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Environmental
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March 11, 2025
Insurer Says AIG Unit Must Cover Water Contamination Suit
An AIG unit can't rely on its policy's pollution exclusion to bar coverage for a Texas water utility accused of providing contaminated water to residents, the utility's other insurer told a federal court, saying the court has already rejected the application of the exclusion in a related case.
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March 11, 2025
Groups Say EPA Must Regulate Phosphate Mining Waste
The Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club and others have called on the D.C. Circuit to order the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate radioactive waste from phosphate mining and fertilizer production, which are currently excluded from federal regulation.
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March 11, 2025
Conservationists Sue FWS Over 'Blanket' Species Rule
Two conservation groups are suing the U.S. Department of the Interior in Montana federal court over an Endangered Species Act rule they say illegally gives the government power to indiscriminately restrict landowners' use of their property.
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March 11, 2025
Fannie Mae Says Complex Filed Ch. 11 To Duck $73M Loan
Fannie Mae told a federal court Monday that a Houston apartment complex's Chapter 11 filing was a "tactic" to avoid its obligation to repay a $73 million loan.
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March 11, 2025
Holland & Hart Taps Perkins Coie Attys For New Phoenix Office
Holland & Hart LLP announced Tuesday that it has opened its 14th office, this one in Phoenix, with two environmental partners from Perkins Coie LLP.
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March 10, 2025
EPA Says It Wants To Redo Biden-Era Chemical Risk Rule
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday told the D.C. Circuit it wants to reconsider a Biden-era rule that strengthened regulations to assess chemicals' health and environmental risks.
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March 10, 2025
Alsup Refuses To Vacate Hearing Into OPM Mass Firings
U.S. District Judge William Alsup on Monday denied the Trump administration's request to vacate an upcoming evidentiary hearing into the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's mass firings of probationary federal employees, and required OPM director Charles Ezell to appear in person or else be deposed.
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March 10, 2025
EPA Climate Grantee Sues Citibank, Agency Over Frozen Cash
A climate-change-focused nonprofit is accusing Citibank NA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in D.C. federal court of breaching a contract to deliver billions of dollars in grant funding that's been frozen by the Trump administration.
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March 10, 2025
Tariff Shifts Creating Compliance Chaos For Energy Cos.
The unpredictability of President Donald Trump's tariff maneuvers is challenging energy companies' ability to comply with fluctuating mandates and making tariff violations more likely.
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March 10, 2025
DOT Pulls Biden Enviro Justice Highway Funding Policy
The U.S. Department of Transportation on Monday rescinded Biden-era memorandums that advised state and local agencies receiving funds from 2021's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to prioritize highway, road, bridge and other projects that promoted social justice or climate resiliency goals.
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March 10, 2025
DOJ Defends Musk's Influence Against States' Challenge
The U.S. Department of Justice is defending Elon Musk's influence in the federal government against a constitutional challenge brought by 14 states, telling D.C. federal court that the "special government employee" does not occupy an official office that would be subject to the Constitution's appointments clause.
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March 10, 2025
Whitecap Merging With Veren In $10.4B Oil & Gas Deal
Whitecap Resources Inc. said Monday it will merge with fellow Canadian oil and gas company Veren Inc. in an all-stock deal valued at CA$15 billion (US$10.4 billion) including debt.
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March 10, 2025
NC Bill Allocates $80M To Move Helene-Damaged Courthouse
A state legislative proposal that would allocate $80 million in the form of a one-time grant for the relocation of a historic North Carolina county courthouse rendered unusable by Hurricane Helene cleared its first hurdle Monday.
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March 10, 2025
Fox Rothschild Lands Enviro Ace From Connell Foley In NJ
Fox Rothschild LLP has added an environmental partner with over 25 years of experience practicing and a background as Connell Foley LLP's former environmental chair in its Morristown office, the firm announced Monday.
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March 10, 2025
Justices Reject Red-State Bid To End State Climate Torts
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to consider a request from red states to stop climate change torts against fossil fuel companies brought by blue-state governments.
