fell Timber Co.'s Carbon Offset Suit
The North Carolina Business Court has trimmed a timber company's lawsuit accusing a forestland investment firm of overstating land's carbon offset value in a sale, but let most of the claims escape being felled, reasoning that the timber company's complaint alleged plausible accusations of contract violations.
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September 09, 2024
5th Circ. Lets BP Keep Deepwater Horizon Cleanup Suit Win
The Fifth Circuit won't upend BP's win in a suit by a boat captain alleging he was injured while helping with the cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, finding the trial court rightly excluded his expert for failing to prove that exposure to the chemicals could have caused his claimed injuries.
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September 09, 2024
Red States, Industry Look To Sink EPA Vehicle Emissions Rule
The federal government's rule requiring reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from cars, trucks and vans must be squashed because it favors electric vehicles in a way only Congress can do, 26 red states and a coalition of business groups have told the D.C. Circuit.
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September 09, 2024
FERC Botched Tenn. Pipeline Approval, Enviro Orgs Tell DC Circ.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission relied on a botched climate change analysis to unlawfully approve a Tennessee pipeline project that will serve a Tennessee Valley Authority gas-fired power plant that is set to replace a coal-fired plant, environmentalists told the D.C. Circuit.
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September 09, 2024
Ohio Train Derailment Plaintiffs Seek Final OK Of $600M Deal
Residents and others affected by the Norfolk Southern train derailment and toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, last year are asking an Ohio federal court for final approval of a $600 million settlement, including a $162 million payout for their attorneys.
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September 09, 2024
Zeta MDL Judge Limits Talk Of Arnold & Itkin Billing 'Scheme'
A Harris County judge said on Monday she would limit what questions a drilling rig owner could ask witnesses about where they received medical care during an upcoming trial amid allegations that attorneys for seamen injured while on the ship during Hurricane Zeta engaged in a scheme to inflate medical bills.
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September 09, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Delaware's Court of Chancery made some expensive decisions last week, ranging from a $130 million stockholder award and a freeze on $450 million in equity financing to a whopping $1 billion bill for fraud and breach of contract damages. New cases aimed at Virgin Galactic, settlements pulled in Hemisphere Media Group Inc. and court hearings involving Apollo Global Management heated up. In case you missed it, here's the roundup of news from Delaware's Court of Chancery.
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September 09, 2024
Federal Law Preempts Standby Shift Claims, Oil Co. Says
Oil refinery workers' claims that they didn't receive compensation for their 12-hour standby shifts require an interpretation of the collective bargaining agreements and the Labor Management Relations Act preempts the claims, a company told a California federal court.
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September 09, 2024
EU Should Loosen Merger Rules To Compete, Report Says
The European Union should loosen its merger rules and reform trade policy and the energy market in order to boost EU competitiveness enough to catch up with the U.S. and China, a former European Central Bank president reported Monday.
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September 09, 2024
EPA Enforcement Alert Issued For Illegal HFC Imports
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it is cracking down on illegal imports of hydrofluorocarbons, potent greenhouse gases that are used in refrigeration and air-conditioning and slated to be phased down.
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September 06, 2024
Texas Biz Court Will Be A Brave New World For Energy Cos.
Energy companies gained a new forum to hash out their legal fights Sept. 1 when the Texas business court recently started hearing cases, but questions about the court and how it'll operate might give companies pause before they take the plunge. Here's what energy companies and energy attorneys should know as the new court gets up and running.
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September 06, 2024
Ex-CEO Of Defunct Solar Co. Seeks Sanctions In Fraud Suit
The former CEO of a bankrupt solar energy firm filed a motion for sanctions Friday in Michigan federal court, alleging the plaintiffs' counsel misrepresented the ex-CEO's inability to produce information during a discovery meeting regarding claims he defrauded customers by selling faulty solar systems.
