Energy

  • March 17, 2025

    Wash. AG Backs Tribe's $400M Trespass Win Against BNSF

    The state of Washington has said the Ninth Circuit should uphold a trial judge's ruling that BNSF Railway Co. owes nearly $400 million for years of illegally running oil cars across tribal territory, arguing in an amicus brief the railroad must be held accountable for perpetuating "a pattern of disregard for the sovereignty of Native people."

  • March 17, 2025

    Energy Co. Urges FERC To End $1B Enforcement Case

    An energy efficiency aggregator on Monday urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to drop its pursuit of nearly $1 billion in penalties for disputed market manipulation and tariff violations, an enforcement case the company has already asked a federal judge to declare unconstitutional.

  • March 17, 2025

    Split 9th Circ. Won't Halt Federal Workers Reinstatement Order

    A divided Ninth Circuit panel on Monday denied the Trump administration's bid for an immediate administrative stay of a California district court order requiring reinstatement of some probationary federal workers fired from six agencies, with the majority saying a pause "would disrupt the status quo and turn it on its head."

  • March 17, 2025

    Union, Green Groups Fight EPA Bid To Redo Biden TSCA Rule

    Labor unions and green groups are asking the D.C. Circuit to reject the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's bid to reconsider a Biden-era rule that strengthened regulations to assess chemicals' health and environmental risks.

  • March 17, 2025

    FERC Grid Upgrade Fight Has DC Circ. Judges Flummoxed

    D.C. Circuit judges appeared to struggle Monday with how to determine ownership of new grid upgrades needed for a Michigan solar farm as they consider a transmission company's challenge to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's refusal to grant it sole ownership.

  • March 17, 2025

    NJ Offshore Wind Farm Permit Pulled Over Trump Orders

    An environmental permit for a wind power facility off the New Jersey shore has been sent back to regulators for reconsideration in light of President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily halting all offshore wind leases for review, according to a federal environmental appeals board order.

  • March 17, 2025

    Chevron Buys 5% Of Hess With 'Confidence' In Merger Close

    Chevron Corp. disclosed Monday that it has purchased 4.99% of Hess Corp.'s outstanding common stock, a move that signals the oil giant's "continuing confidence" in completing its pending $53 billion acquisition of Hess despite ongoing arbitration challenges.

  • March 17, 2025

    Activist Investor Calls For Reconstitution Of Parkland's Board

    Activist hedge fund Engine Capital on Monday called for a comprehensive reconstitution of Calgary, Alberta-based Parkland Corp.'s board of directors, saying that the current board has overseen "meaningful underperformance" and demonstrated "zero interest" in engaging with its shareholders.

  • March 17, 2025

    High Value Dubious In $23M Easement Dispute, 11th Circ. Told

    A partnership that claimed a $23 million tax deduction for a conservation easement donation failed to consider the lack of market demand for a potential quarry it used to justify the land's high value, the U.S. government told the Eleventh Circuit.

  • March 17, 2025

    Brightmark Puts Indiana Plastic Recycling Plant Into Ch. 11

    Recycling company Brightmark LLC has put certain units into bankruptcy in Delaware in order to keep its Indiana plastics processing center operational as it pursues a sale.

  • March 14, 2025

    ExxonMobil Brings $14M Clean Air Act Suit To High Court

    ExxonMobil on Friday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn both a "radically divided" en banc Fifth Circuit's opinion upholding $14.25 million in air pollution penalties as well as a decades-old high court ruling concerning redressability, saying it was being made to pay penalties environmental group plaintiffs won't even receive.

  • March 14, 2025

    Judge Backs Conn. Utility's $2M Enviro Penalty In Rate Hike Row

    An Avangrid Inc. unit must suffer a roughly $2 million annual penalty for failing to remediate pollution at the defunct English Station power plant in New Haven, Connecticut, a judge has ruled as part of a broader order that upholds most of the state utility regulator's decision to slash a requested $131 million rate hike.

