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November 27, 2024
Texas Tells 5th Circ. EPA Botched Ozone Compliance Orders
The state of Texas called on the Fifth Circuit to vacate part of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency action requiring the state to revise its plan addressing "moderate" nonattainment of ground-level ozone standards for the Dallas, Houston and San Antonio areas, in light of the cities' upgrade to "serious" nonattainment.
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November 27, 2024
Arkansas Can't Bring Suit Against Crypto Miner For Now
An Arkansas federal judge has temporarily barred state officials from taking action against a Chinese-born U.S. citizen's crypto mining operation after he challenged the investigation against him and the laws underpinning it as discriminatory and unconstitutional.
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November 27, 2024
Gov't Contracts Of The Month: R&D, Boeing Jets And F-35s
This month, the U.S. Air Force added three companies to an ongoing $33 billion R&D deal, while Boeing scored two military aircraft production contracts and Lockheed Martin shook on it with the Pentagon for hundreds more F-35 fighter jets. These are Law360's most noteworthy government contracts for November 2024.
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November 27, 2024
GOP-Led States Accuse BlackRock Of Driving Up Coal Prices
Texas is leading a coalition of nearly a dozen Republican-led states suing BlackRock Inc. and two other large asset managers for allegedly running an "investment cartel" that takes advantage of their large holdings in publicly traded energy companies to drive up coal prices, a claim that BlackRock has said is "baseless and defies common sense."
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November 27, 2024
Illinois Top Court Will Decide Fate Of $7B Power Line Permit
The Illinois Supreme Court has agreed to review a lower court's decision striking state utility regulators' approval to build part of the $7 billion Grain Belt Express high-voltage transmission line.
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November 27, 2024
Calif. Law Means FERC Must Yank Grid Perk, 9th Circ. Told
California officials and several municipal utilities have backed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's revocation of a grid incentive for Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for voluntarily belonging to a regional transmission organization, telling the Ninth Circuit that FERC is properly following state law.
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November 27, 2024
EPA Mercury Rule Is Fatally Flawed, DC Circ. Told
Republican-led states and fossil fuel industry groups fired back at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent defense of its rule strengthening standards for mercury and other toxic air emissions at power plants, telling the D.C. Circuit the agency misinterpreted the Clean Air Act's pollution reduction goals.
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November 27, 2024
EPA Asks DC Circ. To Keep Emissions Rules In Place
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is defending its strict new emissions limits for cars, trucks and vans against a legal challenge from red states and industry groups, telling the D.C. Circuit that the Clean Air Act grants federal regulators authority over both gas-powered and electric vehicles.
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November 26, 2024
GE Inks $362.5M Settlement In Investors' Stock Fraud Suit
General Electric Co. shareholders asked a Manhattan federal judge to greenlight a $362.5 million settlement resolving long-running litigation on the cusp of trial that alleged the industrial giant's stock price plummeted after it was revealed the company fraudulently concealed cash flow problems.
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November 26, 2024
Bulgarian Co. Says Fight Over $7M Can't Go To Arbitration
A Bulgarian contractor has asked an Illinois federal court not to pause a local bank's litigation seeking to determine the proper owner of $7 million it's holding in escrow related to a dispute over a natural gas construction project, saying a parallel arbitration proceeding is irrelevant.
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November 26, 2024
Utah, Farm Groups Can't Reopen Bears Ears Monument Case
A D.C. federal judge has denied a bid by the state of Utah and two farming groups to lift a more than three-year stay in a challenge to the Bears Ears National Monument, saying that pending independent proceedings weigh upon the case and that there's no evidence of a demonstrated hardship.
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November 26, 2024
BP Spill Worker Loses Bid For Full 5th Circ. Review Of Suit
The full Fifth Circuit won't review a case filed by a Deepwater Horizon oil spill cleanup worker claiming that he was left with a chronic health condition after working on the job.
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November 26, 2024
2nd Circ. Nixes VR Capital Venezuela Fraud Suit
The Second Circuit has refused to revive VR Capital's lawsuit accusing Venezuela's state-owned oil company of fraud in connection with its issuance of some $2 billion in since-defaulted bonds, ruling Tuesday that the asset manager hadn't adequately pled its case.
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November 26, 2024
Tossing Uri Consumers' Claims Stifles 'Growth,' Justice Says
A Texas appellate court justice said Tuesday that a decision by the court finding that power plants owed nothing to consumers for damages resulting from outages during Winter Storm Uri stifles "growth" in common law, dissenting from his colleagues who denied a motion for the whole court to rehear the case.