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September 06, 2024
2nd Circ. Won't Revive Solar Cos.' National Grid Tax Suit
The Second Circuit declined to revive one of two proposed class actions brought by solar companies against National Grid alleging it illegally charged them for taxes in an effort to dampen competition from renewables, finding on Friday that the district court properly determined it lacked subject matter jurisdiction.
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September 06, 2024
Ex-Conn. Utility Execs Can't Shake Convictions At 2nd Circ.
The Second Circuit issued a mammoth 140-page decision Friday upholding punishments including a $748,000 restitution order for three former executives convicted of stealing from a Connecticut utility cooperative, but the court threw out the utility's bid for a $9.6 million reimbursement for fronting the defendants' attorney fees.
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September 06, 2024
EPA Updates Public Engagement Plan For 1st Time In 20 Years
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is beefing up its public engagement policy to better communicate with community members, Native American tribes, businesses, trade groups and other parties with a stake in the EPA's programs and regulations.
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September 06, 2024
DC Circ. Could Revive Energy Co.'s $1.1B Angola Suit
The D.C. Circuit appeared open on Friday to reviving an energy company's lawsuit against Angola over $1.1 billion worth of nixed power plant contracts, as a three-judge panel considered during a hearing whether Aenergy SA could collect any potential damages in Angola.
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September 06, 2024
SEC Fraud Suit Against Battery Co. Survives Dismissal Bid
A California federal judge has rejected battery developer NDB Inc.'s motion to dismiss a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission suit alleging the company and its CEO misled investors about the prospects of so-called nano-diamond battery technology, saying the SEC sufficiently pled that the defendants were the "maker" of statements that were materially misleading to investors.
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September 06, 2024
ITC Judge Partially Clears Voltage Of Infringing Solar Patent
North Carolina solar provider Voltage LLC's imports of a "trunk bus" power transmission system infringe a patent owned by Tennessee-based competitor Shoals Technologies Group Inc., but a revised design of the product does not, an administrative law judge of the U.S. International Trade Commission has found.
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September 06, 2024
Cleveland-Cliffs Faces Trial Over Mining Co.'s Antitrust Claims
A Delaware bankruptcy court has partially allowed claims accusing steelmaking giant Cleveland-Cliffs of engaging in anticompetitive behavior that harmed a mining venture's efforts to complete an iron mine and ore plant in northern Minnesota to go to trial by a jury in federal court.
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September 06, 2024
US Steel Cos., Workers Seek New Tariffs On Foreign Steel
Domestic steel companies and a labor union are seeking additional antidumping and countervailing duties on corrosion-resistant steel imports, telling U.S. trade officials that overseas producers used unfair trade practices to gain an edge in the U.S. market.
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September 06, 2024
Enviro Groups Challenge FERC Approval Of La. LNG Terminal
Environmental groups and fishermen have called on the D.C. Circuit to slash the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's approval of a massive liquefied natural gas export terminal in Louisiana, saying the move violates federal law and illustrates the agency's "failure to consider and approve projects that are truly in the public interest."
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September 06, 2024
Colo. Counties Sue State Over $25M Mining Tax Fund Transfer
Seven Colorado counties filed a lawsuit in Denver District Court on Thursday against the state over legislation transferring $25 million in revenue generated by a tax on mineral extraction, wiping out a fund on which the counties "have come to heavily rely" and warning of severe consequences for their communities.
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September 06, 2024
Judge Barnard Says It's 'About Time' For Texas Biz Court
Law360 recently talked with Judge Marialyn Barnard, who transitioned this month from the 73rd District Court to Texas Business Court, about the newly created court.
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September 06, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen Rockfire Capital sue its former director, Liam Kavanagh, after he was accused of cheating cash-strapped Thurrock Council out of £150 million ($197 million), FedEx launch a claim against an Israeli supply chain business, and a legal dispute between steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta and a former colleague. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
Expert Analysis
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Assessing The Energy Act 2023, Eight Months On
Although much of the detail required to fully implement the Energy Act 2023 remains to be finalized, the scale of change in the energy sector is unprecedented, and with the U.K. prioritizing achieving net-zero, it is likely that developments will continue at pace, say lawyers at Paul Hastings.
