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Energy
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November 12, 2024
Trump Pick To Lead EPA Is Loyal, Would Learn On The Job
President-elect Donald Trump prioritized loyalty and a demonstrated ability to carry out his priorities with his announcement that he intends to nominate a former congressman from New York state to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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November 12, 2024
Deloitte Must Face Certified Class Over Nuclear Audit Reports
A South Carolina federal judge on Tuesday certified a class of SCANA Corp. investors accusing Deloitte of issuing audit reports that misled them about the progress the utility company was making on a $9 billion nuclear energy expansion project that failed.
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November 12, 2024
Split DC Circ. Says White House Can't Issue NEPA Regs
A divided D.C. Circuit determined Tuesday that the White House Council on Environmental Quality lacks the authority to issue legally binding regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act, finding there is no statutory language showing Congress empowered it to do so.
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November 12, 2024
Ex-ComEd Exec Asked If Madigan Hires Truly An 'Exchange'
Defense attorneys got their chance Tuesday to grill an ex-Commonwealth Edison executive who testified the utility hired people who did little to no work at the behest of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, asking if it truly traded those jobs for Madigan's action on ComEd legislation or if the company was just building goodwill with a key decision-maker.
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November 12, 2024
Kentucky Plunges Into 2nd Challenge To Waters Of US Rule
Kentucky has refiled its lawsuit challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rule defining the scope of the federal government's jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act, after the Sixth Circuit found that a federal district judge improperly dismissed the case.
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November 12, 2024
Feds Want Pasadena Claims Tossed In Caltech Pollution Suit
The U.S. government is urging a California federal court to throw out cross-claims from the city of Pasadena in a suit over groundwater contamination from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's work in the mid-20th century, saying the city is wrongly conflating claims against the California Institute of Technology and the government.
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November 12, 2024
EPA Finalizes Waste Emissions Charge For Oil, Gas Facilities
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday issued a final rule implementing a waste emissions charge aimed at slashing methane emissions from high-emitting oil and gas facilities by 1.2 million metric tons through 2035.
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November 12, 2024
Trump's 'Pro-Business' Agenda Could Be A Boon For M&A
President-elect Donald Trump's "pro-business" priorities and an anticipated relaxation of antitrust scrutiny are expected to boost mergers and acquisitions activity, but his tariff plan may have mixed results across sectors — and select deals could be subject to his "unpredictability," attorneys told Law360.
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November 12, 2024
Nuke Discharge Law Doesn't Usurp Feds, NY Says
A New York state law banning discharges of radioactive material into the Hudson River is aimed at protecting the local economy as the Indian Point nuclear power plant is decommissioned and therefore isn't federally preempted, the Empire State told a federal judge Friday.
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November 12, 2024
Navajo Co. Says Paralegal Blocking Return Of Privileged Docs
A Navajo Nation natural resources company is suing a former paralegal in Colorado state court to enforce a settlement requiring the return of confidential documents that she allegedly emailed to herself, accusing the paralegal of "erecting unreasonable roadblocks" to their agreement.
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November 12, 2024
Skadden Adds Former Solar Company General Counsel In DC
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP has hired the former general counsel of solar company Summit Ridge Energy to beef up its energy and infrastructure practice in Washington, D.C., the firm announced on Tuesday.
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November 12, 2024
MVP: Orrick's Teresa Hill
Teresa Hill of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP guided Microsoft Corp. through several major deals aimed at making the computing giant's operations more environmentally friendly, earning her a spot among the Law360 2024 Energy MVPs.
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November 12, 2024
O'Melveny Continues Texas Expansion With McDermott Atty
O'Melveny & Myers LLP has deepened its energy bench with a partner in Houston who came aboard from McDermott Will & Emery LLP, the latest of more than two dozen lateral additions since last year.
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November 12, 2024
Elliott Reveals $5B Honeywell Holding, Calls For Change
Elliott Investment Management LP said Tuesday it has amassed a $5 billion stake in Honeywell International Inc. as the firm pushed the industrial conglomerate to separate itself into two independent companies.
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November 12, 2024
Supreme Court Won't Revive Youth Climate Suit
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will not undo the Ninth Circuit's order allowing the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by youth plaintiffs who accuse the federal government of endangering their futures with policies that exacerbate climate change.
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November 12, 2024
Shell Gets Dutch Climate Emissions Ruling Overturned
A Dutch appeals court has overturned a landmark ruling that ordered Shell to reduce its carbon emissions, finding on Tuesday that there was no "social standard of care" requiring the oil and gas producer to meet legally imposed climate targets.
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November 08, 2024
Trump's Election Swings The Energy Policy Pendulum Again
The reelection of former President Donald Trump means the energy industry faces yet another drastic shift in U.S. policy, continuing a decadelong pattern of regulatory pendulum swings. Here's a rundown of what the energy industry is in for when Trump reenters the White House.