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March 07, 2025
9th Circ. Open To Reviving Monsanto Expiration Label Fight
A Ninth Circuit panel appeared open Friday to reviving a proposed class action over expiration dates on Monsanto's Roundup pesticides, but two judges were skeptical of claims against a distributor, which the distributor's counsel argued could open the floodgates of litigation.
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March 07, 2025
Feds Say California Tribes' Casino Challenge Comes Too Late
The U.S. Department of the Interior and other agencies have asked a D.C. federal judge to deny two tribes' challenge to another tribe's plan to build a casino-hotel complex on 221 acres of trust land, saying their request for a stay is improper and untimely.
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March 07, 2025
Ga. PFAS Liability, DEI Bills Among Those To Not 'Crossover'
Georgia lawmakers failed to push forward legislation that would have reduced corporate liability for PFAS contamination, would have given voters a say on whether to legalize sports betting and curbed diversity initiatives in schools, after having previously passed bills to advance the governor's tort reform agenda.
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March 07, 2025
4th Circ. Overturns Remand Of Md., SC PFAS Suits Against 3M
U.S. district court judges erred when they sent lawsuits Maryland and South Carolina filed against 3M over environmental contamination from consumer products containing forever chemicals back to state courts, a split Fourth Circuit panel ruled Friday.
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March 07, 2025
Hints Of A New High Court Majority Emerge In Trump Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent rejection of President Donald Trump's bid to keep frozen nearly $2 billion in foreign aid funding gave court watchers a glimpse of a coalition majority that could end up thwarting some of the president's more aggressive and novel attempts to expand executive power.
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March 07, 2025
GAO Says Congress Can't Undo Calif. Emissions Waivers
The U.S. Government Accountability Office is weighing in against the Trump administration's effort to team up with Congress to take away California's ability to set its own greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles.
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March 07, 2025
Goodyear Must Include Microplastic Proposal In Proxy
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has rejected Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.'s bid to exclude from its annual proxy statement a shareholder proposal calling for goals and timelines related to reducing tire wear shedding and subsequent microplastic pollution.
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March 07, 2025
CPKC Rail Merger Enviro Review Needs Redo, DC Circ. Told
A group of Illinois towns told the D.C. Circuit on Friday that federal regulators relied on flawed train traffic data to approve Canadian Pacific's $31 billion merger with Kansas City Southern, failing to account for significant public safety and environmental harms to Windy City communities.
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March 07, 2025
Gas Station Asks 11th Circ. To Revive Pollution Coverage Suit
A Florida gas station owner asked the Eleventh Circuit on Friday to revive its lawsuit trying to get Nautilus Insurance Co. to cover the costs to clean up contamination caused by a leaking underground fuel tank, telling the appeals court the company did not learn of the leak until after the policy went into effect.
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March 07, 2025
Cosmetics Co. Sues Insurer Over Calif. Water Pollution Claims
A cosmetics company facing water pollution claims told a California federal court its insurer denied coverage in bad faith, saying though the insurer agreed to defend a lawsuit from the California attorney general, the insurer still wrongly refused to reimburse costs from two prior, related suits that were ultimately rescinded.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
Undoing An American Ideal Of Fairness
President Donald Trump’s orders attacking birthright citizenship, civil rights education, and diversity, equity and inclusion programs threaten hard-won constitutional civil rights protections and decades of efforts to undo bias in the law — undermining what Chief Justice Earl Warren called "our American ideal of fairness," says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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How Trump EPA Could Fix Carbon Combustion Residuals Rule
The Trump administration is likely targeting the recently adopted carbon combustion residual rule, especially since it imposes very stringent, detailed and expedited requirements on coal power plants — but even if the rule is not vacated entirely, there are measures that could greatly reduce its regulatory burden, says Stephen Jones at Post & Schell.