  • March 14, 2025

    Md. Judge Joins Calif. In Reversing Federal Workers' Firing

    A Maryland federal judge has ordered the reinstatement of thousands of probationary employees who were abruptly fired from 18 federal agencies, saying the Trump administration's lack of required notice left states "scrambling" to pick up the pieces.

  • March 14, 2025

    Coal Co. Asks To Halt Hong Kong Arbitration In Shipping Row

    A Pennsylvania coal company has urged a Virginia federal court to halt arbitration initiated in Hong Kong by a British shipping company over an onboard explosion during a shipment, saying it never agreed to arbitrate any disputes.

  • March 14, 2025

    Reed Smith To Fight Removal In $102M Shipping Award Suit

    A New York federal judge has paused his order removing Reed Smith LLP as counsel for the former owners of reorganized international shipping group Eletson Holdings in litigation over a $102 million arbitral award while the BigLaw firm appeals the decision to the Second Circuit.

  • March 14, 2025

    5th Circ. Affirms Energy Exec's Insider Trading Conviction

    The Fifth Circuit upheld a Texas energy executive's conviction for insider trading on natural gas futures based on the constitutionality of federal laws and regulations that criminalize manipulative commodity deals.

  • March 14, 2025

    DC Circ. Asks If FERC Oil Orders Are In Its Purview

    The D.C. Circuit is questioning its own decades-long practice of reviewing orders from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that help determine the cost of transporting oil through pipelines, asking litigants whether it has jurisdiction to consider an appeal nearing its conclusion.

  • March 14, 2025

    Green Groups Sue Fed. Agencies Over Frozen Funding

    Environmental groups sued five federal government agencies and their leaders, alleging they illegally froze congressionally approved funding and are hampering the organizations' work.

  • March 14, 2025

    Halliburton Rival Loses Fracking Claims At Fed. Circ.

    The Federal Circuit has affirmed findings in Halliburton's favor at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that came after the company challenged claims in patents covering electric pumps used in hydraulic fracturing.

  • March 14, 2025

    4th Circ. Reluctant To Loosen EEOC Charge Requirement

    A Fourth Circuit panel seemed hesitant Friday to revive a bias case from a worker whose presuit U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charge didn't specifically name one of the entities he hauled into court, with one judge expressing "apprehension" about adopting a widely used exception to charge filing rules.

  • March 14, 2025

    NY Energy Atty Exits Troutman Pepper For Sheppard Mullin

    Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP has brought on a former Troutman Pepper Locke LLP partner to its growing energy, infrastructure and project finance team in New York.

  • March 13, 2025

    EPA's Deregulation Road Riddled With Potential Potholes

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's plan to unwind dozens of climate change and other pollution control rules confronts the practical reality of laborious federal rulemaking, where any attempted shortcuts may backfire in court.

  • March 13, 2025

    EPA Tempting Legal Storm With Climate Danger Rethink

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's reconsideration of its 16-year-old conclusion that greenhouse gases threaten human health may face arduous litigation if the agency reverses course, given that the scientific and legal foundations for the finding have strengthened over time.

  • March 13, 2025

    Chinese Fund Opposes Businessman's Bid To Pause Award

    A Chinese investment fund has objected in California federal court to a businessman's bid to pause recognition of a $4.8 million foreign arbitral award against him, arguing that he lost his dispute in two venues and can't prevent execution of the judgment.

  • March 13, 2025

    Split 7th Circ. Kills Injunction In Indiana Power Line Dispute

    The Seventh Circuit has knocked down an injunction blocking an Indiana right of first refusal law that gives Indiana-based utilities the first shot at securing new transmission project contracts before those from other states.

Expert Analysis

  • 4 Ways Women Attorneys Can Build A Legal Legacy

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    This Women’s History Month, women attorneys should consider what small, day-to-day actions they can take to help leave a lasting impact for future generations, even if it means mentoring one person or taking 10 minutes to make a plan, says Jackie Prester, a former shareholder at Baker Donelson.

  • Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Fiscal Liability Vs. Int'l Investment

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    The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes' award in Amec Foster Wheeler USA v. Colombia, upholding the country's jurisdictional objections, exemplifies the growing tension between domestic regulatory measures and international investment protections, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn Square Chambers.