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Navigating New Safe Harbor For Domestic Content Tax Credits
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s recent notice simplifying domestic content calculations for certain solar, onshore wind and battery storage projects, which directly acknowledges the difficulty for taxpayers in gathering data to support a domestic content analysis, should make it easier to qualify additional domestic content bonus tax credits, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.
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Emerging Trends In ESG-Focused Securities Litigation
Based on a combination of shareholder pressure, increasing regulatory scrutiny and proposed rulemaking, there has been a proliferation of litigation over public company disclosures and actions regarding environmental, social, and governance factors — and the overall volume of such class actions will likely increase in the coming years, say attorneys at Mintz.
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Firms Must Rethink How They Train New Lawyers In AI Age
As law firms begin to use generative artificial intelligence to complete lower-level legal tasks, they’ll need to consider new ways to train summer associates and early-career attorneys, keeping in mind the five stages of skill acquisition, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.
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What Alternative Fuel Proposals Mean For EU Infrastructure
The European Union’s proposed Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility, covering activities in the transport sectors supporting the decarbonization process, sets ambitious standards regarding the deployment of adequate supply infrastructure and offers new funding opportunities for port operators and shipowners, says Christian Bauer at Watson Farley.
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Cyber Takeaways For Cos. From Verizon Data Breach Report
Camilo Artiga-Purcell at Kiteworks analyzes the key findings of the 2024 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report from a legal perspective, examining the implications for organizations' cybersecurity strategies and compliance efforts.
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'Energy Communities' Update May Clarify Tax Credit Eligibility
A recent IRS notice that includes updated lists of locations where clean energy projects can qualify for additional tax credits — based 2023 unemployment data and placed-in-service dates — should help provide clarity regarding project eligibility that sponsors and developers need, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Always Be Closing
When a lawyer presents their case with the right propulsive structure throughout trial, there is little need for further argument after the close of evidence — and in fact, rehashing it all may test jurors’ patience — so attorneys should consider other strategies for closing arguments, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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How A Bumblebee Got Under Calif. Wildlife Regulator's Bonnet
A California bumblebee's listing as an endangered species could lead to a regulatory quagmire as California Department of Fish and Wildlife permits now routinely include survey requirements for the bee, but the regulator has yet to determine what the species needs for conservation, says David Smith at Manatt.
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Wiretap Use In Cartel Probes Likely To Remain An Exception
Although the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division has recently signaled interest in wiretaps, the use of this technology to capture evidence of antitrust conspiracies and pursue monopolization as a criminal matter has been rare historically, and is likely to remain so, say Carsten Reichel and Will Conway at DLA Piper.
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Series
Playing Chess Makes Me A Better Lawyer
There are many ways that chess skills translate directly into lawyer skills, but for me, the bigger career lessons go beyond the direct parallels — playing chess has shown me the value of seeing gradual improvement in and focusing deep concentration on a nonwork endeavor, says attorney Steven Fink.
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State Procurement Could Be Key For Calif. Offshore Wind
A recent ruling from the California Public Utilities Commission highlights how the state's centralized electricity procurement mechanism could play a critical role in the development of long lead-time resources — in particular, offshore wind — by providing market assurance to developers and reducing utilities' procurement risks, say attorneys at Wilson Sonsini.
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Patent Lessons From 7 Federal Circuit Reversals In May
A look at recent cases where the Federal Circuit reversed or vacated decisions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board or a federal district court provide guidance on how to succeed on appeal by clarifying the obviousness analysis of design patents, the finality of a judgment, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.
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Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians
Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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A Deep Dive Into The Evolving World Of ESG Ratings
Attorneys at Mintz discuss the salience of environmental, social and governance ratings in corporate circles in recent years, and consider certain methodologies underlying their calculation for professionals, as well as issues concerning the ESG ratings and products themselves.