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Nippon Order Tests Gov't Control Over Foreign Investments
The U.S. government is primarily interested in restraining foreign transactions involving countries of concern, but former President Joe Biden’s January order blocking the merger of Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel shows that all foreign direct investments are under the federal government’s microscope, say attorneys at Blank Rome.
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Opinion
Inconsistent Injury-In-Fact Rules Hinder Federal Practice
A recent Third Circuit decision, contradicting a previous ruling about whether consumers of contaminated products have suffered an injury in fact, illustrates the deep confusion this U.S. Supreme Court standard creates among federal judges and practitioners, who deserve a simpler method of determining which cases have federal standing, says Eric Dwoskin at Dwoskin Wasdin.
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How Trump Orders Roll Back Energy Efficiency Mandates
President Donald Trump's first-day executive orders — including a freeze on administrative rules, an order to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, and a directive to broaden consumers' appliance choices — have shifted federal policy on energy efficiency, and bring new considerations for companies engaging with the U.S. Department of Energy, say attorneys at HWG.
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Expect Continued Antitrust Enforcement In Procurement
The scope of federal antitrust enforcement under the second Trump administration remains uncertain, but the Procurement Collusion Strike Force, which collaborates with federal and state agencies to enforce antitrust laws in the government procurement space, is likely to remain active — so contractors must stay vigilant, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
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In-House Counsel Pointers For Preserving Atty-Client Privilege
Several recent rulings illustrate the challenges in-house counsel can face when attempting to preserve attorney-client privilege, but a few best practices can help safeguard communications and effectively assert the privilege in an increasingly scrutinized corporate environment, says Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics.
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Emerging Energy Trends Reflect Shifting Political Landscape
As the Trump administration settles in, some emerging energy industry trends, like expanded support for fossil fuel production, are right off of its wish list — while others, like the popularity of Inflation Reduction Act energy tax credits, and bipartisan support for carbon capture, reflect more complex political realities, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.
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Tax-Free Ways To Help Employees After The LA Wildfires
Following the recent wildfires in Los Angeles, there are various tax-free ways to give employees the resources and flexibility they need, including simpler methods like disaster relief payments under Internal Revenue Code Section 139 and leave-sharing programs, and others that require more planning, says Ligeia Donis at Baker McKenzie.
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Improving Comms Between Trial Attys And Tech Witnesses
In major litigation involving complex technology, attorneys should employ certain strategies to collaborate with companies' technical personnel more effectively to enhance both the attorney's understanding of the subject matter and the expert's ability to provide effective testimony in court, say attorneys at Buchalter.
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As EPA Backs Down, Expect Enviros To Step Up Citizen Suits
As President Donald Trump's U.S. Environmental Protection Agency draws down federal enforcement efforts, environmental groups will step into the void and file citizen suits — so companies should focus on compliance efforts, stay savvy about emerging analytical and monitoring methods, and maintain good relations with neighbors, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.
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Series
Collecting Rare Books Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My collection of rare books includes several written or owned by prominent lawyers from early U.S. history, and immersing myself in their stories helps me feel a deeper connection to my legal practice and its purpose, says Douglas Brown at Manatt Health.
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Rethinking How To Engage Shareholders, Activists Via Proxies
This proxy season, companies should consider visually driven proxy statements that highlight the board's strengths, the alignment between executive compensation and performance, and a commitment to sustainability and risk management to earn the support of investors and fend off hostile acquirers, say Craig Clay and Ron Schneider at DFIN.
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Opinion
Judge Should Not Have Been Reprimanded For Alito Essay
Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor's New York Times essay critiquing Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for potential ethical violations absolutely cannot be construed as conduct prejudicial to the administration of the business of the courts, says Ashley London at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University.
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5 Key Takeaways From Energy Secretary's Confirmation
The recent confirmation hearing for U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright highlighted several important themes, including his vision for transforming the DOE, his nuanced stance on renewables, and a renewed emphasis on energy abundance and affordability, says Connor McCulloch at Ankura Consulting Group.