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November 08, 2024
Ga. Judge Sets 2nd Trial Plan For Solar Farm Damages Fight
A Georgia federal judge said he's moving ahead with plans for a second jury to decide how much in damages the owner and developers of Lumpkin Solar Farm owe a neighboring property owner for harms stemming from runoff and some 1,000 cubic yards of sediment that have washed off the site.
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November 08, 2024
ND Wants To Back Feds In Dakota Access Pipeline Row
North Dakota wants to back the federal government in a challenge by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe seeking to block a Texas-based energy company from continuing to operate the Dakota Access Pipeline, arguing a shutdown would undermine the state's interests in oil and gas regulation activity.
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November 08, 2024
Kentucky Utility Asks High Court To Stay EPA Coal Ash Rule
A Kentucky electric utility called on the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rule strengthening federal regulations requiring safe management of coal ash dumped at operating and retired power plants, while it appeals the D.C. Circuit's refusal to block the rule.
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November 08, 2024
Landowners Ink $6.5M Deal To Cap Inactive Gas Wells
A group of landowners is asking a West Virginia federal court to approve a proposed settlement that would have Diversified Energy Co. more than quadruple its commitment to plugging inactive gas wells that it obtained from EQT Corp., meaning that it will cap off at least 2,600 wells in West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Tennessee by 2035.
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November 08, 2024
White & Case Adds Life Sciences IP Atty From A&O Shearman
A veteran life sciences patent litigator has jumped from Allen Overy Shearman Sterling to White & Case LLP in New York, expanding the firm’s capabilities to represent medical and pharmaceutical industry clients in complex litigation.
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November 08, 2024
Experienced Dealmakers Lead 3 SPACs Raising $365M Total
Three special purpose acquisition companies began trading Friday after pricing initial public offerings that raised $365 million combined under guidance from four law firms, marking the latest sign that more SPACs, particularly those with prior deals under their belts, are willing to test an improving market.
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November 08, 2024
Chancery Rejects $2.4M Fee Request In 'Poison Pill' Case
Cautioning that class attorneys in virtual lookalike settlements shouldn't expect to match big, early fee awards, a Delaware vice chancellor on Friday approved a $300,000 attorney fee — downsized from a $2.4 million request — for those who secured a company agreement to scuttle an overreaching shareholder rights "poison pill."
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November 08, 2024
Judge Will Give Solar Co. $3M Interim Lifeline In Ch. 11
A Delaware bankruptcy judge said Friday she will grant Oya Renewables, a solar energy producer with offices in Boston and Toronto, interim access to $3 million in postpetition funding on offer from its Chapter 11 stalking horse bidder once some final modifications are made.
Expert Analysis
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Navigating The New Rise Of Greenwashing Litigation
As greenwashing lawsuits continue to gain momentum with a shift in focus to carbon-neutrality claims, businesses must exercise caution and ensure transparency in their environmental marketing practices, taking cues from recent legal challenges in the airline industry, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.
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In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State
On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.
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How High Court Approached Time Limit On Reg Challenges
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve Board effectively gives new entities their own personal statute of limitations to challenge rules and regulations, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh's concurrence may portend the court's view that those entities do not need to be directly regulated, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.
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First-Of-Its-Kind Chancery Ruling Will Aid SPAC Defendants
The Delaware Chancery Court's first full dismissal of claims challenging a special purpose acquisition company transaction under the entire fairness doctrine in the recent Hennessy Capital Acquisition Stockholder Litigation establishes useful precedent to abate the flood of SPAC litigation, say Lisa Bugni and Benjamin Lee at King & Spalding.
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Expect The Unexpected: Contracts For Underground Projects
Recent challenges encountered by the Mountain Valley Pipeline project underscore the importance of drafting contracts for underground construction to account for unexpected site conditions, associated risks and compliance with applicable laws, say Jill Jaffe and Brenda Lin at Nossaman.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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Series
Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.
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Opinion
Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.
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3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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After Chevron
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 37 different rulemaking and litigation areas.
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Series
After Chevron: Expect Few Changes In ITC Rulemaking
The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion overruling the Chevron doctrine will have less impact on the U.S. International Trade Commission than other agencies administering trade statutes, given that the commission exercises its congressionally granted authority in a manner that allows for consistent decision making at both agency and judicial levels, say attorneys at Polsinelli.
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Opinion
Reform NEPA To Speed Mining Permits, Clean Energy Shift
It is essential to balance responsible regulatory oversight with permit approvals for mining projects that are needed for the transition to renewable energy — and with the National Environmental Policy Act being one of the leading causes of permit delays, reform is urgently needed, say Ana Maria Gutierrez and Michael Miller at Womble Bond.
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Opinion
Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem
The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.
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A Case Study For Calif. Cities In Water Utility Takeovers
With growing water scarcity and drier weather looming, some local governments in California have sought to acquire investor-owned water utilities by eminent domain — but the 2016 case of Claremont v. Golden State Water is a reminder that such municipalization attempts must meet certain statutory requirements, say attorneys at Nossaman.
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Series
Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer
The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.