  • Cleanup Claim Characterization Key For Timeliness Inquiry

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    The Tenth Circuit's recent ruling in Atlantic Richfield Co. v. NL Industries, determining that ARCO's contribution claim was timely, highlights the importance of accurately characterizing a claim for recoupment of environmental cleanup costs as a cost-recovery action or contribution to avoid dismissal or recharacterization of the claim, say attorneys at Spencer Fane.

  • A Judge's Pointers For Adding Spice To Dry Legal Writing

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    U.S. District Judge Fred Biery shares a few key lessons about how to go against the grain of the legal writing tradition by adding color to bland judicial opinions, such as by telling a human story and injecting literary devices where possible.

  • Steering Clear Of US Sanctions While Paying Pirates Ransom

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    Maritime operators, insurers and financial institutions must exercise extreme caution when making ransom payments related to Somali piracy, as the payments could trigger primary and secondary sanctions enforcement by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, says Chelsea Ellis at LMD Trade Law.

  • 6th Circ. Ruling Paves Path Out Of Loper Bright 'Twilight Zone'

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright ruling created a twilight zone between express statutory delegations that trigger agency deference and implicit ones that do not, but the Sixth Circuit’s recent ruling in Moctezuma-Reyes v. Garland crafted a two-part test for resolving cases within this gray area, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • What FERC Scrutiny Of Directors, Assets Means For Investors

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    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has recently paid dramatically increased attention to appointments of power company directors by investors, and ownership of vertical assets that provide inputs for electric power production and sale — so investors in FERC-regulated entities should be paying more attention to these matters as well, say attorneys at Day Pitney.

  • CO2 Oil Recovery Vs. Carbon Capture: Key Legal Differences

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    As more states seek primacy over carbon capture and storage wells, it is increasingly important for companies to understand the regulations surrounding CCS, and how they differ from the arguably less complex legal framework for the closely related technology of carbon dioxide-enhanced oil recovery, says Sarah Milocco at Husch Blackwell.

  • Steps For Federal Grantees Affected By Stop-Work Orders

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    Broad changes in federal financial assistance programs are on the horizon, and organizations that may receive a stop-work order from a federal agency must prepare to be vigilant and nimble in a highly uncertain legal landscape, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Recent Cases Suggest ESG Means 'Ever-Shifting Guidelines'

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    U.S. courts have recently handed down a number of contradictory decisions on important environmental, social and governance issues, adding to an already complex mix of conflicting political priorities, new laws and changing regulatory guidance — but there are steps that companies can take to minimize risk, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • Navigating The Uncertain Future Of The Superfund PFAS Rule

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    The D.C. Circuit's recent grant of a pause in litigation while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reviews the Biden-era designation of two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances as "hazardous" under the Superfund law creates new uncertainty for companies — but more lawsuits are likely as long as the rule remains in effect, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • What To Know About Insurance Coverage For Greenwashing

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    As the number of public and private lawsuits relating to greenwashing dramatically grows, risk managers of companies making environmental claims should look to several types of insurance for coverage in the event of a suit, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • 7 Tips For Associates To Thrive In Hybrid Work Environments

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    As the vast majority of law firms have embraced some type of hybrid work policy, associates should consider a few strategies to get the most out of both their in-person and remote workdays, says James Argionis at Cozen O’Connor.

  • Series

    Playing Beach Volleyball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My commitment to beach volleyball has become integral to my performance as an attorney, with the sport continually reminding me that teamwork, perseverance, professionalism and stress management are essential to both undertakings, says Amy Drushal at Trenam.

  • Opinion

    California Climate Lawsuit Bill Is Constitutionally Flawed

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    A bill in the California Legislature that would let victims of climate-related disasters like the Los Angeles wildfires sue oil and gas producers for spreading misinformation about climate change is too vague, retroactive and focused on one industry to survive constitutional scrutiny, says Kyla Christoffersen Powell at the Civil Justice Association of California.

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