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November 26, 2024
Split 4th Circ. Won't Review Duke Monopoly Suit Revival
A split Fourth Circuit denied on Tuesday an en banc review petition challenging a decision reviving antitrust allegations against Duke Energy, with the majority writing that granting the review would waste judicial resources, and a dissenting judge slamming the majority for purportedly being at odds with U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
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November 26, 2024
EPA Asks Justices Not To Block Coal Ash Rule
U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar called on the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday to reject a Kentucky electric utility's effort to halt a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule strengthening federal regulations requiring safe management of coal ash.
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November 26, 2024
Madigan Pushed Land Transfer After Law Biz Pitch, Jury Told
A former Chicago alderman testifying against ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan told jurors Tuesday he connected prospective developers to Madigan, who lobbied to take on their legal work and soon after pushed legislation that would clear the way for their project.
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November 26, 2024
Maine Launches Climate Fraud Suit Against Oil Giants
Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey slapped Exxon, Shell, Chevron and other oil giants with a complaint in state court Tuesday, echoing claims asserted by other states and municipalities across the country that the companies carried out a successful climate deception campaign for decades.
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November 26, 2024
EPA Overstepped With Methane Control Rule, DC Circ. Told
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methane control requirements for oil and gas infrastructure infringe on states' authority to tailor their own regulations, Republican-led states and fossil fuel industry groups told the D.C. Circuit Monday.
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November 26, 2024
Illinois Landowners Blast FERC Moves On $7B Power Line
The Federal Energy Regulatory unlawfully amended a negotiated rate authority for the $7 billion Grain Belt Express high-voltage power line despite not sanctioning a 2020 change in project ownership, Illinois residents, farmers and landowners told the D.C. Circuit Monday.
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November 26, 2024
Mexico Floats Retaliation Against New Trump Tariffs
Hours after President-elect Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum signaled that her government would respond with levies of its own Tuesday, imploring Trump to take a more diplomatic approach.
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November 25, 2024
Trump Vows Tariffs For Canada, Mexico, China On Day One
President-elect Donald Trump announced on social media Monday that he will implement steep tariffs on America's allies Canada and Mexico, as well as China, immediately after taking the oath of office on Inauguration Day.
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November 25, 2024
Native Corp. Faces Default In $3.4M Stock Scam Suit
A Native American microcap company has until Dec. 6 to tell a federal district court judge why it shouldn't face a default judgment in a $3.4 million stock scam lawsuit after the Securities and Exchange Commission said its chief executive officer's "willful disobedience" warrants such a ruling.
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November 25, 2024
Informant Says He Brought Developers To Madigan's Law Firm
An ex-Chicago alderman who wore a wire to meetings with former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was back on the stand Monday describing how he arranged a meeting with developers of a Chicago apartment building at Madigan's law office, with jurors hearing a call in which Madigan said to "go ahead and process" a zoning change for that project after the alderman asked if the developer gave him legal work.
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November 25, 2024
Giant Emerald Can Return To Brazil, DC Judge Rules
A massive and storied emerald smuggled into the United States two decades ago is one step closer to returning to Brazil after a D.C. federal judge granted the U.S. Department of Justice's request to forfeit the gem to its home country.
Expert Analysis
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Atmospheric Rivers: Force Majeure Or Just A Rainy Day?
As atmospheric rivers pummel California with intense rainfall, flooding and landslides, agencies and contractors in the state struggling to manage projects may invoke force majeure — but as with all construction risk issues, the terms of the agreement govern, and relief may not always be available, say Kyle Hamilton and Corey Boock at Nossaman.
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Series
Glassblowing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
I never expected that glassblowing would strongly influence my work as an attorney, but it has taught me the importance of building a solid foundation for your work, learning from others and committing to a lifetime of practice, says Margaret House at Kalijarvi Chuzi.
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Best Practices For Chemical Transparency In Supply Chains
A flurry of new and forthcoming regulations in different jurisdictions that require disclosure of potentially hazardous substances used in companies' products and processes will require businesses to take proactive steps to build chemical transparency into their supply chains, and engage robustly and systematically with vendors, says Jillian Stacy at Enhesa.
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Unpacking The Latest Tranche Of Sanctions Targeting Russia
Hundreds of new U.S. sanctions and export-control measures targeting trade with Russia, issued last week in connection with the G7 summit, illustrate the fluidity of trade-focused restrictions and the need to constantly refresh compliance analyses, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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How Associates Can Build A Professional Image
As hybrid work arrangements become the norm in the legal industry, early-career attorneys must be proactive in building and maintaining a professional presence in both physical and digital settings, ensuring that their image aligns with their long-term career goals, say Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners and Estelle Winsett at Estelle Winsett Professional Image Consulting.
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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.